By Billy Mild
This Saturday at 7 p.m. in Isaac’s Auditorium, the SU Black Student Union (BSU) will be hosting its third annual Black Excellence Showcase.
The Black Excellence Showcase is an event that celebrates the talents and achievements of Black students on campus. According to BSU President Nala Washington, the showcase is an important event that highlights the talent, skill, and contributions of students of color. She said, “The Black Excellence Showcase is a platform for students of color, primarily African American students, to take the stage in a non-negative way. It’s very positive and very artistic.”
The event will feature original music from students on campus, including singers and rappers, and will open with stepping and strolling by the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. The showcase is not just about the performances themselves but also about creating a community where Black students can come together and celebrate their talents and achievements.
Washington states, “We have dancers, we have a lot of singers, we have poets, we have artists. This year we want to showcase artists so we’re going to put their work on easels with artist statements and showcase it around the auditorium.”
The event is open to all, and tickets can be purchased at the door or at the BSU table in Lower Deg. Admission is $5 for students and adults and free for children 5 and under.
BSU is holding a variety of events throughout February in celebration of Black History Month. In collaboration with the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW), BSU will host its first-ever Black Week, a week-long event series with a different event each day.
On February 13th, the celebration will kick off with Bonnet and Durag Day. This will be followed by a Valentine’s Day Karaoke event on February 14th, where participants are encouraged to perform songs by Black artists. On February 15th, there will be a “Bringin’ it Back: 90′ Style” event, where students will dress in 90’s fashion and watch films from that decade.
BSU and NCBW will also host a “Jeopardy!” Game Night on February 16th. On February 17th, they will feature a performance by spoken word artist Pages Matam as part of the ongoing African American Poet Series. That series will conclude on February 21st with a performance by writer and poet Kyla Jenee Lacy.
More information about these events and more can be found on BSU’s Instagram page @bsu_susqu. The Black Student Union meets regularly in Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. in the DEN.
