With February comes the cherished acknowledgement of Black History Month. This month is singled out to bring light to the many contributions and achievements made by African Americans that have changed our world from the early ages until now. Its significance is not only to recognize the efforts and works made by African Americans, but to educate and honor the often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans. 

In only its third year of establishment, the Black Student Union here at Steinert has been to provide a second black history month performance. Since established, the BSU has made heavy efforts in providing a safe space for minority students and students overall, regardless of one’s color. A safe space like this allows students to not only have a place of comfort within a school setting, but a place of encouragement, bonding, success, service, and many more honorable traits. The Black Student Union allows students to open themselves to their full potential and strive for success, not only contributing to black excellence, but also contributing to their own greatness in life. 

To start off the performance, Nevaeh Washington and Chirstabel Mensah beautifully sang the historical black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” A very popular song, it’s preformed to start many events within the African American community.

The BSU Dance Team then showed off their moves to get the audience ready for the following activities. Their dancing really set the tone for the rest of the performance and gave viewers something to look forward to.

If energetic moves weren't enough, the BSU Step Team came forward and raised energy with their melodic steps. Absolutely no music was needed because their stomps and rhythm were the music. 

During Black History Month, many African Americans prioritize recognizing their roots and where their lines of success and originality come from. To contribute to that, we had a few groups form the Dominican Republic, Ghana, and Haiti come up and tell us about their countries. Whether it was formal lines or fun-induced dances, the crowd were able to take a piece of each country with them. 

In between sets such as mentioned before, we had two beautiful solo dances performed by Karla Rodriguez. She graced the Steinert stage with her flowing and gorgeous movements, the audience was touched. 

This year, the BSU was able to come up with an amazing play. This play focused on the significance and unity brought by the Black Panther Party back in the 60’s. It shows the division within communities between the people and the police, and how the Black Panthers helped protect the people whilst bridging that gap in the end. Lastly, to close off the performance, the BSU Dance team lifted everyone's spirits with another dance.

Overall, the Black History Month performance provided by the Black Student Union was awesome. Not only did students get an awesome experience out of learning about different cultures they don't see everyday, they also got to see the beauty in differences as well as look through the eyes of one another. A wonderful job by the Black Student Union!