Fresno State’s Black Students United club hosted Africana Culture Night in the Satellite Student Union on Friday.
About 100 people attended the event.
The theme of the night — “The Upbringing” — had a variety of presentations featuring different and important points in African-American culture.
Victoria Quarshie, president of Black Students United, helped organize the event for the second year in a row.
“We wanted to highlight significant points in African-American history and heritage,” Quarshie said.
The event had presentations about life in Africa, slavery, the Harlem Renaissance and ended with a look into the civil rights movement.
After an opening speech by Francine Oputa from the Central Valley Cultural Heritage Institute, Kelisa Kirnon and Robisha Young performed a Western African dance known as the Kassa — a harvest dance.
“I’ve learned a lot more about my culture since learning about this dance,” Young said. “I’m very interested in feeding the homeless, and our dance symbolizes how we get the food and coming to eat together.”
Kirnon and Young work together in community advocacy.
“For me, being an African-American, to be able to represent the students and reach out to the community, that is why we are here,” Kirnon said. “Now that I have grown and am able to give back, it’s like a reunion for me.”
A fashion show followed the dance with multiple styles of what the African peoples wore.
An intermission came after a contemporary dance piece where the sponsor of the event, Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant, provided Ethiopian food.
Black Students United presented a skit depicting Rosa Parks’ contributions to the civil rights movement.
Keynote speaker James Walton stressed the importance of having knowledge of multiple cultures.
“We have to do more than appreciate different cultures; we have to absorb and encourage the different cultures,” Walton said.
The night ended with tributes to the Black Panthers and influential figures of the civil rights movements.
Quarshie said, “I want people to walk away and feel like they had an experience with the African-American culture or, at least, learn something new.”