Celebrating Black History Month with SCAD Atlanta’s Black Student Association
by Noah Washington
This month is Black History Month, a celebration of African American history, and SCAD Atlanta’s Black Student Association (BSA) is celebrating in style. For six days, BSA honored black style throughout the decades, hosting a different event each night.
Starting with the ’60s, students came out dressed in their best clothes, complete with colorful turtlenecks and sweaters honoring Dionne Warwick and other fashion icons. During that first night, students enjoyed a screening of the Spike Lee Oscar-nominated film “Blackkksman” — a biographical film about a black cop in 1970s Colorado.
Tuesday was the ’70s. Bell bottoms and afros were plenty while students got groovy, dancing to “Earth Wind & Fire” and other retro artists on “Soul Train,” a pop culture phenomenon which dominated the ’70s to the early 2000s. Students danced while
The ’80s was the name of the game with black history-themed Jeopardy. Three teams competed in a fiery and heart-pounding competition.
The ’90s was a sight to see as spoken word took over in the Magnolia room at Spring House. The night began with BSA Vice President Djwan opening with a quote from “The Color Purple.” Laughter and tears were present that night, along with topics of sexuality, gender, inadequacy, violence and more.
Friday was “Creatively Accessing Resilience For Our Health,” a mental health seminar, located in the theater of the Digital Media Center (DMC). Multiple guests spoke on the topic of mental health and how best to help yourself and others. The movie “Man of the House” was also screened, a film about a young boy dealing with the suicide of his father. Director and actor John Palomino participated as a panelist, along with acclaimed poet and third-year writing student Mohammed El-Kurd, psychology professor Dr. Nicole Brown and students who presented their own difficulties with mental health.
The spotlight was on for the finale night of BSA week — a lip sync battle. Students performed a wide range of songs, from Jennifer Hudson to the “Frozen” soundtrack. And after an escalating battle between contestants, a winner was crowned.
To learn more about BSA or become a club member, email atlbsa@clubs.scad.edu.
