LANSING - Clifton Jackson clapped his hands above his head and swayed with the music on Saturday during Lansing Community College’s Gospel Night.
Jackson, 26, and more than 200 others attended the Black History Month event in the Arts and Science Building, 419 N. Washington Square, on LCC’s campus. Several choirs, dancers and speakers were featured through the evening.
“We are here to give praise and nothing more,” said Jackson, director of Steps of Praise, a group of 10 to 16 year-olds from Union Missionary Baptist Church, 1020 W. Hillsdale St., in Lansing.
The step team brought the crowd to their feet with rhythmic stomping and moves during the college’s final Black History Month event in 2001.
LCC sponsored several programs through February including a kick-off ceremony, a poetry slam and a Hall of Fame at MSU.
The LCC Black History Month Planning Committee chose the theme “Black History Is All Of Us” to encourage participation in the events.
“We’ve had people from all over the city and diverse cultures attending the programs,” said Sheree Price, a member of the committee. “We put on a multitude of religious, historical and artistic programs to appeal to everybody.
“I think we got the message out that black history really is all of us.”
Other members say the successful events, such as the poetry slam and gospel night, will return next year.
“This was really good and I had a lot of fun,” said Lisa Powers, an LCC communication sophomore who attended the Gospel Night festivities.
During the night, several area pastors spoke on the significance of Black History Month and on the history of church traditions in America.
Casey Wells, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 734 W. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Lansing, said her experience as a female and a pastor has made her aware of many prejudices in this society.
“It’s subtle but it’s there,” Wells said. “Black history is all of us because it affects all of us regardless of our faith, ethnicity and background. It is a sad commentary on the human race that we categorize one another.”
Pastor Samuel Duncan of the Lansing Church Of God In Christ, 5304 Wise Road, was one of the concluding speakers of the evening.
“I’ve certainly enjoyed all that I’ve heard tonight,” Duncan said. “It’s good to have black history but we need to know that there’s a different day and a different time ahead and we will still face challenges.”
