What are the cultural centers?
The cultural centers at Yale serve as gathering places for communities of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The centers foster a sense of cultural identity, encourage student leadership, facilitate critical reflection, and stimulate informed action and social justice advocacy. They also act as social hubs and community bases for students, supplementing the social environment of the larger Yale College community.
Cultural centers house student organizations and host meetings, plays, art exhibits, and parties. In addition to meeting space, each center offers a library, a kitchen, computers, and a variety of other facilities. Each center is led by a director who is also an assistant dean of Yale College.
Founded in 1969, the Afro-American Cultural Center was Yale College’s first cultural center. Referred to as the House, it served as a model then for La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos, the Latino Cultural Center in 1977 and later the Asian American Cultural Center and the Native American Cultural Center.
For more information on the cultural centers, visit the Yale College website here.
Afro-American Cultural Center (“Af-Am House”)
The Afro-American Cultural Center is a community of African American scholar-leaders committed to preserving and promoting the historical, cultural, intellectual and social movement traditions of the African Diaspora. The House supports students in their development as scholars, leaders, people of service. Visit their website here.
Asian American Cultural Center (AACC)
The Asian American Cultural Center supports the thriving Asian and Asian American presence at Yale. AACC encourages our students to take an active role in shaping their learning experiences and exploration of identity. The AACC honors the vibrant and complex cultures, histories, and experiences of the Asian and Asian American community at Yale. Visit their website here.
La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos, the Latino Cultural Center
La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos, the Latino Cultural Center at Yale, offers Yale students and community members a rich variety of social, academic, and cultural resources in a vibrant and welcoming environment. La Casa promotes a sense of unity among Latinx people at Yale, and supports Yale students in matters of scholarship, identity exploration, leadership, and social awareness. Visit their website here.
Native American Cultural Center (NACC)
The Native American Cultural Center supports a prominent and thriving Indigenous presence at Yale College. The Center fosters a sense of community for students, one that involves encouragement, mentoring, and service. NACC cultivates student identity and leadership through such shared values as accountability, transparency, assertiveness, and honesty, and pride in culture. Visit their website here.