When Jamesville-DeWitt High School seniors attend the Class of 2022 Commencement Ceremony, 18 of their peers will be wearing a colorful stole of great meaning that was presented to them June 4 during the high school’s annual Kente Cloth Ceremony.
Graduating college students often wear stoles to indicate their affiliation with a fraternity, sorority, an academic society or to represent their field of study. A Kente stole is worn to recognize the academic and cultural achievements of graduating Black, African-American and African students and displays the colorful, intricately woven patterns of the traditional West African Kente cloth.
To earn a Kente stole, J-D students must meet the following requirements:
- Perform 20 hours of community service.
- Attend at least two guest speaker presentations that are part of the Kente Club’s Sankofa Speaker Series, which includes prominent community leaders.
- Create a slideshow to be shown during the Kente ceremony highlighting their journey to graduation.
That’s a lot of work for the club’s seniors since many of them have part-time jobs after school or stay after school for academic, extracurricular or athletic activities, said Sabrina Scott, a J-D teaching assistant who advises the Kente Club and the school’s UMOJA Club, which puts on the Kente Cloth Ceremony.
The UMOJA Club endeavors to build unity among African-American students, others from culturally diverse backgrounds and the larger school community. Programming is designed with the intention of increasing respect for self and others and developing an understanding and appreciation for multiculturalism.
Scott said they hold the Kente Cloth Ceremony, which also includes awards for the seniors, separate from the school’s commencement. It’s important that the students have a day focused on their accomplishments in context of their heritage, she said.
“I feel like our ancestors have paved a way for these African-American kids to sit in these seats in a suburban school district,” Scott said. “For the students to sit here and have people honor them is their ancestors’ wildest dreams.”
The ceremony was held in the high school auditorium and included speakers, music and dance featuring Adowa, a popular traditional dance in Ghana that is performed at celebrations.
J-D High School will hold its annual commencement ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at the Onondaga County Civic Center. There are 240 candidates for graduation in the Class of 2022.
Class of 2022 Kente Club Honorees
Addis Tupper: Spelman College
Andrea Butler: Onondaga Community College
Avery Porch: Workforce
Daniel Annan: Niagara University
Davion Howe: Workforce
Dennis Galstian: Onondaga Community College/Alfred University
Jorge Gonzalez: LeMoyne College
Emanuel Consuegra-Artigas: LeMoyne College
Garrett Williams: Workforce
Hamza Hassan: LeMoyne College
Janis McPeak: Syracuse University
Kali Leslie: Northeastern University
Keaton Hudgins: Workforce
Lanae McKinney: Workforce
Larissa Muddiman: LeMoyne College
Ntumba Mwepo: University of Buffalo
Gabriel Sidibe: Workforce
Nana Winwah: Boston College
The Significance of the Kente Stole
The Kente Stole is a multicolored hand-woven style of cloth that originated in Ghana, West Africa. It is traditionally worn draped over the shoulders during ceremonies to represent an accomplishment, graduation or other rite of passage. Adapted from Ghana tradition, this garment was once only worn by royalty.
The colors in the Kente cloth each hold symbolism:
Gold: Status/Serenity
Yellow: Fertility
Green: renewal
Red: Passion
Black: Union with ancestors/Spiritual Awareness
The ideographic symbol represented on this year’s Jamesville-DeWitt Kente Stole is knowledge, lifelong education.
Jamesville-DeWitt High School Kente Club
The Jamesville-DeWitt High School Kente Club is a long-standing right of passage program for J-D seniors. A major feature of the Kente Club is the Sankofa Speaker Series. Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana that can be translated to mean, “go back to the past and bring forward that which is useful.” Kente participants hear from distinguished leaders from the community and learn how connecting the past with the present allows them to be more effective at transforming their lives and their communities.
The Kente Club has a long standing partnership with Club Umoja, a Kiswahili word meaning unity. In the spirit of togetherness, members of both clubs participate in interactive and stimulating activities that are centered on relationship building, community engagement and personal and academic growth.