MSU students experience taste of Africa
Detroit resident El Sankofa of the Tamerrian Institute performs a demonstration of African American martial arts on stage Saturday at MacDonald Middle School during the African Student Union Cultural Gala presented by the African Student Union. Four performers from the Institute demonstrated numerous fighting techniques with and without weapons.
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African musicians provided rhythmic backdrop with their drums as women danced in full traditional clothes and men in costumes made their way around stage in 3-foot-tall stilts.
The African Student Union hosted its annual African Student Union Cultural Gala on Saturday night at MacDonald Middle School, 1601 Burcham Drive, which featured performances and cuisine inspired by the continent that gave the world about 2,000 languages.
This year’s gala, From Sunrise to Sunset: The Harvest is Ripe! treated visitors to a performance showcase at 5:30 p.m.
After the show, attendees dined on some of Africa’s finest food, such as beef kafta, sauteed goat, fried plantains, falafel and samosas.
Dinner and the show were organized so African students studying in America could reconnect with their culture, and Americans could experience it for what could be their first time, said Bisi Hollist, a medical technology senior and the president of the African Student Union.
Gallery: Culture Gala
“This is us showing people who we are,” Hollist said.
“I’m revisiting my culture each day having a part of this.”
The night began with a litany of performances dedicated to the continent, including songs, poetry, a fashion show in both modern and traditional attire, drums, a game of African Jeopardy, martial arts and stilt walkers.
Journalism junior Joy Walter said she was floored when performers walked around stage in about 3-foot-tall stilts during the drumming of the band Solid Foundation.
“They just came out of nowhere,” Walter said.
Civil engineering junior and ASU member Valentine Nsofor played a part in many performances Saturday night, including poetry, fashion and the ASU dance team. Everything Nsofor did was to help Africa and his home country of Nigeria, he said.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “I’m proud of who I am, so I love doing these things all the time. I’m proud to be representing Africa.”
Walter said she never had experienced a lot of the African culture prior to the gala, but said the show opened her eyes to the region.
“It was definitely way cooler than I expected,” she said. “All those colors and costumes and enthusiasm was more than I expected.”
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