Music. Art. Fashion. But it was not just for entertainment.
The Black Student Union hosted their Unity from the Community showcase on Feb. 28. The show lasted for an hour and had 11 performances, some solo and some with groups. The showcase consisted of dances, poems, singing, speeches and a fashion show to finish it off. Every performance symbolized an aspect of black culture.
The showcase was used to honor Black History Month by having students express themselves through their hobbies and passions, whether that be singing, art or fashion. After a successful showcase two years ago, BSU wanted to do the event again this year.
“Everything revolved around black history and how it’s gotten us to where we are today,” sophomore Analie Baria said. “How people’s ethnicities and who they are affect how they live their everyday life.”
There were no designated categories for each performance–for example, poems were not performed back-to-back. The show opened up with the HHS Tundra Twirlers performing “Rhythm Nation.”
Sophomore Layla Lue Sang’s poem and sophomore Mckenna Allen’s speech both tied back to being biracial and the struggles of it. Through words, they both expressed how hard it is to be accepted.
The majority of the performances was vocal performances, with all of the chosen music written by black artists to bring acknowledgement to their music. Junior Jolin Alcindor performed “Ex. Factor” by Lauryn Hill.
“I love Lauren Hill and as an artist she is one of the most respected black artists in the industry,” Alcindor said. “But not a lot of people, especially here at Hagerty, know her, so I wanted to make sure that she’s being highlighted.”
Junior Melinda Salgado was the only person who presented visual art. It was inspired by The Princess and The Frog and the clothing of the people in the drawing had Black cultural clothing.
“I wanted to add something different, because [the showcase] didn’t have anyone doing art,” Salgado said.
The night ended off with a fashion show. All the clothing was cultural in some way, either by pattern, styling or the overall design of the clothes. Gibbs is also Fashion Club president, so she added a fashion show to showcase the work of her club members.
“It’s always scary that you won’t have enough acts or they won’t perform, but everyone was ready to showcase their talents,” Gibbs said. “There were a lot of technical difficulties, but it’s understandable when you only have one person running everything.”
Overall, everyone was happy how the show came out. They said that communication played a major role in the showcase because there were not a lot of rehearsals. While Gibbs is a senior, she will not be able to do it next year, but she hopes the tradition lives on. Baria agrees with her.
“I would 100% do it again. It was a fun experience. And I enjoyed celebrating Black History Month with everybody, and especially my black student union team,” Baria said. “I feel like we’re a family and I love doing everything with them.”
