I chose New Mexico State University Black Programs for this cultural analysis assignment. I selected this program because I have little knowledge of the African American culture. What I learned from my visit to their office is that they have a well-defined set of personal values that guide their operations. Their personal values in the office have been used to shape the program. Basically, they exist to be a strong support system for African American students. They believe that education goes way beyond the classroom, and that minority students need to be supported in all facets of life.
The values of this office include, but are not limited to, the following: Inclusiveness, Kindness, Equity, Fairness, Competence, Responsibility, Integrity, and Leadership. When I walked in the office, even though I am not African American, I was greeted by smiles and friendly faces. When I told them why I was there, they offered some insight about how the values mentioned above created the culture of the office. They dress casually because their target population (i.e. college students) dresses casually, but this does not mean their organizational culture is not professional. Professionalism is
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They facilitate partnerships with other entities to bring about useful programs and information for NMSU’s black population. The walls of the office are adorned with Black history paraphernalia. There are no pictures of white people, Latin people, Asians, etc. on the walls. The pictures serve as physical symbols of their culture. For example, I knew one person on their wall and that was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Part of their culture is honoring great African Americans. They also told me stories about great African Americans like Mrs. Clara Belle Williams. Their stories about her represented verbal symbols in their culture. I learned that Mrs. Williams was the first black student to graduate from NMSU in the fall of