Nyumburu was founded in 1971 to serve as a “freedom house” for minority students to feel at home and it should be sustained by active engagement by the Diversity & Inclusion administration.

Recently, the Nyumburu Cultural Center at the University of Maryland, College Park experienced a budget cut without negotiation with students, faculty, and internal stakeholders. Dr. Dodge, the Diversity & Inclusion vice president, informed students and faculty connected to the center that a class needs to be dropped from the African-American Studies general education curriculum as well as displacing personnel in the Nyumburu Cultural Center.

If the University of Maryland can spend millions of dollars on new computer science buildings, parking garages, and athletic facilities it can assure its minority students that they have a home at their institution by financially and morally supporting Nyumburu.

The following solutions: include Nyumburu as a stop during new student orientation tours, D&I staff attending more Nyumburu events such as the Homecoming Juke Joint, partnerships with external businesses/recruiters, implement The Five-Point Plan, and open condemnation against racism, hate, and heinous acts at the University of Maryland by Dr. Pines and Dr. Dodge.

A formal letter outlining the five solutions has been sent to Dr. Dodge.

Nyumburu is a vital part of students' university life; acting as a safe space, a hub for art, and a place to find community and friends amongst students who share many of the same life experiences as them.