Students filled Thorne Hall Feb. 28 for an evening of student performances showcased at Apollo Night. Organized by the Black Student Alliance (BSA), Apollo Night is an annual school-wide talent show which celebrates Black History Month. This year, the event highlighted nine student performers with talents ranging from vocals to backflips.
The nine acts included a mashup of Tyler, The Creator songs performed by Zane Ndonye (senior), complete with dance moves and a blonde bull cut wig, two original blue grass guitar songs performed by Jonah Hasegawa (sophomore) and a combined singing and dance number performed by Zach Lipsett (sophomore) and Jeancarlos Perez Lemus (sophomore). The first place prize went to Shelby Kernisant* (sophomore) who performed a song from the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.”
Zuriyah Smith (junior) is a BSA e-board member and one of the organizers of Apollo Night. Smith said the event pays homage to the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a venue famous for showcasing Black artists and culture.
“It’s a historically Black talent show where so many Black figures and hall-of-famers have made their start and got discovered,” Smith said. “I think it’s really important to educate people on where some of the artists they have been listening to for years have come from.”
Shae Campbell (senior), BSA’s president and one of the Apollo Night MC’s, said the event has been in the works since November. Campbell said some of the organizing challenges included raising funds to rent out Thorne Hall, auditioning performers and promoting the event. Campbell said the planning process was difficult but also highly rewarding.
“It makes me excited because I love to laugh, I love to watch people perform and also I love the opportunity to work on something really hard with my board and have the product be something so glamorous,” Campbell said.
Campbell said they love the tradition of Apollo Night because it lets BSA connect with the broader Occidental community and provides a space for students to showcase their talents.
“It’s one of the most active events of the year I think,” said Campbell. “Why not sit with your friends, get dressed up and watch your fellow Oxy students be creative and express themselves?”
Claire Wilson-Black (junior) performed at Apollo night this year, as well as in 2024. Wilson-Black said her experience performing last year was overwhelmingly positive, and she was grateful for the opportunity to share her talent with an audience. Wilson-Black said the energy backstage was remarkably supportive between all of the competitors.
“Honestly, I kind of forget every year that it’s a competition because I think everyone just loves what they’re doing so much,” Wilson-Black said. “I truly am not thinking about the winning part of it, it’s just the expression and performance part of it that is a lot of fun.”
Smith said typically all of Apollo Night’s profits go back to BSA to fund programming and events for the organization. Smith said this year, the organizing committee decided to donate 40 percent of the event profits toward relief efforts for Altadena families affected by the Eaton fire.
“It was really important for us to use our platform and use the amount of money we get to help Black families who have lost everything,” Smith said. “Even though we are a marginalized group, we do have opportunities that so many of the people who look like us don’t have. So it’s really important to us to pour back into the community — not just the Oxy community, but the broader LA Black community.”
Smith said she hopes the energy for celebrating Black voices on campus will continue past Apollo night.
“I just want to emphasize that we’re here all the time,” Smith said. “Yes it’s Black History Month, but I really want people to know that it’s okay to celebrate Black people and Black things — Black music, Black talent, Black creatives — outside Black History Month.”
*Shelby Kernisant is a staff writer at The Occidental.
Contact Estel Garrido-Spencer at garridospenc@oxy.edu
