With a crowd of more than 500 people, the Black Power Rally aimed to elevate awareness, promote cultural pride and educate students with the theme “Elevate the Mind, to Change the Times.”
The event, held Friday at the Auditorium and sponsored by the Black Student Alliance, kicked off with a slide show featuring historical black figures and a performance by dance and music troupe Amka Africa and the Sound Tribe.
Darren Lamb, programming director for the alliance, said the rally is held annually to give students an opportunity to voice opinions about issues concerning them.
“It gives a chance for students to express their views and voices which have gone unheard throughout the year,” the journalism senior said.
But Lamb said the goal of the event was to motivate students.
“Our purpose is to galvanize the students into political activism,” he said. “One common theme is that students have been apathetic. But there is a definite situation, and we need to get out there and do something about it.”
Diverse performances graced the stage during the event, including student poetry and words from campus group leaders about racial profiling and the importance of involvement.
The crowd was up on its feet during a short play and musical selection from Romney Lewis and Bethany Tucker, students at Lansing’s Dwight Rich Middle School, 2600 Hampden Drive.
And words from history Assistant Professor Pero Dagbovie stirred the crowd again.
The event also featured a wax museum presentation, a song from the MSU Gospel Chorale, a dance performance from Spartan Soul and a dedication to the Black Panther Party by BSA members.
The rally’s keynote speaker was former Black Panther Kathleen Cleaver, who is a senior lecturer at the Emory University School of Law.
Cleaver said she was pleased to be a part of the event and excited there was such a large number of students in attendance.
“I commend you for coming, and I am honored to be a part of this program,” she said to the crowd. “It gives me great pleasure to see the solidarity you have. We have a legacy of black men and women who have overcome terroristic obstacles.”
And Cleaver talked about her experiences with the Black Panthers during her speech, a group she said were striving to obtain justice for oppressed people.
“It’s because we were armed that I am still here today,” she said. “We decided we would stand up and fight. The Black Panthers were subjected to constant investigation by the police.”
Murray Edwards, senior coordinator for the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs, said the goal of the event was to promote optimism among students.
“It gives students another side of college,” he said. “This is geared toward political empowerment, to show the contrast between the political struggles of the 1960s and now.”
Francyine Johnson, a mechanical engineering sophomore, said the event provides an avenue to convey student opinions.
“I think it’s very important so we can express ourselves in our own manner to our own people,” she said. “It’s to give you a greater respect of yourself and it increases your worth as a person.”
Camille Spencer can be reached at spenc105@msu.edu.
