Coming Together and Moving On
The (pre)history of Black Coffee
There had been two all African-American groups prior to Black Coffee:
Sistahs, all female, and The Sophisticated Gents, all male. Founding members
of these groups soon graduated, and the history and traditions of both
organizations was feared lost.
Conceived by John Todd '97 and Keelyn Bradley '95, Black Coffee was considered
a binding of the two original organizations, while yet creating its own
history. In January, 1995, Black Coffee came into existence, with ten founding
members.
Black Coffee was well received by the college campus at our first major
performance, the Jamboree, an a cappella concert held every semester on
campus. We hope to continue to perform in Jamborees to come, and build a
long-lasting tradition at Swarthmore.
