Starlight Art Night Celebrates Black History

|| Flier courtesy of The Table

This past Saturday, The Table put on its fourth annual Starlight Art Night (SLAN), as a celebration for the last day of Black History Month. SLAN is an event that brings attention to the vast ways Black people have greatly influenced culture, with past themes including the Harlem Renaissance and Black theater. This year's theme aimed to recognize the various ways African-Americans have influenced fashion. With a small number of minority students, many find SLAN to be a crucial event for King’s.

“I think Starlight Art Night is extremely important, especially on a campus that only minimally engages with Black history and culture,” says King’s student, Sydney Watson. “It's nice to see students of all backgrounds attending and performing in an event that was created to celebrate Black culture and its facets.”

This year’s SLAN brought people together with food, prizes and several performances. Every year brings a diverse set of acts including dancing, singing, acting, poetry and literature. Saturday's lineup included a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn't She Lovely,” a captivating spoken word piece by Brianna Jacobs, a fashion show recognizing clothing throughout the decades, and an exciting performance by L.I.V.E Dance Crew from Saint John's University. 

“My favorite thing about last Saturday's Starlight Art Night was probably the dance team,” Watson says. “Their performance was great, and it was nice to see King's and another school collide for a bit. It's something that I'd definitely love to see more of.”

Table members did their best to bring attention to prominent Black figures, decorating the Student Union with the faces of Malcolm X, Alice Walker, Will Smith and Misty Copeland just to name a few. Many feel that Black history gets little attention at King’s, making the job of Table exec members all the more important.

“I do not feel as if Black History Month is properly or adequately appreciated here at The King's College. I feel the same and see it in an even worse state, during Hispanic Heritage Month,” says Table president Isura Adedokun. 

King’s does not have many events dedicated to Black History, with the most being two to three. SLAN is one of the few ways the student body likes to show support for students of color. 

“Every year the payout of putting on SLAN is amazing,” Adedokun says. “An amazing number of people come out each year, thoroughly enjoying themselves.”

It may have been merely the fourth time this event has taken place, but Starlight Art Night is an event that the student body has quickly found excitement for. 

"One of my favorite parts of Starlight Art Night was seeing how many people showed up," says Ten Boom president Emma Oesterreicher. "Having a large amount of the King's community in attendance provides an opportunity for education and exposure to what life at King's is like for minority students. The Table exec team also puts so much work into this event and it was really great to see that their work was acknowledged and appreciated."