Upperman African American Cultural Center

We kick off our first Black Friday of 2018 as we help provide information on, and debunk myths surrounding Financial Aid and scholarships so students make the right money moves. Also get your competitive juices flowing for some Monopoly while we’re at it. Co-sponsored by the UNCW Office of Financial Aid and Coast 97.3.

22 | MLK Celebration:
Freedom in All Keys
7 p.m., Kenan Auditorium

The entire day is filled with music that seeks to remind us of the need for social justice, activism, and love for our communities.  Join the Upperman center all day long as students, staff, faculty, and local community leaders engage in Freedom Music Monday, which seeks to explore message music along a variety of genres.   After which, join us in the evening for our annual Martin Luther King Observance, “Freedom! In All Keys,” as Mike Brown and F.O.C.U.S. provide a contemporary gospel sound that is borne out of that unique Charleston Gullah culture. 

Join the Upperman Center to UPPGrade your resume! The most important marketing tool for your internship and job search. Make the most of your work experience and discover how to use references to your advantage.

Blues, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Hip-Hop: American music has always been touched, shaped and brought to life by black hands. This Black Friday is dedicated to Highlighting the musical achievements of Grammy nominated and Grammy awarded black artists. Co-sponsored by Coast 97.3.

On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated outside of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. What happened inside room 306 on the evening of April 3rd is the subject of Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop. Hours after King’s final speech, punctuated by his immortal line, “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” the celebrated Reverend forms an unlikely friendship with a motel maid as they talk into the early hours of what will be his final day. An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring: Aja Naomi King as Larry Powell. Directed by Roger Guenveur Smith.  Join us for this amazing performance.

Julie Dash’s iconic work tells the story of sea island who must cross over to the mainland. It is a fictional work set in the Gullah coast, directed by one of the first African American women directors in Hollywood.  This indie film is so iconic that Beyonce’s Lemonade visual finds inspiration from this 1991 film.  Join us for a viewing of “Daughters of the Dust. 

Present the best version of YOU for every professional setting by learning how to dress for interviews and professional events. Looking the park is one of the first steps to land that new job or to make valuable networking contacts.

Think Fashion, Spoken Word Poetry, Live Music, and Hip Hop DJs too.  That’s what you have with Poetry in Motion as it seeks to showcase through several forms of artistic medium the beauty of UNCW’s own community.  Join us for this collaborative effort to kickoff Homecoming with a Multi-media influenced fashion show.

Everybody will be there…because it’s homecoming.  And any time you go home, there must be good food, and line dancing.  Join the Upperman Center that welcomes alums home for a full out family affair. Co-sponsored by Coast 97.3.

“Laissez les bon temps rouler” or let the Good times roll at this year’s Etched in Gold Mixer. Replete with Second Line, Live Band, and a DJ, Join us for this masked All Black Affair as The Upperman Center and the Black Graduate & Professional Student Association Seeks To Host an event that brings Alumni together over sumptuous cocktails and libations.  Also, a silent auction of Venita Jenkins’ artwork will be a part of the celebration. Tickets are $20.  All proceeds to benefit Upperman’s programming slate.

Join the Upperman African American Cultural Center and AAGA as the engage in an hour of reflection and celebration through faith and community.  The center welcome’s back Elder Daryl Jones ’93, of the Union Baptist Church to offer a sermonic rendering as both Alumni and Students sing together in a combined effort.

Bin Yah: There’s No Place Like Home is a documentary presented by The ChasDOC Film Society that explores the potential loss of important historic African American communities in Mt. Pleasant, S.C due to growth and development. Through the testimonies of the residents themselves, the film explores the culture, the history, the importance of land and the concept of home, giving a voice to those who seldom have had a chance to be heard.

Join the Upperman Center as we journey to see Black Panther on Opening Night.  Please sign up by visiting the center.

In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, two national motorcycle festivals are held over the weeks around the Memorial Day holiday. One festival is primarily white, the other is predominantly black. While bikers of both colors enjoy both festivals, the city, community, and state have a vastly different way of looking at these two festivals, creating a divide among the participants, business owners, and residents. Against the backdrop of the historical relevance of the area’s segregated past, this documentary explores opposing viewpoints on segregation and integration, mutual love of motorcycle culture, and racial tensions that reach a boiling point every spring in this southern beach mecca.

Many Minorities subtly and instinctively change the way they express themselves all the time. We hop-scotch between different cultural and linguistic spaces and different parts of our own identities — sometimes within a single interaction. Join the Upperman Center as we discuss the pro’s and con’s of code switching.

4 - 11 | Travelin’ Round De Ben:
A Gullah Spring Break Trip

Join us for a trip through the Sea Islands as we embark to learn about the ways in which Gullah-Geechee culture impacts religion, food, land, culture, politics, language, travel, and music.  Students will taste, see, and learn about the many ways we are impacted by the unique Gullah-Geechee Culture that runs from North Carolina through Florida. Please sign up in the center and a deposit of $75 covers your student costs.

Join the Upperman Center as we share what employers are looking for in their new hires. We will teach you how to successfully master interviews by providing information such as tips, salary negotiating, and guidance.

16 | Black Friday: A Taste of Savannah 
12 p.m., Upperman Center

Fresh off our spring break trip down the Gullah corridor, re-connect with the Upperman Center as we explore the sights and sounds of The Hostess City of the South: Savanah, Georgia, specifically it’s ties to our Gullah Coast during this Black Friday. Get ready for some fried green tomatoes, bottle trees, red rice and everything that Savanah has to offer. Co-sponsored by Coast 97.3.

Join us for an interactive Gullah-Geechee Pop Up Museum that helps students, faculty, and staff understand life on the Sea Islands.  Students bring alive the Pop-Up Museum by serving as narrators.

Join us in a day that celebrates your inner and outer nerd as we veer into Afro-Futurism, comics/graphic novels, vintage and neo-gaming…and literally all things cool about being a dope Black introvert. Co-sponsored by Coast 97.3.

Knowing basic dining etiquette can assist you in an interview or business meeting conducted over a meal. Join the Upperman Center for an interactive workshop and dinner while we provide you with the tools necessary for proper dining etiquette and give insights and practical tips about what networking is and how to tap into the power of networking.

This Black Friday, Upperman invites to you journey down with us to Cuba to explore all things Afro-Latino and have a special musical performance celebrating the legacy and impact of Mario Bauzá, famed Afro-Cuban Musician. Co-Sponsored by Centro Hispano.

Navassa is only 5 miles west of the historic City of Wilmington, and is located in one of the fastest growing regions in the United States. In fact, Navassa is becoming one of the fastest growing communities in Brunswick County and is in the center of the county's rapid expansion.  Navassa was incorporated in 1977. Since 1999, the town has been under the leadership of Eulis A. Willis…and the town is known as one of the most significant NC Gullah communities.  Come listen to Mayor Eulis A Willis talk about our proximity to Gullah communities and current day needs and trends.