African Heritage Club offers cultural exploration opportunity for all

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have noticed the influx of African Heritage club posters affixed to lockers, walls, and ceilings throughout West. The club is the creation of senior foreign exchange student Walid Lakdari. When Lakdari began his year studying abroad, he set out on a mission to learn more about different African cultures and identities. Hoping to form a community of like-minded individuals, he founded the African Heritage club. 

“I come from Morocco, which is a country in North Africa,” Lakdari said. “We don’t really connect that much to cultures in other areas of Africa.” 

Eager to change this, Lakdari embarked on a mission to form the club. 

 “I myself am not very informed about African culture,” he said. “I know we have a lot of students from Oshkosh West who have African heritage, so I thought it would be helpful to discover more about all the different cultures.” 

Although Lakdari initially had a narrow target audience, he soon realized the possibilities with a widespread crowd. 

“I was thinking my target audience was anyone who had an African heritage,” he said. “But then when I founded the club, I realized that most people who came were actually African students.”

Lakdari reevaluated his approach to recruiting new members after this revelation. 

“It changed the goals of the group and made it more of an opportunity for African Americans to discover a certain identity that may have been lost,” he said.

Some may shy away from joining the club since they are not of African descent, but Lakdari encourages anyone to join, no matter their ethnic background. 

“The club also welcomes students without any African heritage to learn about different cultures, correct potential misconceptions, and build cultural flexibility and acceptance,” he said. “Students are such an integral part of the community and should be part of finding solutions to the issues African communities face.”

Senior Robert Valero is appreciative of the laid-back and friendly environment of the club. 

“It’s not really a super high commitment, and you can choose how active you want to be,” he said.

Even with the comfortable setting, students have a wide variety of opportunities available in the club.

“There’s a lot of different events you can get involved in if you have time, but you’re not going to be expected to show up to every event,” Valero said. 

Along with participating in these events, junior Abdul Majeed Abbara appreciates that the club provides a chance to socialize. 

“Those who are potentially joining the club should bring a friend to hang out and talk to. There are many other people in the African Heritage Club that you can meet,” he said.

In addition to learning about different African cultures, the club consistently celebrates their backgrounds by reaching out to the student body. Lakdari is excited about the wide variety of ways in which the club fosters a sense of community and identity.

“We have school activities like potlucks and spirit weeks. They’re engaging for students,” he said. “We also reach out to individuals in the community with African backgrounds so that we can learn from and communicate with them.” 

The club gives students the opportunity to share their findings on African culture. 

“We have the African Post we share,” he said. “It’s an online newspaper that students can participate in writing on.”

Valero appreciates the club’s pursuit of knowledge.

“I’m not a person with African Heritage,” he said. “But it's just interesting to learn about the many different cultures and traditions that are part of the continent of Africa.” 

Majeed Abbara shares similar sentiment in learning more about the wide array of these often underrepresented cultures.   

“What I enjoy most about the African Heritage Club is the interesting history and rich culture we learn about,” he said. “It is fascinating to learn about something not many people discuss.” 

As Lakdari’s foreign exchange year comes to a close, the club is looking for a new successor. He hopes that the club's legacy will carry on in his absence. 

“I will be leaving very soon,” he said. “I would love for there to be a very engaged person leading the club after me.”

Lakdari sees some qualities as essential for an effective leader.

“We just need someone to have the club members engaged and listen to their ideas about how to improve the productivity and impact of the club,” Lakdari said. “We need someone who will take the initiative to communicate with members in the community and find new opportunities for the club to spread its impact.” 

Ultimately, Lakdari looks forward to the club being a safe environment for the exchange of various cultures and ideas.  

“I would like to see it being a space for people to really express their culture without having to compare it to other cultures and sometimes be ashamed of it,” he said. “I want people to discuss and find potential solutions for issues that minorities face within the community or on a larger scale.”

By Max Carlin and Nyle Dar

Oshkosh West Index Volume 118 Issue 8

May 23rd, 2022