Portland State’s Cultural Resource Centers are as much a place of refuge as they are a place of community-building. Whether you’re hanging out during a break between classes, chatting with friends, working on homework or attending one of their many events, the spaces empower you to bring your full self and embrace your history, culture and identity — and experience the same from your peers.
In this blog series, we’re giving you a peek into each of our vibrant, culturally affirming centers on campus — but we hope you’ll check them out for yourself!
The Pan-African Commons (PAC), located in Room 236 of Smith Memorial Student Union, is a community space that reclaims African, Black American, Caribbean, Central/South American and Black identities through programming, resources and identity development.
THE SPACE
PAC’s space embodies community and is set up for all sorts of activities: couches for lounging or napping; clusters of tables for studying, eating or chatting with friends; a kitchenette and a computer lab.
A dark red accent wall adds to the warmth of the space when you walk in. On the walls are a large red and green art piece painted and gifted to the center by a former student, a poster of Malcolm X and a donated piece from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA), the contemporary art museum founded by PSU profs inside a predominantly Black school in Northeast Portland.
Program coordinator Janay Wright says in her first year last year, she focused on creating a space for healing and community, for students to come and just be themselves.
“I could tell with Black students that we kind of spread out for whatever reason, so I tried to emphasize that coming together and trying to strengthen ourselves in one place is really important,” she said.
It’s why the name is so fitting. Pan-Africanism calls for the unity of Africans on the continent and the African diaspora.
“What’s cool about this place is that it’s intentional to not be separate,” Wright said. “Our space needs to be an equal opportunity for African American students, African students and Caribbean students — everyone coming in and feeling comfortable here.”
This year, Wright’s been focusing on building up the student leadership team and student clubs who call the space home — the Black Student Union, the brand-new Somali Student Association and the Association of African Students, which is currently on pause after the executive board graduated last year. PAC also partners with the Muslim Student Association on events.
WHO’S ON AUX?
As is true of all the cultural resource centers, PAC is not a noise-controlled space.
Students roast each other in good fun and keep the music flowing. The music podium is up for grabs so anybody who wants to play music can just go up and play their own thing. On any given day, you’ll hear anything from Taylor Swift to G Herbo.
“I’m really happy that students feel the freedom to play whatever they want here,” Wright said. “And they speak up for themselves. We have different religions represented so if they feel like it’s too much, they’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s not something I can listen to right now.’ We learn to ebb and flow with it.”
WHAT KEEPS STUDENTS COMING BACK
Junior Amel Osman, who is president of the Somali Student Association, says PAC is her comfort place and you’ll find her there most days, if not every day.
“Whenever I come to school, I come here,” she said. “I socialize with my friends, do work. You can do anything here.” Even dance battles with friends, she says.
Sophomore Dative Uwajeneza, a PAC student lead who helps plan events, says she started frequenting the center in her first year at PSU when a friend shared that it was a place to be with other Black students. Now, she finds herself there most days between classes.
“It’s like a community that you come home to,” she said.
She enjoys the events PAC puts on from ones that prompt important conversations about Black male mental health awareness to the weekly game nights.
SIGNATURE EVENTS
Fall: PAC & PIAAA’s Birthday
Winter: Black History Month is different each year but includes a packed calendar of events (this week, don’t miss BSU: For Us By Us Celebration on Feb. 28!)
Spring: Black Graduation
PAC is open Mondays-Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Follow PAC on Instagram @pacpdx.
All photos by Jeremy Chun Sajqui