The first week of November was a lively one with many expected alumni and events taking place for the 2022 Multicultural Alumni Reunion (MCAR). The Multicultural Alumni Association hosted a myriad of events including the MCAR Celebrate event and the Multicultural Fraternity and Sorority Brunch for AU alumni and current AU students in hopes to celebrate, reconnect, and unify the diverse cultural identities of AU’s community. Additionally, MCAR in conjunction with the campaign for American University called Change Can’t Wait, encouraged people who have a stake in the AU community to donate to AU’s equity-based funds and AU’s commitment to Inclusive Excellence.
As classes were occurring during the first week of November, droves of eager AU alumni and changemakers attended the events planned for the Reunion. To kick off the reunion celebration on Thursday, November 3rd, the association planned an event called STRIKE Change! Bowling Meet and Greet. Subsequently, the next planned events were the Mosaic Gala and the MCAR Changemakers Breakfast. Notably, during the Mosaic Gala, the formally dressed attendants danced to known Black dances such as the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha slide, and the Electric Slide. The attendants even participated in the newly famous dance– Cuff It challenge.
For the MCAR Celebrate event in the School of International Service Atrium, the attendees heard the beating of African drums played by Professor Kouyate and saw performances from Les Coeurs D’Afrique, AU Agni, and K-District. All the performances were culturally based with Les Coeurs D’Afrique infusing African and African-American styled dances into their performance. As for AU Agni and K-District, they performed dances based in South Asian and Korean culture, respectively. In the spirit of celebrating some of the amazing cultures represented by current students and alumni, Dr. Fanta Aw closed the event with an important word to the diverse alumni population: “My message to each and every one of you is please come home. Come home. Again and again. We need you. We need your best thinking, we need your allyship, and we need your inspiration.”
Photo Credit: https://www.american.edu/alumni/news/mcar-2021-recap.cfm
