Students and a local community member for a night full of powerful performances on Feb. 3 when Black Student Union hosted their much-anticipated annual Poetry Slam in Rezac Auditorium.
The event, which has become a cherished tradition, was kicked off with an introduction by BSU President senior Yosief Tekleghiorghis, who emphasized the importance of the poetry slam and everyone involved. The BSU’s Annual Poetry Slam provided a space where students can come together, celebrate their individuality and be reminded of the strength that lies in unity.
The poetry slam featured a lineup of five performers: junior Yageen Alhadj, sophomore Nicole Brunson, sophomore Luciana Finch, junior Jullian Sowell and Dr. Latania Morr Y Orteg. The performances varied among all five performers, with topics ranging from personal struggles and triumphs to reflections on race and culture.
The winner of the poetry slam was sophomore Luciana Finch, who performed her personally-composed poem.
“The theme for this year was historical power so some people wrote poems and some people found poems online and basically each poem represented like triumphs and relates to black history,” Alhadj said. “And that’s what we do a lot in BSU. We like to tie things back to our roots and study our long history.”
The event was a reminder of the strong spirit that defines BSU and its commitment and drive to provide a space for the voices of Black students here at MHS. Many of the performers chose to present something that felt very close and reasonable to them; some wrote something completely new and original, while others chose to perform something prewritten.
“I performed a poem that was written by Susananna Evans and it’s called ‘Swifts,’” Alhadj said.
“It means a lot to me and the history of my people because it represents all the struggles that everyone’s gone through and it brings out the light in everything.”
