The Black History Month assembly Feb. 28 awed students with its inspiring performances.
The assembly was preceded by a drum presentation from the Cleveland band. Following their performance, BSU Co-presidents Zora Forsberg and Kennidee Gillespie introduced Pastor E. D. Mondaine, the Regional Economics Chair for the NAACP and owner of Po’Shines. He performed a stunning solo rendition of “Lift Every Voice And Sing” as the student body stood in respect of what many call “The Black National Anthem.”
After Pastor Mondaines’ solo performance, BSU Vice President Madeesyn Gillespie and Secretary Neomi Manning presented a video exploring the history behind the evolution of black dance culture by renowned dancer Camille A. Brown.
The supreme highlight of the assembly, however, must be the fantastic musical production by World Stage Theatre that followed. Their performance was a snippet of the Who I Am play, a beautiful stage show exhibiting a powerful message of perseverance. The performance received enthusiastic cheers and applause.
“What really made us pick the theme of the assembly was we saw a play by the World Stage Theater, and that really cemented that we wanted to have them as a guest, and so we did something related to dance because of them, not the other way around,” Forsberg explained.
She was enormously impressed and inspired by the organization, saying, “They were super cooperative and helpful. They had a lot of ideas and a lot of knowledge. There’s a lot that we got to learn from them.”
Following the main show, flowers were gifted by Darell McElroy to the Black Student Union board and selected guests on behalf of BSU. Recipients included the director of the World Stage Theatre and the Co-presidents of BSU, Forsberg and Gillespie. Directly afterward, a slideshow thanked the many people that made the assembly possible, as an excellent send-off for the experience.