New MCC Council Meets for the First Time

The newly formed MCC Council, composed of a representative from each of the fifty MCC User Groups, convened at the Center in November to conceptualize a vision for the group. After a powerful dialogue, the students conceived the Council as an advocate for the MCC as a safe space; as a coalition-builder between the MCC and marginalized groups on campus; as a mobilizing entity for collaboration across cultures; and as a conduit for student empowerment and outreach to the community at large.

MCC Celebrates its 20th Anniversary!!!

Our 20th Year anniversary has been a blast! Take a look at some photos from our recent Gala event.

For over two decades the MultiCultural Center (MCC) has been committed to presenting cutting-edge programs, fostering diversity of expression, and providing a public forum/ safe space in the struggle against exclusion and discrimination. We have strived to inspire and stimulate thousands of UCSB students, community members, and local organizations to build relationships across differences.

If you would like to support our efforts in breaking down barriers and forging new paths for performance and activism, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the MCC. For more information please contact the Director of Development at 805-893-8542.

Upcoming Events

World Music Series
Winter 2010

Wednesdays at Noon

Music Bowl (outdoors in the Music Department)

Race Matters Series
Racism without Racists: Contemporary Racial Discrimination
in the Age of Obama's "Post-Racial" America
Phil Goff

Monday, February 1, 6:30 pm

Discussion/MCC Lounge

If the United States has made such great strides in reducing racial prejudice, then how does one explain persistent racial disparities? Common social science wisdom explains this disconnect by insisting that racial prejudice has merely "gone underground," that prejudice is still responsible for inequality but is now more subtly expressed. However, given the historically tenuous link between attitudes and behaviors more generally, is it possible that racial discrimination may exist absent racial hostility? Could there be racism without racists? Phil Goff, professor of Social Psychology at UCLA, suggests that there can be, and that developing a language to describe it may be essential to combating it.

I am not a Terrorist

Tuesday, February 2, 5:00pm

Panel Discussion/MCC Lounge

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 resulted in a growing public suspicion and mistrust toward Muslims and Islam. Since then, Middle Easterners are stopped and searched every time they fly, women wearing head scarves have become a target, hate crimes against Muslims have spiked, and Switzerland recently had “the minaret moment” by passing a referendum to ban the nation’s Muslims from building minarets. Kathleen Moore, Professor in Religious Studies at UC Santa Barbara; Edina Lekovic, Communications Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council; and Giselle García, UCSB undergraduate in Middle East Studies, among others, will address topics such as racism and discrimination against these communities, racial profiling, and civil rights.

Cup of Culture - Say My Name

Wednesday, February 3, 6 pm

Film Screening/MCC Theater

In a hip hop and R’n’B world dominated by men and noted for misogyny, the unstoppable female lyricists of Say My Name speak candidly about class, race, and gender in pursuing their passions as female emcees. Nirit Peled, 75 min., English, 2009, UK/USA. Co-sponsored by the Black Student Union and the Women’s Center.

An Evening of Jazz with Sacred Urban Echoes

Friday, February 5, 8 pm

Music Performance/MCC Theater

Iconic figures from the Los Angeles art scene, critically acclaimed vocalist Dwight Trible and award winning performance poet Kamau Daaood present an evening of socially conscious, spirited music and poetry spanning a spectrum from world music, spiritual jazz, to the avant-garde; all rooted deeply in African-American traditions. Celebrating their work together of over twenty years, Daaood and Trible will be supported by some of Los Angeles finest musicians and by members of the UCSB Black Student Union for a truly uplifting, inspiring, and thought provoking evening. Co-sponsored by the Black Student Union and Black Studies. Tickets $5 students / $15 general. Contact the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064.