The Black Christian Union (BCU) begins its campus-wide celebration of Black History Month with its annual BCU Night. The night will consist of a student-led play, food, live jazz music and a number of dance routines.
The event will be held in the Iles Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 2, and doors will open at 8 p.m. This event is free and open to all students, as well as members of the community.
BCU Night will consist of a play production titled “Sounds of My Culture,” featuring club members, students and a few Southern alumni. American jazz saxophonist Oliver Nelson II will also make an appearance at this event.
“This year’s event is particularly focusing on black music and just the influence that music has had in the development of black culture,” said Janae Cornwall, junior medical laboratory science major and social vice president and event coordinator of BCU.
Though the show begins at 8:40 p.m., people are encouraged to arrive at the event at 8 p.m. to enjoy the live jazz music and homemade cultural food.
“One thing that we really noticed in the past was that a lot of times when people hear about a black culture related event, it’s usually geared towards our history of slavery and how black lives matter. But this year, we wanted to showcase positive things and the things that make us proud to be black,” said Priya Roberts, junior nursing major and president of BCU.
Even though this event is celebrating black culture, it is not limited to people of color. No matter the race, this event is for all people.
“We don’t want people to think just because they’re not black or they’re not people of color that they are not welcome to celebrate with us. This is something for everybody,” Roberts said.
Image credit: Joseph Hyde