- West Orange Public Schools
- Homepage
Return to Headlines
West Orange High School Delegation Attends Pan Africanism Lecture with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka
WEST ORANGE, NJ - Student representatives from the West Orange High School Unity Club, Student Council, and African American Heritage Club attended the Ninth Annual Garvey/Nkrumah Lecture Series on Feb. 19 featuring Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
West Orange resident and Director of the Africana Institute and Associate Professor of Sociology at Essex County College Dr. Akil Khalfani invited the students to ECC for the lecture, which focused on Pan Africanism and the political, historical, and cultural issues related to Pan Africanism as well as civic activism.
Mayor Baraka spoke about several issues: Pan Africanism, civic activism, education, and poverty. After the lecture, Dr. Khlafani brought the delegation to the Africana Institute at Essex County College so students could view African art. He then discussed African culture, history, art, mathematics and the importance of Africa both in the past and in the present.
"Our students learned first hand the value of education, the need for their skills to better help our society, and the importance of African culture throughout history," stated Supervisor of Social Studies Michael Figueiredo.
"I would like to thank Dr. Khalfani, Mayor Baraka, and Dr. Munroe not only for the educational opportunity but helping our students understand the importance and the potential impact they can have in today's society," he added.
Bottom Row: Dr. Munroe (President of ECC), Mayor Baraka
Top Row: Dr. Khalfani, Dr. Cascone, Michael Figueiredo, and Daniel Capriola with WOHS delegation.
Dr. Akil Khalfani with student delegation.
Cynthia Cumming
Feb. 22, 2020
Feb. 22, 2020