The annual Black History Month Show will be performed tomorrow, Wednesday,  Feb. 23, 2022 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.  The production is led by students and showcases different cultures, dances and attire. 

Black History Month is a traditional celebration during the month of February to show appreciation to black culture. The show serves an importance in portraying black culture and also allows for black people to get experience on stage with acting, dancing, and singing. 

“It is very important to have the show because as you know high school doesn’t really emphasize the teachings of black history and culture; and when it is discussed, it is the victim context. They are making changes to try to focus on that with our African American Literature course coming into fruition next year, but we want to not only show the history but the creativity, music, dance, songs, and fashion,” said acting leader Ama Oppong Brago.

The Black History month show acts as an extension of celebrating Black History month and allows people with different backgrounds to experience and see different black cultures.

“Like I stated before, when we discuss about black history it is mostly in the victim context with negative stereotypes included. Showcasing dance, singing and fashion in the show and shed a positive light on our culture and us as individuals,” Oppong said.

The preparation for the black history month show was laborious and started way before the month of February. “We officially had a meeting with the leaders in October and that’s when we all collaborated on ideas and came up with the overall theme, title and songs. Rehearsals for dancing started in November and acting rehearsals started in December. It has been stressful since a lot of people in the show have little to no experience in acting or being on stage,” Oppong said.

As for this year’s Black History Month Show, the theme is ‘For The Love Of Us’. 

“We have broken down the theme in five different parts: the love of family, the love of each other, the love of the culture, the love of our roots and journey. Therefore we created the dialogue, songs, and dances around the theme,” said African dance leader Mercy Acheampong. 

There are 10-20 dances being planned for the show.

”Most of the dances are a combination or mashed up performance which can account for many dances,” said Acheampong. The latest afrobeats, pop and hip hop dances will be featured.  

This year’s fashion show will be representing 10 countries.

 “Some of the countries include Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, America, Nigeria, and Ghana,” said fashion show leader Sania Jackson. The fashion show allows for different countries to represent their culture by wearing their traditional attire and holding their flag. 

The fashion show differs from the other fashion shows in the countries being represented. “I went with the majority and also some underrepresented countries that  had not been represented in previous Black History Month Shows. Some of the newer countries are Guinea, Zimbabwe and Morocco,” Jackson said.  

 This year, ticket sales were $5 and were sold between  Feb. 14-Feb. 22. Tickets can also be bought online for $8 and sold at the doors of the show for $8.