What does Africa Night mean to you?
Africa Night 2019 began on Saturday, November 2nd with the yearly tradition of a song led by the St. Catherine International Student Organization (SCISO) president Sabrina Wema Kubisa (Public Health, ’22.) The tune welcomed a diverse crowd of attendees, including President Becky Roloff and her husband.
Under the lights at the dance party
Arranged by SCISO, Africa Night is a long-standing and beloved event. “It’s about representing all of the different cultures at St. Kate’s,” said the event’s emcees. As attendees lined up for a delicious meal, I asked them: “What does Africa Night mean to you?”
“It allows me to explore different cultures other than my own,” said Shaimaa Abukar (Education, ’21.) Abukar, who later gifted the crowd with a spoken word poem, began the performances..
Ka Xiong Vue (Chemistry, ’23) said, “Africa Night is really important because it represents culture at St. Kate’s. Multicultural events are really important here because there are lots of people of color at St. Kate’s.”
“It’s about keeping the culture alive and helping people understand what Africa is all about,” said Yusi Piloto (Marketing, ’21.) “Sharing the culture - that’s it.”
Lining up for the fashion walk.
Other lively performances followed Abukar’s spoken word, including an Arabic song performed by Zaynab Abdi (Political Science, International Relations, Philosophy, ’20) and a French song by Jeannine Erickson (Critical Studies of Race and Ethnicity ’19). SCISO closed the event with a group dance that had the crowd on their feet.
Informational videos and segments about Africa and societal misperceptions were dispersed throughout the event. As evidenced by attendees’ sentiments, these informative components of Africa Night are vital to the event’s purpose. Africa Night is one
of many functions at St. Kate’s aimed at raising awareness and sharing culture.
What does Africa Night mean to you?
The opening dance
