(L–R) Autum Leak, C’23; Niko Simpkins, C’22; Stephanie Hasford, C’22; Mckayla Warwick, C’20; Sia-Linda Lebbie, C’21; Julia Jones, C’23
Harold Milton-Gorvie, C’21, Biruktawit Tibebe, C’21
In Fall 2019, the Black Student League (BSL) published Faces of Black Penn, a photobook highlighting undergraduates in the Black community. Photographers Harold Milton-Gorvie, C’21, and Biruktawit Tibebe, C’21, captured the portraits at the James G. Kaskey Memorial Garden, also known as the BioPond, where students posed wearing earth tones, referencing the BSL’s 2019–2020 theme of “Roots.” The publication showcases the diversity, accomplishments, and talents of Black students.
Christine Olagun-Samuel, C’20, BSL President, says, “Even though we have all these different interests, backgrounds, and perspectives, we were exploring the greater idea of being rooted in your Blackness.”
BSL is a home for students of the African diaspora at Penn. It was originally founded in 1966 as the Society of Afro-American Students.
