Photos by Julian Young
By Julian Young Digital Media & Video Editor
Susquehanna’s Black Student Union (BSU) held the “Black Excellence Showcase” on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Issacs Auditorium.
BSU’s goal in staging the show was “to showcase the black excellence we have on campus and to allow every black and brown person to be reminded of the greatness inside of them,” according to Marcellus Martin, who handles public relations for the group.
The show included a fashion show, multiple musical performances, several dance numbers, spoken word pieces and a reading of the work of Maya Angelou.
The showcase also opened with a step performance by the Susquehanna chapters of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.
The fashion show was split into four sections the first of which being “Black Panther Wear” in a homage to the Black Panther party. The “Black Panther Wear” section included all black outfits and models raising their fists in a salute to the “black power movement” started by the Black Panther party in the 1960’s.
The second section of the fashion show was titled “Everyday Drip” and included bright and popular streetwear clothing that can be seen daily around campus.
The third section was called “Dress Wear” included business attire inspired by New York offices and dresses resembling those worn at the Met Gala.
The last section, titled “Black is Gold”, showcased models wearing outfits that included gold highlights and accents
The show included sophomores Natalie Santos, Kiarah Leonard, Hezekiah Patterson, and Ashlee Garcia, first-year Savannah Barton, and juniors Terrjae Poston and Claire Townsend.
The showcase also featured musical performances by Kid Axe (Axel Scott), Andy The Chef (Andrew Jones) and the acapella group Harmonic Combustion.
“I just really loved getting on stage, the energy was good, there was so much support and I’m definitely looking forward to the next one” said rapper and artist Axel Scott, who is a sophomore soccer player at Susquehanna and performed as Kid Axe.
“Preforming in front of the crowd at the showcase was amazing, the showcase was amazing, they really rocked with me and I rocked with them. The hottest part was when the music cut off, but I kept rapping as they clapped in rhythm,” said senior Andrew Jones, who performed as Andy the Chef.
In addition to the musical performances two spoken word pieces were performed by first-year student Dasha Brown and senior Spencer Smith.
Several students also performed dance numbers throughout the night.
The showcase closed with a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by the full cast.
The Black Student Union is hoping to make the show an annual occurrence on campus. The club meets Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. in Degenstein meeting rooms.
