YBAN: Yale Black Alumni Network

The Yale Black Alumni Network -- better known as YBAN -- is an independent, autonomous online community for alumni of African descent from Yale College and the university's graduate and professional schools -- as well as its executive programs. Towards maintaining the integrity of its mission, YBAN has elected to remain a sovereign entity that is neither affiliated with Yale University, the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) nor the Yale Club system.

YBAN was founded in the Spring of 1996 initially as an informal listserv consisting of a handful of Yale alums from the early 1990s. Now, almost five years later, YBAN's membership is in the hundreds and is considered the conduit for communication between, and information on, Yale's Black alumni. While still in its infancy, YBAN envisions hosting an ever-growing clearinghouse of information and resources for its members that will benefit alumni and current students alike.

YBAN's primary purpose is to establish and maintain substantive links among the Black alumni of Yale College and the university's graduate and professional schools for the benefit of ourselves, current and prospective Black students, faculty, university employees, the Afro-American Cultural Center (AACC), the Afro-American Studies Department, and the greater university and New Haven communities.

Through this independent network, YBAN seeks to build and share resources for its members and cultivate a collective "voice" that can meaningfully impact University policy towards the overall Black Yale community as well as issues of diversity in general.

To join YBAN, please e-mail us at: yban-admin@afro-netizen.com.

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