Photo Courtesy of the Mount Holyoke News Team
By Gillian Petrarca ’23
Staff Writer
The 12th annual Hortense Parker Celebration was held on Thursday, Oct. 28, from 7-9 p.m. in the Great Room. The event was organized by the SGA Students of Color Committee, the Division of Student Life, the Office of Community and Belonging, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Weissman Center for Leadership, the Alumni Associations and the Office of Advancement. At the event the “Hortense Parker Museum … Rewind and Reconnect” exhibit was unveiled in the Blanchard Student Art Gallery in lieu of the usual Hortense Parker Essay Contest. The museum was on display until Nov. 4th.
The celebration began with a land acknowledgment from Juliette Gagnon Strong Heart followed by welcoming remarks from Co-Chair of the Students of Color Committee Valeria Serna-Solis ’23.
Serna-Solis explained the theme: “Rewind and Reconnect,” saying, “Due to the pandemic, many of us are coming back to campus for the first time. For many, this is our first Hortense Parker Celebration in person or our first in-person celebration since our first year here. We want to acknowledge that.”
Serna-Solis then introduced President Sonya Stephens for her remarks. “It is my great pleasure to honor the labor of the students from the Students of Color Committee. I look forward to this event every year,” Stephens said.
Stephens highlighted that this year’s theme underscored community, and highlighted in particular communities that have been excluded from Mount Holyoke in the past. She concluded by emphasizing that as Mount Holyoke maintains its commitment to diversity, it is important to continue to address inequity and create systemic change.
Ewura Esi Yankah ’23 then introduced Vice-President for Equity and Inclusion Kijua Sanders-McMurtry. “I can never thank students of color enough,” Sanders-McMurtry said. “For the labor that you did to organize this event and for the invisible labor that you do every single day.”
Following Sanders-McMurtry, SGA President Lasya Priya Rao Jarugumilli ’23 made remarks.
“When I sat down to write this speech, I found myself writing my full name which I don’t do often. I often shorten my full name. Just because my name is difficult to pronounce does not mean it is not worth pronouncing. I encourage you to think about your name and demand that it be pronounced correctly just like every other Emma, Mark or Sarah,” Jarugumilli said.
After Jarugumilli’s remarks, the event featured a dance performance from Jhumka.
Natasha Almanzar ’22 then introduced alumna speaker Christine Harding ’16. Harding is one of the students who took part in the creation of the “Hortense Parker Museum” in 2014 and is the first SGA Students of Color Committee chair. Harding said this year’s theme connected her to the “Past, Present, Future and You” Hortense Parker Day in 2014, which students used resources from to create this year’s exhibit.
“I think both of these themes are similar in how they want you to pause and be grounded in the present. These themes also remind me of the theme legacy, I encourage you all to look into what your legacy is,” Harding said.
“When the original museum was created, Mount Holyoke was definitely in a time of transition. … In March 2014, there was an incident between a student and a campus police officer where a student of color was wrongfully arrested,” Harding said. “Following this, the MoHonest movement was created. This movement really galvanized students of color on campus.”
Harding then returned to the question she posed about legacy. She concluded by reminding students that, although Mount Holyoke encourages every student to leave as a leader or a change maker, that you can have a legacy outside of activism, whether that be by having a legacy as a good roommate or a caring friend.
An open-mic Q&A session then followed. Questions ranged from how to prioritize self care and how to motivate those around you to spark change.
Achol Otto ’24, secretary of the Students of Color Committee, introduced keynote speaker Zakiya Collier.
Collier is a digital archivist at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She explained that she uses web archiving tools to expand the nature of the Schomburg Center’s archival collections to reflect 21st century Black life and experiences.
“I like the word reconnect,” Collier said of this year’s theme. “You are all reconnecting after being apart because of the pandemic, yet I am meeting you all for the first time.”
Collier also gave a brief history of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, who created the archival project. Schomburg was a historian, writer, collector and activist of Puerto Rican and African descent, who lived in the early 20th century and worked to compile a large archive of slave narratives and other records of Black culture and history at the time, the likes of which had never been amassed before. Schomburg dedicated his life to the collection of Black history and culture.
“When Schomburg was a child he was told that Black people did not have a history or culture. He then traveled the world collecting artifacts that displayed Black culture. Before purchasing the museum, he would present the items in his home,” Collier said.
“However, having a museum run out of your house is not very accessible,” Collier added. “Because Schomburg was committed to accessibility, he purchased the museum. At the time of his death the museum had 9,000 items. Today we have over 11 million. Schomburg spent his whole life disproving that we don’t have a history.”
A Q&A section followed Collier’s speech. Questions ranged from Collier’s thoughts on the difference between curation and archiving, and how to collect history while remaining in the present.
When asked how she would imagine life without digital collections documenting the history of people of color, Collier answered that she wouldn’t want to. “Being able to experience your history is an untouchable experience — one that I think many people of color go without, which is why my work is so important to me,” Collier said. “I think if I had to imagine it I would document it through dances, smell or food. Although, food is not allowed in the archive.”
Following Collier’s keynote address, Co-Chair of the Students of Color Committee Kelechi Ezeugwu ’23 spoke. Ezeugwu thanked everyone for coming and invited everyone into the Unity Center for a Dessert Reception and for the unveiling of the museum.
Ezeugwu concluded, “I encourage everyone to go see the museum we put together, at least once, twice, maybe even three times. Tell everyone you know and bring your friends.”