On February 7, 2025, the Black Student Union (BSU) held their annual Black History Month Showcase, a showcase presented to students and external customers, as well as performed and run by the students in the BSU. This year’s theme: Roots!

Black History Month is the one month a year where Black excellence is formally acknowledged and celebrated nationwide. Specifically, Black History Month is when many recognize and research the variety of black historical figures that have given us the chance to get where we are today—figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and many more.

Another lovely part of Black History Month is learning about our own history by spending time with the older members of our families and seeing where and what we come from. 

There is something special about learning the facts that have shaped each of our generation and seeing what our ancestors have made for us and the future generations of our families (which ties into this year’s theme).

The Black Student Union (BSU) is the student club at BSA that is a place where people can gather together to celebrate and acknowledge people of color. 

Started in the 2016-2017 school year, the BSU began doing a showcase during Black History Month. Each year the showcase has had a different theme to it. This year’s theme is “Roots”.

The pieces in the showcase are all created and put together by different students. There was a collection of short films, dances, and musical pieces. This included pieces such as Lift Every Voice, Black Folk, Stomp N Shake and several more.

Created by very talented film students, the film is entitled Black Folk. Showing our culture, our childhood similarities, and the way we have grown as a community.

The showcase finale, Stomp N Shake, was performed by over 15 dancers to a mix of multiple songs; one being a current trending song “Sticky” by Tyler, the Creator. The outro was a major hit and brought the audience’s energy and enthusiasm towards the show back up. 

As the show came to an end, the other performances were not forgotten. The intro, Libations, the tribute to passed family members during Sweet Melody, the black national anthem, Lift Every Voice, and many more.

Put together by the stage design students under the leadership of the BSU heads and presented by the fabulous show hosts, Favian Womack and Timothy (Tim) Jackson, the show went beautifully! 

As stated previously, the BSU leaders play a big role in making the showcase happen. Damien Ford, an academic teacher and one of the BSU’s academic advisors, made two years of working on the showcase. 

Sharing how the showcase has changed tremendously through the quality, interested students, selling out the evening show, and more. 

Ford states, “The reward [of the showcase] is seeing the BSU members rally around a unifying theme like Roots this year.  Artistically, I would add in a spiritual way, representing their reverence for the ancestors with acts such as Libations, Linked and Negro Spiritual,that amazing rendition of James Weldon Johnson’s now 125 year old Lift Every Voice, and Sing was uplifting…I can only hope that everyone else felt more and saw the connectivity and unity.” 

Believe me when I say, we all could see and feel the unity and connection to history throughout the performance. All the students’ passion and creativity shown brightly in every way possible.

Along with the BSU heads, the showcase representatives play a big role in the showcase. The representatives were voted for and chosen at the beginning of the school year. 

This year’s showcase representatives—Lamont Brown, a junior actor, and Neferkhar (Nefer) Purvis, a senior actor—helped make the show a reality. 

Each representative presented their own piece in the showcase this year. Purvis’ pieces were “Libations”, “Linked and Negro Spiritual,” a speaking piece and a dance performance. 

Brown performed a dance piece that was entitled “Untitled Roots.” On the purpose of his performance, Brown stated, “My piece represents Roots, and me, because it takes us back to a time generations ago where Maya Angelou was speaking her poem to an audience about how she’ll rise, let alone how black people will rise against anything that’s put against us!”

“I believe that her saying these things are still able to be personalized to every black person to this day. Further into my dance you hear “Untitled In Grief” which talks about how suffering can be optional, however pain is not. I wanted to shed light on how most black people, we are always suffering or in pain because of what or who we’ve lost and how we grieve differently from others. I wanted to turn the sadness of Kendrick [Lamar]’s lyrics and turn it into an image of how you can take sadness, and turn it into something beautiful and joyful.” 

Furthermore, along with the BSU advisors, the showcase representatives do endure a lot. The main struggle Brown faced with others was the agreement on choices for the showcase. However, once everyone was on the same page, the showcase was like a family. 

Brown stated “My main challenge as showcase representative of ‘26 was coming to an agreement with everyone at first. I believe everyone that I worked with had such big ideas, as did I, and it was a tad hard for us to simmer down to an agreement…it became so much easier after all consensus was held. After that consensus…we had a flow like a professional work family.”

Similar to many things, it takes time to build something beautiful. Even though creative minds can clash, once everyone is able to find a common ground, it can/will turn into something beautiful.

Even with the events going on in the world currently, we must remain heard and never forget what makes us, us. 

Our past, present, and future. Our sun kissed skin and our full lips. No one can or will close the curtain on us. Black people are powerful, black people are excellent, black people are gifted, and black people are intelligent; and those are our roots!

In the spirit of Black History Month, find 28 facts for the twenty eight days in Black History Month here.

To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

Featured photos by Kyndall Roots for The Muse.