Event: Reopening of the Davis Center at Williams College (Panel and Party)
Date: Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13, 2024
Kicks of Choice: Nike ACG Air Mowabb (Friday)
Thoughts captured on April 21, 2024
What’s the good word!
So this was definitely an unexpected surprise, but one that was much welcomed! In the midst of a conversation that went left about DJing an event for a Williams reunion, one of my good friends on campus, Leticia, was like, “nah, that ain’t it! I’m gonna include you in what I’m working on.” What started as a failed event turned into two different events for an even better cause. The Davis Center at Williams College (when I was there, it was the “MCC”: the Multicultural Center), along with Rice House (the Black Student Union) and Jenness House went through a multimillion dollar renovation. Once Leticia remembered I was moving around doing book talks, she asked me to sit on a panel for the reopening of Rice House, and then DJ the Reopening Block Party for the Davis Center. And with that in mind, I was off to my alma mater for Bolin Weekend.
The panel (which had me in conversation with Dr. VaNatta S. Ford in the Africana Studies Department) examined “K for the Way” and its importance to DJ culture in retrospect. This was important because the panel was located in the room in Rice House where I used to DJ all the BSU parties. It was surreal and brought back plenty of flashbacks – but it was also the exact way I connected my early college DJ years to the work I do as a writer, researcher and professor now.
After the panel, I was able to attend the Davis Center reception. This year, Bolin Legacy Mentoring Weekend for Alumni of Color coincided with the Williams College Board of Trustees meeting, so that allowed me to connect with a few old and new board members that I know (shout out to George and Jeff), as well as to meet a few other board members and alumni who donated to the Davis Center Renovation Project.
On Saturday, after a day full of panels, lectures, mingling sessions and events, I DJed the Davis Center Block Party with Williams College senior DJ C.J. We were able to go back and forth playing a lot of bangers for the party people! Williams was without question a difficult place for me as an undergrad. But I’ve always said it was the best educational experience I’ve had – it set me up for being able to explore my passions outside of the box, but still remain committed to rigor and academic excellence at the highest level. I was also at Williams when I had my first teaching internship (during Winter Study at Community Preparatory School in Providence, RI) and when I received my first fellowship (the Rockefeller Brothers Fellowship for Minorities Entering the Teaching Profession). Without Williams, there definitely would not have been Harvard Graduate School of Education or St. John’s University. It’s also the model I use for my courses – my goal is to give my students in CUNY as close to a Williams classroom experience as possible.
When I look back on it now, I really appreciate the longstanding friendships and deep-rooted connections I made while at Williams. Without question, there are parts of “K for the Way” that couldn’t have been written or even imagined without my Williams experience. So it was extraordinarily special to be back in conversations about DJing and then rocking the Davis Center Block Party. “K for the Way” continues to grant me exciting opportunities to connect with students, faculty and staff across a variety of spaces. And I’m really glad I could come back and pay a little bit of that forward in this moment. Super shout out to Leticia – not only for inviting me up for the weekend, but also making sure this rehabilitation project on campus got the funding it deserved!!! And shout out to Clinton and Bilal and all the folks making the Davis Center go!!! Continue to do that amazing work, for real.
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