The University Activities Board (UAB) and the Black Students’ Alliance (BSA) hosted its third annual Black Empowerment Festival on February 5. Last year, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival gave students an opportunity to learn more about Black history through a series of events, activities and a keynote speaker. Students also participated in a karaoke/dance competition as well as learning how to hustle.
“I’m so excited to be able to have an in-person event because being in-person is totally different than having a virtual event,” political science junior Devin Woodruff said. “To be able to have an in-person event, see all of our Spartans in-person really does create a magical experience.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Mwende “FreeQuency” Katwiwa, an award-winning poet and social justice speaker. She spoke about connecting Black histories to Black futures. “It was really talking about my time in college and how it was impacted by the Black Lives Matter movement,” Katwiwa said.
Katwiwa also gave a small preview of her TedTalk: “Black life at the intersection of birth and death.” The talk explores the experiences of Black mothers and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement. You can watch Katwiwa’s TedTalk below.
In addition to the Black Empowerment Festival, the Black Students’ Alliance will be hosting “Black Love Week,” a spirit week to kickstart Valentine’s Day. Black Love week goes from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11, starting with black and green day.
Be sure to follow both the UAB and BSA for up-to-date information on the latest black history events happening on-campus.
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