Mission Statement
The African diasporic Cultural Resource Center (AdCRC) educates, promotes, and encourages the interaction and dialogue among the diverse ethnic groups within the African diasporic communities of UCSB and to promote cross cultural learning and interaction amongst all ethnic groups. The AdCRC is an environment for students, staff, faculty and community members to develop an understanding of and appreciation for their African diasporic cultural identities. AdCRC staff strives to create and maintain a welcoming atmosphere for all to acquire knowledge in relation to the diversity of cultures within the African diaspora.
The AdCRC strives to assist in the holistic development of students of the African diaspora by focusing on several areas: academic excellence, cultural awareness, leadership development, social involvement, and proactive civic engagement. As a result of successfully developing our students in each of the aforementioned areas, the AdCRC, in turn, aids in the overall retention and graduation rates of our Black students at UCSB.
The development of the AdCRC is also an affirmation of UCSB’s commitment, on behalf of the Educational Opportunity Program, to recognize the importance of maintaining cultural community.
Our Story
The creation of the EOP Cultural Resource Centers came as a direct result of student activism in the late 1990’s, during which time students from various historically excluded groups petitioned the University for dedicated safe spaces on campus. On October 22, 1998, students occupied Cheadle Hall and impressed upon the campus administration the need to support the lives of marginalized students. One of the student “demands” called for the construction of a new building to “house student resource centers designed to meet the specific needs of non-traditional students and student parents (to include childcare), the Queer student community, the Native American student community, the Chicano/a Student community, the Asian American student community, the African American student community, and the Middle Eastern student community.”
Following the completion of the Student Resource Building and the opening of the new Cultural Resource Centers in February 2007, the CRCs have served an invaluable role in our community as spaces that facilitate cultural-based programming and strives to foster safe environments for both individual students and culturally affiliated campus organizations. The CRCs serve as a hub for students and are foundational for the events and meetings necessary to sustain cultural organizations at UCSB.
Center Goals
- To educate the community about the diversity that encompasses the African diaspora.
- To provide a physical space that reflects the Black experience and the many cultures of the African diaspora.
- To provide educational, cultural and social programming that affirms and celebrates Black identity and values, as well as the awareness of the social, political, historical and cultural realities of Black people.
- To broaden and facilitate the channels of communication between Black students and the greater UCSB student community.
- To support the identity development of Black students.
- To participate in the university’s effort to provide multicultural education to the greater UCSB student community.
- To provide information to enhance cultural awareness at UCSB.