California State University, Northridge will celebrate Africana Studies Week beginning Nov. 1, with a special plaque commemoration of the founding faculty of the department, and will culminate the celebration on Nov. 4 with a lecture and alumni panel discussion.

This year’s theme is “55th Anniversary: Cementing our Legacy.” It aims to highlight the historical value of memory and Sanfoka. The word “Sanfoka” comes from the Akan ethnic group of Ghana and means, “It is not taboo to go back for what you forgot or left behind.”

Africana studies professor Cedric Hackett, director of the Dubois-Hamer Institute of Academic Achievement, said the theme “encourages us to look back at our roots in order to lead the future.”

“By commemorating our founding members and the students who put their lives at risk to ensure that we have more faculty and staff who resemble them, we protect our cultural legacy and encourage the next generation to continue this tradition,” Hackett said.

Marquita Gammage, chair of CSUN’s Department of Africana Studies, said honoring the legacy also means accepting the responsibility of advancing intellectual study of Africana phenomena, empowering students and Africana communities, and challenging the many forms of oppression of African people throughout the world.

“We do not take lightly the importance of this moment,” Gammage said. “Many Africana studies departments and programs are being eliminated, underfunded, and are under attack.

On Nov. 1, the third annual ceremony marking the dedication of a plaque honoring the department’s founding faculty will be held at 11:30 a.m. between Jerome Richfield and Sierra Halls. At 12:20 p.m., participants will march to the Black House to conclude the dedication, as well as honor faculty who have recently passed.

On Nov. 4, Selase Williams will lecture on “Cementing our Legacy,” at 12 p.m. in the Lake View Terrace Room of the University Student Union, located on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge.  Following the lecture, an alumni panel discussion will take place, featuring Tyrone “T-Fox” Fox, Dynasty Taylor, Shante Morgan, Patrick Johnson, and Dr. Carroll Brown III.

For more information, contact the Department of Africana Studies, which is housed in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, at 818-677-3311 or AfricanaStudies@csun.edu