The lights dim, and senior Olivia Robinson and her fellow announcer appear in the spotlight. They introduce many acts, from an impromptu New Edition, to beatboxers, to local upcoming artists. What brought them together: hope to spark the student body’s interest in African American culture.
This past Friday, the Cultural Awareness Club hosted its annual Black History program, where students and staff join together to educate others in the traditions of African American culture.
Sophomore Makailia Johnson attended in hopes of developing a greater understanding of her history.
“I’m a black person and it seemed like a good opportunity for me to learn about my culture,” Johnson said.
Robinson says one of the unique challenges with the group for this year was the smaller size, but she feels they benefited from it in the end.
“It was different because it was a smaller group participating, but being it was a smaller group it made everybody closer,” Robinson said.
Johnson says she was more fond of this program than many of the previous ones she has attended.
“It was more exciting and fun to listen to and watch [than other programs],” Johnson said.
Robinson enjoyed the audience and how encouraging they were to the performer’s hard work.
“My favorite part of the program was watching everybody’s hard work pay off, and seeing the crowd get so excited and being encouraging to every act that went,” Robinson said.
Johnson hopes to be apart of the tradition next year as a performer rather than an attendee.
“I am definitely going to be dancing next year because it seemed really fun and cool,” Johnson said.
Robinson hopes that more will follow in Johnson’s footsteps in being apart of the festivities.
“I hope more people join because it’s such an eye opening experience,” Robinson said. “It taught me a lot about my fellow classmate and it’s so rewarding.”
As for those who came, Robinson says she wants them to see what their school courses do not show.
“I hope they learned a lot about the history and since it’s not taught in class and realized how truly beautiful the history of African American culture is and how it plays a part in everybody’s life,” Robinson said.
Photos by Wayne Coleman.
