‘Freedom House’ at 50

Through discussions and dance, poetry and pageants, classes and camaraderie, the Nyumburu Cultural Center has for half a century served as a campus hub for Black social and intellectual interaction.

Nyumburu, meaning “freedom house” in Swahili, opened in 1971 in a World War II-era Army surplus building in the old “gulch” area of campus, yet “was like an instant oasis” for Black Terps, former director James Otis Williams recalled in a 1996 Black Explosion article.

After moving to the South Campus Dining Hall in 1977, Nyumburu settled into its current, more central Campus Drive home in 1996. Over the years, the center, led by Ronald Zeigler Ph.D. ’83 since 2000, has presented lectures and seminars, hosted art exhibits, scholarship pageants and musical performances, and offered academic courses on blues, jazz, creative writing and more.

This fall, staff, alums and student ambassadors are holding a series of reflections, conversations and tours dubbed “Nyumburu at 50: A Legacy of Nurturing and Empowering Students Through Black Cultural Awareness.” It will conclude Oct. 23 with a commemoration program at the center.

Students in 1972 gather in the newly established Nyumburu Cultural Center. (Photo courtesy of Terrapin yearbook)

Nyumburu sponsors the Miss Black Unity pageant, won in 1986 by Paula Gwynn. (Photo courtesy of Terrapin yearbook)

Terps perform at Nyumburu’s Homecoming staple, Juke Joint, in 2019 at the Stamp Student Union. (Photo by Chris Wright)

Nyumburu Cultural Center Director James Otis Williams and university President Brit Kirwan join other UMD administrators in breaking ground on the center’s Campus Drive location in 1994. (Photo courtesy of University Archives)