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Born in Oroville, just twenty miles southeast of Chico, Ajamu Lamumba, the Associated Students programming coordinator, has stayed on the move–and in the area–all at the same time. He and his three brothers moved with their foster family forty miles west to rural Orland when he was young. They were the only African American family in Orland at the time and worked a small farm. For Lamumba (known then as George Jefferson), life “could be a little rough.” When he was in ninth grade, though, he had an opportunity to participate in Chico State’s Upward Bound program for educationally and economically disadvantaged youth. He seized the chance, and it had a profound effect on his future. “It opened my eyes to higher education. It showed me what college was all about,” he explained. After participating in Upward Bound for four years, Lamumba enrolled at Chico State. He tried “a whole mess of different majors” before settling on psychology. One of his favorite classes was Blacks in Politics, taught by Rich McLenney. “He was one of the few Black teachers I had, and his class really opened my eyes to the struggles of Black people,” Lamumba said. Another important influence in his education was his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi. Lamumba credits his experience in the organization for helping him stick with it through six years of college: “The lessons I learned in the fraternity provided the support I needed to get through.” While a student, Lamumba was active in student government, serving three years on the Multicultural and Student Affairs Commission. As he neared graduation, he planned on moving out of the area. He applied for jobs in San Diego and Sonoma–but Chico State wouldn’t let him get away that easily. A position as a residence hall director for University Housing opened up, and Lamumba saw another opportunity. “I thought I’d be far away from Butte County after graduation,” he said. “But I looked at the opportunity here and jumped on it.” After two years in that position, another opportunity arose. He picked up several job announcements at the Placement Office and noticed one for a programming director for the Associated Students at Chico State. “I was walking across campus, reading this job description, and said, ‘Hey, I can do that!’” And, except for a brief stint as assistant director with the Upward Bound Program in 1995-96, he’s been excelling at it ever since. As AS. programming coordinator, Lamumba advises the student committee that brings concerts, films, speakers, and novelty performances to campus. He strives for diversity and balance in programming. “We think it’s important for people to hear all sides of an issue,” he explained. In the last few years Lamumba has helped bring Maya Angelou, Daryl Gates, B.B. King, Timothy Leary, Spike Lee, Los Lobos, Winnie Mandela, Ralph Nader, Edward James Olmos, Phish, and Cornell West to CSU, Chico. While the students he works with are very much involved with planning the events, it is Lamumba who shoulders the responsibility for the success of the programs. If a performance fails to draw enough students, he has to take the heat. The AS. subsidizes most events, so it’s not the money that’s most important. “We’re concerned with how much an event costs per student, but the important thing is how many students are served by the event,” Lamumba explained. “It’s the students’ money and the students’ program, but I’m here to provide guidance.” He works with agents, University Facilities Management and Services, University Police, Public Events, the Student Union Operations staff, and the students–“everything from budget to clean-up.” Lamumba added, “I also have to assess our programs. If we have an event and no one comes, I have to figure out why–to make sure future programs are successful.” That assessment can be challenging at times. Once, Lamumba scheduled a hypnotist who had sold out five earlier performances at Chico. They had to turn away more than sixty people at the previous show, so Lamumba booked a larger hall for this last performance. But far fewer people showed up for this one. “Maybe it was burnout,” he speculated, “but I had to figure out why they didn’t come.” The two lectures Lamumba is most proud of are Maya Angelou’s, which drew 2400–the largest crowd in AS. history–and Edward James Olmos’s because of his powerful message and his interest in students. Olmos stayed until 12:45 a.m. talking with students and signing autographs. Lamumba clearly takes pride in his work, but you can get the biggest smile from him by asking about his wife, Cara, and their three-year-old daughter, Jasmine. Just make sure you have plenty of time, because he’s likely to whip out his wallet and show you pictures of Jasmine–at one month, at two months, at…. Casey Huff, Publications Office
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