The Black Leadership and Opportunity Center (BLOC) partnered with the MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center and the Student Union for the first open mic night of the spring semester on Tuesday in recognition of Black History Month.
The monthly open mic night began with a student feature artist, Kiara Johnson, an African American studies sophomore, singing the tunes of Ella Fitzgerald.
Her graceful and mesmerizing voice made it feel as if the Student Union ballroom transformed into a 1960s nightclub and she was a glamorous jazz lounge singer in the spotlight.
The hybrid event was streamed on YouTube and hosted by sociology senior Kenny Jackson and justice studies and African American studies senior Aurion Wiley-Green as a live audience of about 20 people enjoyed comedic, poetic and musical student performances.
“We're happy to support any sort of expressionism that talks about the authenticity of people's experiences,” Chris Yang, director of the MOSAIC said after the event.
Emerald Green, director of the opportunity center, said she was happy to collaborate with the MOSAIC center for this month's open mic in an effort to highlight Black history.
“It's great for us because it means that we get to showcase Black voices [and] Black talent,” Green said. “In terms of our theme, Black mental health and wellness and really [centering] that, I know that oftentimes the open mic is an outlet for our community to really explore topics, [from] Blackness to anti-Blackness, oppression and systemic change, or just what's the state of our community.”
Aisha Williams, environmental studies and teaching preparation senior, said her journey as a performer began at the MOSAIC’s open mic shows which led her to regularly perform at local open mic shows.
Williams, a cultural programmer at MOSAIC, delivered a special birthday performance from poetry she wrote in her journal that she's been using since 2020. She said during her performance that it's an effective way of tracking and reflecting on her mental and emotional growth.
“[Live performances] allows folks space to express themselves, and I think that takes a lot of courage and vulnerability to do,” Williams said. “In poetry words really touch people on a different level, because it's written from the heart. And then that way, social justice can be less of a hard [subject] to tackle.”
Matthew McCallaCreary, pictorial arts senior, delivered a standup performance. He said comedy and entertainment as a whole is now “more important than ever” because it's a fun way to help people forget about whatever is distressing their mind.
“I didn't have a lot of faith in myself before, but friends around me were telling me that I was funny. And so I figured I'd give it a chance,” McCallaCreary said. “And actually, I kind of blacked out on stage. I really don't know how well I did...but it was fun.”
Some students said they use the open mic events as an opportunity to experiment with their art while drawing inspiration from other live performers.
History sophomore Archit Mahale said he was inspired by rock band The Grateful Dead and tried to perform two songs under five minutes with a mini guitar solo and a rhythm change for the first time on stage.
Mahale said that the MOSAIC community is very welcoming and nonjudgmental so it motivates performers to want to showcase their talent.
“Even if I messed up I wouldn't care, they're still gonna be supportive, and that just encourages me to play more,” Mahale said in a phone interview after the event. “And like they say, ‘they perform to express not impress.’ So if it's all about speaking your mind, I don't see why anyone or anything should get in the way of that.”
The BLOC will continue to host events and conversations including the Black Healing Space on Feb. 21 and other events that emphasize this year's theme, Black Health and Wellness.
McCallaCreary said that although he is grateful for a safe space to perform, its important to always recognize and showcase Black talent and artists, not just during Black History Month.
“I think it's important to celebrate Black history and our impact on America [but] just having one month dedicated to it and then kind of disregarding it for the rest of the year is applied,” McCallaCreary said. “I think it's important to support local performers, emerging musicians so that they have an outlet and a space where they can exercise creative freedom.”
