This year to close out Black History Month, Bucknell’s Black Student Union organized their annual Fashion Show that celebrates and showcases the diversity and creativity of Black designers and models when they are given the opportunity to participate. The show is organized by a student-led committee and features a range of designs from emerging and established designers of color, as well as performances and spoken word pieces. This year’s theme was “Back to Black” and included some subthemes Black Joy to Black Royalty. The Fashion Show was a success that showed pieces from current fashion designers. The event drew a huge and enthusiastic audience with Larison Hall packed with students, professors and faculty, and alumni members
The Black Fashion Show served as both a platform for black designers and creatives and a platform for Black music as Bucknell students walked to music from popular Black Artists from Burna Boy to Flo Milli. The performance ended with an homage to the Film Wakanda Forever keeping with the theme of Black Excellence in all mediums of course.
With that Day 1 of Black Arts Fest concluded, but not to be outdone on February 25th, students were invited to attend Stomp Out which featured the Fraternities and Sororities Xi Kappa Chapter of Kappa Alpha Phi (Bucknell University), Rho Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta (Bucknell University), Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma (Morgan State), Eta Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta (University of Maryland-College Park), and Beta Phi Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho (Cheyney University). During the intermission, Bucknell’s Bisonettes kept the crowd live, loud, and entertained. The performances were powerful stories that featured homages to classic Black step lines and the practice of the African American Stepping Traditions. Morgan’s Sigmas took Best Fraternity and the award of $1000. Bucknell’s own Deltas won in their category as both Best Sorority and Crowd Favorite! After the competition, Black Bucknellians welcomed those visiting at Uptown for some sounds by our own DJ Dash (Kappa ‘24).
– Michaiah Augustine