Shades is a co-educational collegiate a cappella group founded to celebrate music of the African diaspora and other world cultures. It is the group's mission to "offer a unique, musically excellent, and spiritually enriching performance experience to audiences at Yale University and beyond." Drawing from the diverse backgrounds of its members, Shades strives to portray authentically the depth and complexity of ethnic experience in America. The group was established by Titilayo Ngwenya and a small group of other Yale freshmen in 1988 at a pre-orientation program for freshmen of color then known as PROP, now known as Cultural Connections. Performances during the early years of Yale's youngest singing group included free Valentine's Day concerts at midnight on Valentine's Day in Durfee's Sweet Shop (now known as Durfee's Convenience Store) on Old Campus. Currently, Shades presents four annual singing jams on campus and, in recent years, has traveled extensively to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Japan, and South Africa. The group's most notable tour was in August of 2003, when Shades was invited to Phokeng, South Africa, to sing for the enthronement ceremony of Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation. The group's performance at a soccer stadium of over 20,000 included former president Nelson Mandela and the royal family of Botswana.
Shades has very active alumni devoted to helping current members. The group's two closing songs, arranged by the founding members and usually sung with any alumni who are in the audience, are "Shut de Do," a traditional Caribbean folk song, and "Amen/We Shall Overcome," a medley of two traditional negro spirituals connected to the American Civil Rights Movement. In recent years, Shades has had several alums pursue successful careers in music upon graduation. Cicily Daniels, Anika Larsen and Nicole Lewis are some of the Shades alums who have been on Broadway.