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Upcoming Events!!

Body and Soul: 11/20 @ 8pm, Lowell Lecture Hall

Winter Concert: 12/4 & 12/5 @ 8 pm, Memorial Church

Spring Concert: 5/1/2027, Time & Location TBD

More details to come, but in the meantime….

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2026-2027  Presidents’ Letter

More than half a century ago, in 1970, there was no space like Kuumba on Harvard’s campus. Established to address the needs of students during a tumultuous and contentious time, Kuumba is now the oldest Black organization on Harvard’s campus. For over 50 years, we have lifted our voices together in song, building an unbreakable family dedicated to celebrating who we are and where we come from.

Kuumba is a Swahili word that means “to create,” and, on account of our mission to celebrate Black creativity and spirituality, we take that to mean making the most out of what we have and leaving every space our presence fills better than we found it. We carry this spirit with us wherever we go, and this vision motivates our performances, community initiatives, and the relationships we foster with those around us. We believe that Black art is both healing and restorative—reminding us of our past, grounding us in our present, and guiding us toward the future. 

This past year was focused on continued growth amid substantial changes within the University. Despite the challenges this past year brought, Kuumba braved every obstacle and fostered joy during difficult times. We continued to meet and uplift our voices every Tuesday and Thursday in the SOCH penthouse.

This past year stands as a remarkable chapter in Kuumba’s history. In the fall, we took a multi-day trip to New York City to perform at the Harvard Club of NYC, where we connected with our beloved Kuumalums and bonded as a choir. We continued our travels in the spring semester, with the choir traveling to Washington, D.C., marking Kuumba’s first multi-day Spring Tour since 2019!  We are deeply grateful to our Kuumalums and supporters who helped make the trip so memorable.

To start off Black Arts Festival week, we hosted “Sing it Sister,” an intimate showcase of many talented Black women and femmes, in order to uplift and honor them. Throughout the week, we also collaborated with fellow Black Arts organizations, such as Black Cast, Omo Naija x Wahala Boys, and GAASA. 

At the heart of this remarkable year were our annual Dr. S. Allen Counter & Dean Archie C. Epps Winter Concert and Professor Hubert Walters & Mr. Robert Winfrey Spring Concert. Both were a continued celebration of Kuumba’s rich history that is 56 years strong. The themes, Joy Comes in the Morning and Joyful Noise, spoke to Kuumba’s mission to continue serving as a beacon of hope, strength, and resilience. Joyful because, in times where happiness may seem difficult to find, we choose joy–actively and collectively. Not in spite of what we have endured, but because we made it through another day. Noise because we continue to dare to lift our voices, to speak out when the world tries to silence us, and to take up space unapologetically. Joyful noise is not merely celebration; it is the sound of survival. It is choosing to sing when all we have left is breath, believing in victory even in the midst of struggle, and trusting that hope is already on its way. Because we cannot truly understand joy without honoring the pain that shaped it, Kuumba continues to sing—not only to celebrate those who came before us and carried us this far, but also to ensure that future generations inherit that same spirit of hope, resilience, and unwavering joy.

After several years filled with countless trials and tribulations, we are dedicated more than ever to our mission and to rebuilding the magic that is Kuumba. Although we may have said goodbye to many amazing graduating Kuumbabes, we aspire to build on the momentum from last year and continue taking Kuumba to new heights. While we are uncertain what this year may bring, we know for certain that Kuumba will brave any storm, cross any river, and climb any mountain. Together, we will keep moving forward, growing in communion, and strengthening our bonds as a resilient and united Kuumunity. Please feel free to come to any and all of the events publicized on this website as well as our Facebook (@TheKuumbaSingers) and Instagram (@kuumbasingers) pages. Throughout the semesters we rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the SOCH penthouse, starting at 7 pm. 

We invite anyone and everyone to join us on this journey as we grow together, furthering our mission of leaving spaces better than we found them and honoring our history through artistic expression, community engagement, and social activism on Harvard’s campus and beyond.

With Kuumblove,

Norene Williams and Alana Files

2026-2027 President and Vice President

 

 

Kuumboard Statement on University Actions

In light of Harvard’s recent decision to remain neutral on “public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core function,” many members of the current Kuumboard feel compelled to condemn Harvard’s actions. We believe part of the University’s “core function” should be protecting students and creating a climate of free speech.

In 1970, Kuumba became the first Black student organization on Harvard’s campus, created in opposition to the oppression of Black voices. Kuumba was built on the values of liberation, freedom, and justice for the marginalized and has, since our founding, stood for and with oppressed people around the world. We continue to hold these values now, in the face of genocide, Islamophobia, antisemitism, and all other forms of discrimination.

We denounce the University’s blatant disregard for students’ rights to protest and speak freely in its severe sanctioning of thirty-five students – including probation, suspension, and denial of graduation – while ignoring many requests from faculty and students to reverse this decision. This sanctioning deviates from Harvard’s precedent, where students involved in nonviolent protests in 1986, 2001, 2011, 2015, and 2016 faced little to no disciplinary action.

Furthermore, Harvard’s decision to remain neutral on issues not directly related to the university to avoid making it “more difficult for some members of the community to express their views when they differ from the university’s official position” promotes a climate, if not culture, of silence that stands in direct opposition to Kuumba’s value of amplifying Black voices. As members of Kuumboard, we publicly oppose the University’s actions. Kuumba will continue to be a place that uplifts and amplifies the voices of the Black community, standing as allies in the fight against oppression.

Signed,
Kuumba President 2024-25
Kuumba Vice President 2024-25
Kuumba Treasurer 2024-25
Kuumba Recording Secretary 2024-25
Kuumba Director of Publicity 2024-25
Kuumba Business Manager 2024-25
Kuumba Director of Development 2024-25
Kuumba Inclusivity Chair 2024-25
Kuumba Black Arts Festival Chair 2024-25

Kuumba co-founder Dennis W. Wiley ’72 leads over 200 alumni and current members in singing “Oh Freedom” at the Kuumba Singers Half Century Celebration on May 6, 2023 in Sanders Theatre

A MESSAGE FROM KUUMBA CO-FOUNDER, DENNIS W. WILEY ’72

 

Dear Kuumba Singers,

Congratulations on your Half Century Celebration! When a group of Black students, primarily from the Harvard-Radcliffe Classes of 1971-1974, gathered around a baby grand piano in a second-floor lounge of the old Freshman Union Building on a cold November night in 1970, who could have known we were laying the foundation of an enduring Harvard institution that would survive and thrive for over 50 years?

In the wake of the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black students on predominantly White college campuses across America were caught up in a growing movement of Black Power and Black Pride. We were determined not to be swallowed up by the dominant culture, but to carve out our own spaces in these alien academic surroundings where we could proudly and unapologetically assert our Black identity, retrieve our lost history, and release our suppressed creativity.

Inspired by Professor Hubert Walters’ “History of Black Music” class that he taught in the spring of 1970, classmates and Kuumba co-founders Fred Lucas and I—with support from the newly established Afro-American Studies Department and Afro-American Cultural Center—dedicated the following summer to exploring how Black music could become a more integral part of the Harvard experience.

From this emerged a group known simply as “The Gospel Choir,” which was never called the “Harvard-Radcliffe Gospel Choir” because, in that day and time, we were less interested in broadcasting our association with an elite, White university than we were in declaring our solidarity with the Black Church and the Black Community. The name “Kuumba Singers” was eventually chosen by the choir because, while expressing our identification with our African Heritage, it also conveyed the genius of Black people through the creativity of Black music.

I shall never forget when Fred and I met with Professor Walters and secured his commitment to become the choir’s first director. I shall also never forget when a young, effervescent, first-year Radcliffe student named Marilynn Sasportas joined Fred and me in contacting and encouraging folks to attend the very first rehearsal.

When I think about what Kuumba means to me, the first word that comes to mind is creativity; the second is family. Kuumba, for me, is a creative family that offers a variety of Black music, including African Folk songs, Negro Spirituals, Traditional and Contemporary Gospel, Master Choral Works, and original compositions. Its creativity is expressed not only through musical variety, but also through artistic innovation. That is why Kuumba concerts may include poetry, dancing, drama, visual arts, slide shows, instrumental music, and other forms of artistic expression in addition to singing.

Kuumba’s progression over the past 50+ years reminds me of the extended definition of the Swahili word, “Kuumba”: “To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.” Beyond the wildest imaginations of your founders, Kuumba has evolved to become one of the most racially and ethnically diverse student organizations on the Harvard campus. As long as you never forget your roots and always remember your original purpose for being—to celebrate Black creativity and spirituality through song—I know you will continue to leave the space called Harvard, as well as the community and, indeed, the world that surrounds it, better than when you inherited it.

So again, congratulations, Kuumba Singers. You make your predecessors proud. May the same God who brought you through these 50+ years in the wilderness lead you to the Promised Land of growth, prosperity, and success for many more years to come!

Yours in the struggle,
Dennis W. Wiley ’72, MDiv, MPhil, PhD
Kuumba Founder, 1970

Kuumba (v., Swahili): to create.

The Swahili word “kuumba,” meaning “to create,” embodies the choir’s mission: to express the creativity and spirituality of black people through song and other art forms such as dance, poetry and spoken word. The Kuumba Singers explore and share the rich musical culture of black people through spirituals, gospel, African folk songs, and contemporary music.

Black music is a manifestation of the black spirit – it speaks to our every emotion. Moreover, black music helps sustain and direct our culture. It reminds us of our past situation in this country, makes us mindful of the present, and gives us hope and guidance for the future.

Read our full mission statement

 

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