Diversity and Discontent

Last spring, the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College performed in a ceremony to honor South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his struggle against apartheid.

“What impressed me even more than your mellifluous voices was the extent of the diversity of your membership,” Tutu soon wrote in a thank you e-mail to the group. “That was such a splendid visual aid!”

It was a sight that would not have existed a decade or two ago. The faces of Kuumba—as well as many of the other cultural- and ethnic-specific artistic groups on campus—have diversified their membership dramatically in the past few years.

According to their original constitution, “the Kuumba Singers were organized in November 1970 as a channel through which black students could direct their creative energies…as a needed source of unity and strength bringing black students together on a regular basis.”

It has been over 32 years, and the once-narrow membership of the organization has expanded its boundaries considerably. Today, five of the 11 acting officers in Kuumba are not black.

In Mizmor Shir, a Jewish a cappella music group affiliated with Harvard Hillel, two of the 12 members aren’t themselves Jewish.

The director of the upcoming Asian American Association Players production is white.

Caucasian dancers are springing up in the Asian American Dance Troupe.

And these changes inevitably spark questions from students inside and outside the group about the effects of such diversity on the groups. The groups also wrestle with issues of how comfortable people feel having traditionally ethnic art forms opened up to a wider range of performers.

While most students emphasize that all the groups try to be welcoming, and that there is truly a sense of community, many still point to underlying racial tensions and discomfort, both within the group and with audiences.

The Push to Diversify

Most Kuumba members firmly assert that their increased diversity is a genuine move towards racial harmony.

Many members further say that within the group, there is absolute unity and openness to the addition of non-black members.

Shelby J. Braxton-Brooks ’03, who has been in Kuumba for two years, says that “in Kuumba, we celebrate black history, and anyone can do that.”

“If you want to learn the music, you want to learn the history of the music, then you’re welcome,” she says.

Some members say that Kuumba is no longer as easily identified with a single cultural standard.

Most Kuumba members, however, were not around when a 1998 issue of The Harvard Salient published a highly controversial article entitled “Scherzo of Stereotypes,” which mentioned accusations of racism within Kuumba.

The article quoted an e-mail written by a Kuumba member, who wrote, “The pain comes not just from white people not swaying right, it comes from the fact that we are sharing a multicultural experience, not a Black one like we are supposed to.”

Today, the group’s general attitude toward non-blacks’ participation is more accepting.

But a handful of Kuumba singers say the subject of race has not disappeared into the flurry of spirituals and gospel praises in the past five years.

“Under the surface it is certainly an issue,” said a Kuumba member who requested anonymity, “and I don’t understand how anyone who’s in Kuumba and not black could not think about it.”

Kuumba President Johanna N. Paretzky ’03—who is Jewish and once sang with Mizmor Shir—declined to comment for this story.

Learning the Culture

Although no public controversy has emerged since the Salient article, some say they see a more widespread race-related concern: non-blacks’ own fears about accurately performing the art of another culture.

Jorge C. Montoy ’04, the musicians’ representative for Kuumba, says in an e-mail that he feels anxious while performing, “especially as part of the musical leadership of the choir.”

n e-mail, “to locate and engage in intense cultural experiences as a Caucasian American of western European descent.”

Both say that their concerns are rooted in their own reflections, and not in issues within the group itself. They both say the other Kuumba singers convince them that they belong.

But non-black Kuumba members are certainly not alone when it comes to apprehension over performing another culture’s art.

Members of many cultural groups on campus report that they sometimes feel pressured when performing the art of an ethnic group to which they don’t belong.

When Katherine E. Bishop ’05 joined the Asian-American Dance Troupe last year, she says she had an “initial reluctance to participate in something to which I had no cultural connection.” While she now says that this reluctance was unfounded, other groups are still grappling with the issue of diversity, especially when it comes to redefining the art they are exhibiting.

The Harvard Bhangra Team, led by Apurva K. Patel ’03, has been displaying their contemporary brand of the traditional Punjabi dance for years, but this is the first semester in which a slim majority of the members have no Indian roots.

While Patel says he is “excited” about the group’s sudden diversity, he says he’s concerned about the widening gap between the traditional form of Bhangra and the team’s modern interpretation. Not one of the 12 members is from the area of India where the dance originated, and none can speak Punjabi, the native language of Bhangra songs.

“There definitely is that danger of losing something,” Patel says. “You don’t want it not to be Bhangra anymore.”

Within the group, there is division over the issue, Patel says. Some have pushed for more conventional forms for “ideological reasons, like maintaining the purity of Punjabi culture,” and others consider the adaptation to other cultures a necessary element.

Patel says that gradual changes to the dance are necessary to keep it relevant in today’s society, but says “there are indeed Punjabi cultural values, and we should be careful not to lose sight of those as the dance evolves.”

Watching from Outside

But more than internal tensions, Patel says one of the biggest challenges cultural groups face is dealing with audiences whose expectations are not met.

While Bhangra is affected on a relatively small scale—Patel says people outside the group often casually joke about the dearth of non-Punjabi South Asians on the team—other groups say the problem arises at nearly every show.

One Kuumba singer says people frequently joke, “there are no black people in Kuumba.”

But sometimes the questions are more personal.

Massa says she’s frequently asked to explain her participation in Kuumba.

“People often want you explain why you’re choosing to perform in a group that focuses on a culture different from your own,” she says. “You sometimes feel that you have to justify your decision.”

Bishop says she had similar confrontations with her peers after joining the Asian American Dance Troupe (AADT).

“People usually are really taken aback by it,” she says. “I think some of them think there might be something wrong with me.”

Bishop says she suspects that behind the bewildered looks may show a deeper bias against ethnic groups that defy popular expectations of homogeneity.

She says she doubts that the popularity of the AADT would continue if the majority of the performers were white.

“I think you probably wouldn’t get as many offers to perform if it were more open,” she says. “Part of the performance is seeing what they think is an Asian person. So when they see me, it’s kind of like I don’t fit the bill.”

Though Bishop says she is never deterred from sticking with the group out of discomfort, many performers say they find themselves “discriminated” against for their nonconformity.

Frances E. Millican ’05, who is white and recently joined the AADT, writes in an e-mail that her membership is sometimes questioned.

“Due to the appearances of these organizations as being solely for the purpose of ethnic solidarity, which is only one of their functions, people don’t understand what benefit I gain from participation,” she says.

And other students never even consider joining an organization with a cultural tradition different to their own.

For example, few non-Christians have auditioned for Under Construction, the campus’s only Christian a cappella group, although co-leader David Y. Chen ’03 says that anyone is welcome to audition.

Chen says that they never target a specific group in their flyers.

“We’re a Christian a cappella group. It doesn’t specifically say like, ‘Hey, are you Christian? Come sing for our group!’”

He says that non-Christians don’t audition because it’s a “very self-selecting group.”