Harambee, Publication
By Mumbi Kanyogo
On February 5, 1969, Duke’s Afro-American Society published Harambee. The name is derived from the Kiswahili word “harambe,” meaning “pull together.” The publication was meant to “educate and dispel myths about black people” and unity and opposition to white supremacy. At the time, the Duke community’s idea of integration could be described as tolerance, according to Celeste Wessen, a writer for the Duke Chronicle.[1] Harambee was a precursor to the list of demands presented to Duke’s administration during the 1969 Allen Building takeover, and should be recognized because it reflects the demands of Duke’s African-American community for equity and justice.
