BSA hosts Black History Month cultural events, featuring poet Kai Davis

The week before Presidents Day weekend was a busy one. Working with the LEAD office, the BSA managed to kick-start its celebrations of Black History Month with a few high-turnout and fun events, starting with Soul Food night and trivia on Feb. 12.

“We fed everyone, and now we’re educating and inspiring people,” said BSA President Alicia Herbert, talking about the Black History Month’s tie ins with the diversity awareness and educational programs on campus.

Soul Food and trivia were warm-ups for the main event. On Feb. 15, the BSA held a large cultural event in Quigley’s John and Georgie Kincaid Concert Hall. The night started with a West African drumming and dance performance, and later featured renowned poet Kai Davis.

“We are more than lucky to have her tonight,” BSA Vice President Dukano Salat said.

Davis was a hit with Western’s student body, getting the crowd excited and involved with her slam and spoken word pieces. During the show, she commented on how involved the Mountaineer audience was compared with her usual crowd along the East Coast: the Western crowd was very much excited and involved with the drumming and the slam poetry.

Salat said the events were a success: “Hopefully everyone can take something away from this.”

Along with Davis’ performance, the BSA played a quick slideshow and invited Mecca Maydun, a West African dance professor from the University of Colorado Boulder, and Angie Carrol, a Crested Butte native, to speak to the crowd and perform traditional dances prepared in the workshops prior to the event.

Story by Mason Albrechtson. Photo by Roberta Marquette-Strain.