Photo by Lynn Sleiman ‘24
Gerldine Louis ‘24 and Ziyadah Zeigler ‘23, above, present at the start of APAU’s recent gala.
By Jendayi Leben-Martin ’24 & Tara Monastesse ’25
Staff Writers
The night of Sunday, Feb. 27 marked the penultimate event of the Association of Pan-African Unity’s Black History Month programming: a gala hosted in Mary Woolley Hall’s Chapin Auditorium. Approximately 100 attendees donned red, black and green — the colors of the Pan-African flag — and gathered in Chapin Auditorium to celebrate Black joy with a night of music, storytelling and dance.
Co-Coordinator for the APAU Geraldine Louis ’24 kicked off the event by singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which is widely considered to be “the Black National Anthem,” according to the NAACP website.
Guests were then introduced to keynote speaker Jonathan Gayles, Ph.D., Morehouse graduate and professor at Georgia State University. During his self-proclaimed unconventional Black History Month speech titled “Black and Grounded,” Gayles spoke over Zoom about “liberatory wellness” and the importance of Black people centering their own mental health.
“Our realities cannot be defined by white supremacy,” Gayles declared.
Kay Brown ’23 performed a spoken-word piece entitled “The Boiling Point.” A critical social thought major, Brown said she enjoys exploring the new meaning given to poetry when it is read out loud to a group of people. Inspired by the chaos that is her Google Calendar during a hectic semester, “The Boiling Point” is a commentary on the culture of productivity that puts pressure on Black women, advocating for rejuvenation.
“[I’ve] always loved spoken word and poetry,” Brown said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “I love playing with rhythms and sounds, and I feel really empowered when I read my poetry out loud.”
Additional performances included an appearance by the Five College West African Music Ensemble, led by Mamou Samake ’21, as well as a dance performance by the Cradle Crew ensemble entitled “360.”
Continuing the theme of spoken word and storytelling, Adjoa Baidoo ’24 performed an Anansesem, a Ghanian folktale about Ananse, a mythical trickster. They said that in telling a story at the gala, they wanted to bring something unique to the celebration.
“At first, I kind of wanted to do a ‘ra ra ra, fuck white supremacy’ poem, as I am known to do … but I also kind of thought to myself, well I think what would be more helpful and useful would be to share a part of [my] upbringing with folks,” Adjoa explained.
The gala served as the culmination of APAU’s series of Black History Month programming, which included movie nights, trivia and workshops hosted by guest speakers about various aspects of Black culture. The final week of Black History Month centered around the theme “Black and jovial,” which APAU described on social media as representing “Black joy, happiness and all that goodness.”
“Black joy is very important, especially in these times,” Sarah Bell ’25, an attendee of the gala, said. “[Considering] what we have been through for the past two years surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement all over the globe and the pandemic, it is really needed.”
Bell concluded, “I would say that it is important as a Black person to take some time during your day, and you know, just recognize that you’re here and what you’re doing is amazing.”