Africana Culture Night to feature dance, poetry

By Joe Johnson
The Collegian

Black Students United will host Africana Culture Night Friday to celebrate Black History Month and spread awareness about African-American culture at Fresno State.

“Since I have been out here in Fresno, I haven’t seen anything like this before,” Black Students United committee chair Arica Washington said.

“There are events every year for Black History Month, but nothing that brings it all together and highlights the diversity in the community,” Washington said. “We want to highlight the lives of not only African people here in North America, but those in the Fresno community.”

The event, which will be held at 6 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union, will feature a fashion show, a live jazz band, an African tribe dance, an opportunity drawing, a trivia game, poetry reading, singing and more.

“The idea behind the agenda was to get a lot of things in the sampling,” outreach counselor and event coordinator Tanya Crab said. “I mean, there are people who have been to a concert before, but they’ve never seen a black comedian. There are people that have heard jazz, but never been to a step show. This way we can give some insights into our culture.”

Africana Culture Night will be the first event Black Students United has organized this semester and the biggest one they have done since changing their name in Spring 2006.

“This is an opportunity to connect both the community and the student body at Fresno State together,” President of Black Students United Antony Ayodele said. “We are going to bring all of these resources from outside of the college together under one building so we can connect. It is a networking opportunity.

“We want to make sure everyone walks away having met two or three people that they can contact once they are out of college. These are people you can take lessons from on how to be successful, people you wouldn’t normally meet if you don’t step outside of your bubble. If everyone leaves knowing someone new that they can get resources from, then the entertainment is just a backdrop.”

The theme of Black History Month this year, “From Slavery to Freedom,” will be incorporated into the event by focusing not just on African-Americans, but all aspects of African culture here in America, according to Washington.

“We want to show African-American culture in many different perspectives, so people can see that there are multiple things that make up our culture,” Black Students United board member Tanisha Shamchoy said. “Our mission this year is to bring a sense of togetherness to African-American culture.”

Washington has high ambitions for the event in the future.

“I want us to continue annually and grow bigger, get the community involved and bring in more sponsors,” Washington said.

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