Search

This article features Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) at Pennsylvania State University, which uses a model of cultural education and engagement to design and deliver programs and services committed to enhancing the university's cultural climate. This article shares a cultural programming framework that was used to steward change and growth in the PRCC, that will be helpful to cultural centers that struggle for resources and institutional support. The PRCC framework is a five-pronged programming and service delivery strategy developed by the author and his colleague, Clayton Walton, in the Tri-Sector Cultural Practitioners Model. These components are: (1) cultural education; (2) cultural engagement; (3) cultural student development; (4) cultural community building; and (5) cultural environment enhancement.

An ally, as defined by dictionary.com, is "a person, group, or nation that is associated with others for some common cause or purpose." Therefore, allies are people whose orientation is "outside" of the oppressed group. An ally is often a person who recognizes her privileges and works in alliance with members of oppressed groups to stand against oppression. Everyone agrees that allies are important and need to be developed. But what about those people--students, educators, citizens--who are not only allies but also members of oppressed groups? Is there a place at the table of social justice for those who work to create social change by and for the communities to which they belong? In this article, the author argues for including the roles of advocates and agents in higher education's conversation about social justice. His experiences have taught him that there are many types of people, beyond allies, who do important work to advance the cause of social justice. It takes everyone--the whole of the society--to create an egalitarian and pluralistic world. Advocates and agents deserve a seat at the social justice table that they, in many ways, helped to set.

Penn State University's Paul Robeson Cultural Center uses a model of cultural education and engagement to design and deliver all of its programs and services. The strategic nature of this model has resulted in well-received and well-supported offerings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]