The United Minorities Council was founded in 1978 as an intercultural coalition of students who fight for equity and access to resources for students of color at Penn. Among UMC’s earliest accomplishments is staging sit-in protests that led to the establishment of the Greenfield Intercultural Center (3708 Chestnut Street).
Today, the UMC represents over 35 student groups that serve a variety of cultural communities. We provide funding for their events as well as hold our own semesterly events. The UMC has two primary goals: to foster intercultural understanding and solidarity within the student body and to fight for better resources from the University for minority students. We work closely with the other 7B groups to pursue these goals, and meet with Penn’s administration (including the Vice Provost Office and President Gutmann) multiple times per semester. Ultimately, UMC serves as a bridge between the student body and the University in order to advocate for the needs of its underrepresented students.