Laughter and applause filled Stewart Theatre Monday night as students performed in the Third Annual African Night hosted by the African Student Union.
The theme of the night was, “You think you know, but you have no idea,” as performers attempted to present African culture to the audience in a whole new light. ASU used African Night as an opportunity to exhibit African culture as well as the history and issues surrounding the African community. The night is just one event held in connection with the 35th Annual Pan-Afrikan Festival that began Monday and ends on April 9.
The festival highlights African-American culture in hopes of informing and educating, with events such as a comedy show, step show, concert and several activities in the Brickyard.
Those in attendance to African Night were presented with humorous skits, cultural dances, poetry and a show revealing colorful African fashion.
Skits mirrored popular television shows entitled ‘African Idol,’ ‘Made,’ and ‘CSI: Kinshasa.’ A skit called ‘Africa’s Next Top Model’ ended with the winner of the competition being ‘Punk’D.’
Student groups FUSION and BOTEWA performed highly choreographed dances that delighted the audience.
During the fashion show, models not only strutted, but also danced down the runway. In a segment called ‘Def Poetry Jam,’ students expressed themselves artistically with presentations regarding touchy subjects such as stereotypes and race.
“Are you willing to learn why I have pride in my culture?” Ahmed Bangura asked as he recited a poem to the audience. “Are you willing to learn why we are all human? Are you willing to listen? Are you willing to forgive? Are you willing to forget? Are you willing to change?” he recited.
Paul Der Ohanessian, a student from South Africa, recited a poem that conveyed a message of resisting physical stereotypes.
“Being African is absolutely nothing about skin color,” he said in his poem.
In his poem, he reminded the audience that even though he is white, he is still African.
Charity West, a freshman in sports management, attended African Night for more than entertainment.
“I just wanted to be enlightened with different African cultures that were being represented tonight,” she said.
Tenise Taylor, a freshman in communication media, said she was surprised to learn that one of the performers who is a friend of hers is from Africa.”He always talked about his people, but I did not know he was from South Africa, so it was cool to learn that,” she said.
Taylor also mentioned that her favorite part of the night was ‘Def Poetry’ and she “thoroughly enjoyed” the event.