By Josh Hughes
In conjunction with the Western Gallery exhibit “Back to the Sandbox: Radical Art & Pedagogy”, Western held a Black History Month Summit on February 9 and 10. Sponsored by Woodring College, University Residences, and the Counseling Center, among others, the weekend was filled with exciting panelists, presentations, and workshops.
On Friday, February 9, professor of Secondary Education Dr. Karen B. McLean Dade hosted a participatory workshop called “Africa to America”. An author, educator, and researcher of cross cultural studies and social justice, Dr. Dade took the audience on an educational journey for an hour and a half spanning the American history of African people.
The evening started with a brief reception and art exhibit in the PAC lobby. Dean Horacio Walker and Dean Kit Spicer, two professors at Western, gave an opening welcome as people perused the artwork. Soon afterwards the crowd funneled into a performance hall for the main event.
Johnnae McDaniels, a Western student, recited the poem “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton as an introduction. Next, Ibidunni Ojikutu sang the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to roaring applause from the audience.
Just before Dr. Dade’s talk, fourteen black people from diverse backgrounds modeled clothes for an African Diaspora Fashion Walk. They wore clothes from Christelle Fostsing’s company Luchrist Fashions, located in Bellis Fair Mall. Fostsing herself introduced the walk by talking about some of the goals of her company.
“I want to promote African culture in Bellingham, so that children, students, parents, and anyone can access this sort of clothing.” said Fostsing.
Students that participated in the fashion walk came from everywhere from Seattle to Panama to Nigeria.
Prefacing Dr. Dade, Lynden high school student TJ Robinson gave a powerful reading of Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again”.
“Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, the rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, we, the people, must redeem the land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— all, all the stretch of these great green states—and make America again!” ended the poem. The last line rang out multiple times, leaving the audience with plenty to ruminate on even before Dr. Dade’s workshop started.
“I want to invite you to my classroom,” said Dade just before motioning the audience onstage to join her. “In an hour and fifteen minutes I hope to take you through 400 years of African culture.” she continued.
As co-director of the entire Back To The Sandbox project, Dade focused heavily on the power of experimental education and education through action. About half of the audience joined her participatory workshop, while the other half remained in their seats. She stressed the importance of staying an active participant and engaging with the material, even from the comfortable seats of the PAC.
“The floor isn’t wood, it’s soil. It feels good and you’re sinking into it. I’m gonna take you to Africa!” said Dade.
Over the next hour Dade took the audience through a journey of African dance and experience. She had everyone imagine that they lived in an African village and were celebrating the birth of a child. Eventually things took a grim turn as a group of slave traders came into the village and took the participants to America to be traded as slaves.
Some of Dade’s students served as accompanists in the performance, with some leading dances, some acting out parts, and some performing music. Additionally, the workshop would occasionally pause for another poetry reading.
The participatory segment of her talk ended with a horrifying reenactment of a slave auction. After the audience had made their way back to their seats, her students came onstage with various protest signs reading “End Racism”, “Justice For All”, and “Stop Segregation”. Then student Jade Jordan performed an exceptional contemporary dance to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”. Eventually the students flipped their signs to reveal that they all said “Black Lives Matter” on the other side. It was a touching, powerful ending to a quick history of Africans in America.
“This hopes to address issues of race and racism, but also of resilience and love,” said Dade. “This is part of an ongoing conversation addressing how we can use the arts as a means of social justice and understanding,” she concluded.