African American Studies Program

Fourteenth Annual Multicultural Sankofa 
Thursday, May 2, 2015, at 7:00 P.M.
Student Union Theater

Valdosta State University’s African American Studies Program celebrated the Fourteenth Annual Multicultural Sankofa on Thursday, May 2, 2015, at 7:00 P.M. in the Student Union Theater. Graduates, their families and friends, VSU administrators, faculty and staff were in attendance to celebrate the individual achievements and collective triumphs of those students whose academic achievements may not be acknowledged in the traditional commencement ceremony called "Sankofa". Sankofa is a West African word that means “looking back in order to move forward.” According to African proverbs, the Sankofa bird symbol symbolizes going back in time to remember what has been forgotten so that progress can be made. Sankofa celebrations are held in various settings as a way of highlighting spiritual consciousness and experiences within African and African American cultures that have helped to shape them.

Other program participants included:

• Dr. Kendric Coleman – AFAM Teacher of the Year – 2015
• Mr. Ryan B. Brinson & Ms. Maya Phillips– AFAM Students of the Year – 2015
• Stanley Jones – 14th Annual Multicultural Sankofa Award 2015
• Mr. Derrick L. Carter - AFAM Mentor of the Year Award 2015
• Ms. Roxanne Davis & Ms. Y'Keisha Knowles (Claydon H. Barron Scholarship Recipient -- 2015
• Ms. Louis Cureton & Mr. Jeff McKenzie -- (AFAM Sankofa Drummers) 2015

The African American Studies Program also recognized the 2015 recipients of the Claydon Hayward Barron Scholarship. Officially endowed at VSU in 2011, the scholarship honors the memory of the late Barron, a humanitarian and business entrepreneur who was the first African American appointed to the Valdosta Board of Education, on which he served ten years. Established by Mary Barron, wife of the late Barron, and Lawanna Barron, daughter of Claydon Barron, the scholarship is awarded once annually to  sophomore, junior or first semester senior AFAM minors who have demonstrated academic excellence at VSU.

Dr. Shirley Hardin, Director of African American Studies, presided over the program and presented the following Sankofa Awards for 2015:

 

 

Program Coordinators for Sankofa 2015

Mr. Derrick L. Carter, Sr., Ms. Sandra Yankah, & Ms. Tynisha Bledsoe