The Black Student Association (BSA) hosted a talent showcase on Feb. 26 in the Administration Auditorium for the first time. The BSA wanted to demonstrate culture and background in celebration of Black History Month.
The talent showcase brought in many different forms of entertainment and art, including poetry readings, singing and dancing.
“One of my friends — Zelden Kool — I [brought] in [and] I know personally,” junior Trinity Peveler said. “We used to work in a pizza joint together in high school. He is an amazing poet and recently started traveling around sharing his talent, and the other person I [brought] in is a dancer. She [does] battle dances in Little Rock, and I know students at Harding have never seen this type of dancing before.”
Senior Jamica Gaither, BSA vice president, said they wanted the showcase to demonstrate both African American culture and unity.
“This talent show is to really celebrate our African American brothers and sisters,” Gaither said. “We want this time to be a snippet of our culture but at the same time showcasing unity between students and faculty.”
The Campus Activities Board (CAB) assisted with advertising for the BSA talent showcase.
“I would mainly just serve as a sounding board,” CAB director Logan Light said. “Trinity Peveler and her staff have done a lot of work, so I try to encourage them and help advertise. We offer as much support as we can as far as advertising around campus.”
Peveler said the event was successful with about 65 people attending the showcase.
“We had a couple of technical difficulties before the show started, but afterwards we had zero problems,” Peveler said. “The audience seemed to really enjoy themselves, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the event.”
The overall goal of the BSA talent showcase was to celebrate Black history and help to educate the Harding community on Black culture, Peveler said.
“I feel like we reached our goal of celebrating Black History Month by highlighting Black excellence on campus through the performing arts as well as integrating a Black history trivia game during the event,” Peveler said.
The BSA will continue to work on achieving this goal regardless of the end of Black History Month, Peveler said. In the coming months, the group will continue to plan events, including a movie night featuring “The Wiz,” a modern version of “The Wizard of Oz.”
