---
title: ‘Freedom House’ at 50
date: 2021-10-21T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/freedom-house-at-50"
section: Articles
---
# ‘Freedom House’ at 50

*October 21, 2021* — by [Annie Krakower](/author/annie-krakower)


> Nyumburu Celebrates Milestone Anniversary as Center for Black Culture on Campus

*Black Terps Matter March 06252020 SC 0377 1920x1080 — Students congregate at the Nyumburu Cultural Center Amphitheater after a Black Terps Matter protest in June 2020.*

Through discussions and dance, poetry and pageants, classes and camaraderie, the [Nyumburu Cultural Center](http://nyumburu.umd.edu/) 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](https://digital.lib.umd.edu/student-newspapers/id/b2b62018-816f-4e79-a161-bd65204bbf15?relpath=pcdm&query=nyumburu%20AND%20building).

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 Cultural Center at 50: A Legacy of Nurturing and Empowering Students Through Black Cultural Awareness.” On Saturday, the center will hold its hybrid 50th anniversary celebration, with speeches, entertainment and a few surprises in store.


*Students in 1972 gather in the newly established Nyumburu Cultural Center.*



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*Dancer*



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*Terps perform at Juke Joint*



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*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.*



**Sidebar note:**

The Nyumburu Cultural Center will host its hybrid 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday from 6:30-8 p.m. Register to join in virtually at [go.umd.edu/n50](http://go.umd.edu/n50).





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)



**Units:** [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs), [Nyumburu Cultural Center](https://today.umd.edu/topic/nyumburu-cultural-center-0)