Since 1968, the Afro-American Cultural Center at the University of Iowa has served as a welcoming and empowering space for the university’s Black students, faculty and staff to find community, engage in activism, receive support and culturally engage with others on and off campus.
Known as Afro House, the center is a space for Black and non-Black students alike to learn about what it means to be a Black person in the world. Over the years, the center has offered programming such as the “Being Black at Iowa” project and Hair to Heart, which not only opens the door for more honest conversations, but also develops students into leaders who have an understanding of their cultural identity, officials said.
“As the years have gone by, society hasn’t fully changed, but this space will always be needed because of the way that society started to evolve,” said Jamal Nelson, coordinator of multicultural programs at the University of Iowa. Afro House continues to be a space that develops leaders, a space that cultivates collaboration between campus partners and a space that “is about the Black community and about the Black experience. And the Black experience does not mean just African-Americans domestically here; we’re also talking about the African Diaspora – all folks who identify in any way as African or African American. This is what this space is here for.”
Although Afro House has evolved with the times, Nelson said Black alumni can still reflect on their college days or visit today and see that in some ways, the house has remained the same.
Dr. Venise Berry, an associate professor of journalism, notes that in the early days of the house during the Civil Rights era, there was more solidarity amongst African-American students.
When Berry first arrived at the university as an undergraduate in the early 1970s, she said Afro House was physically a house where students had dinners, barbeques, parties, study sessions and more together. The director of the house even lived in the upper level, she said.
Over time, Afro House has evolved to become more of a cultural resource center for students, Berry said. The house now includes updated technology and entertainment, a living and dining room, game and study rooms, a library and a fully-stocked kitchen.
