Black History Month at Occidental College was brought to a triumphant close Feb. 22 as students from across the campus celebrated at Black Student Alliance’s (BSA) annual talent show, Apollo Night.
The show takes its name from the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, an important venue in Black History that has championed and showcased black narratives since its opening in 1934.
This year, Apollo Night hosted 12 acts in Thorne Hall, during which contestants from across the student body sang, danced and recited spoken word poetry. Many of the students performed original pieces. At the end of the show, the audience voted for the winner and runner-up by cheering for their favorite from the lineup, who in turn won $100 and $50 respectively.
Anastasia Cusack-Mercedez (junior), head of external affairs and treasurer of BSA, said Apollo Night is one of the most important events of the year for the club. The show receives funding from various departments around campus, and Cusack-Mercedez explained the president’s office and several other benefactors such as Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC), Diversity and Equity Board (DEB) and Involvement and Community Engagement (SLICE) all played integral roles in making Apollo Night possible. BSA also collaborated with the theater department, which helped run the technical aspects of the show. Cusack-Mercedez said Apollo Night is a significant fundraiser and emphasized its social importance.
“We start planning it as soon as we get back from break, but we start thinking about it early on in the year. That’s one of the first things we talk about: What are we gonna do for Black History Month? And we have it in our minds for the whole year, I would say,” Cusack-Mercedez said.
EvaMarie David (senior), who sang during the event, said that this year’s Apollo Night was emotionally significant for her. She said her experience in many ways encapsulates the way in which Apollo Night is a tradition that marks one’s time at Occidental.
“This was my second time performing for Apollo Night. I performed during my first year at Oxy with a friend of mine, and now I’m performing in my senior year. I think that’s really symbolic,” David said.
David also explained the wider significance of the Apollo Night tradition at Occidental.
“I think that Apollo Night at Occidental encompasses the essence of black heritage altogether, and I think that it makes a profound impact on the campus community every year as a place where black folks can actually take up space and share their experience,” David said. “But also people who are allies of black people can also come and be a part of the process, and so it’s really encouraging to know that there are people who funded this program and are continually supporting it.”
Every act was met with a warm round of applause and support from audience members. The two presenters of the night, Rahsaan Middleton (senior) and JT Tinsley (junior), reeled in laughter from the crowd all evening. Many members of the audience could be heard after the show praising Middleton and Tinsley’s double act, including Tulula Docherty (junior).
“[The MCs] absolutely smashed it, they were hilarious. They were so positive, putting the performers at ease and making the crowd happy,” Docherty said.
Teaching Assistant and Language Adviser Alvaro Alarcón, another member of the audience, was also extremely impressed by the high standard amongst performers on stage.
“It was amazing, I loved it. All of the performances were so powerful. All of the singers had amazing voices and the dancers were so great and the poetry reading was just so inspiring. I was almost crying the whole time because it was just beautiful,” Alarcón said.
As the show ended, it was a close call from the audience as to who should take home the prizes. However, the audience gave the loudest round of applause to Cusack-Mercedez, with Alex Levers (senior) following closely behind, both of whom sang.
