About 50 people came to explore and celebrate culture during Tradition in Motion: The Black Family Reunion at the Taylorsville Redwood campus on Feb. 10. The event highlighted the role of food, music and dance.
Around the room, eight posters were displayed with insights into African American history, and the first 30 attendees were given “High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America” by Jessica B. Harris.
Amanda Storch, a nursing major, said the posters were informative and a valuable opportunity to learn.
“It was educational and I’m still learning,” she said. “It was a good opportunity, especially for Black history, specifically my history.”
Once the event began, host Deja Brown, KSL 5 TV moderator, walked around the room asking attendees about their family traditions and what they liked about themselves.
“I thought it was so impressive how many students came out,” Brown said. “When we have events like this surrounded by Black History Month, we just hope people show up to take in what you [coordinators] want to.”
Brown said she appreciated the interest for learning the significance of African American culture.
“To see the room full was such a fulfilling feeling. We know what our culture means to us [and] we just want to present understanding [about] how big the impact can be.”
Serena Boas, a dental hygiene student, said she reflected on the significance of maintaining connections with loved ones across distances.
“I’m close to my family but they are all in Brazil. So, I don’t have big family traditions, only small ones,” said Boas. “I feel some people lack family traditions. People were talking about how important it is to get along with your family and how powerful it is.”
Celebrating through dance
LaDonte Lotts, owner of JiggAerobics, led a dance exercise while DJ D smoove played hip-hop music. Attendees were invited to join in the dancing.
Lotts said he enjoyed the vibe from SLCC students in the room.
“I loved the energy,” he said. “When you come into an unfamiliar place, you are on the edge or on the wall. And just seeing their energy change, I’m super excited to be here just to see the students’ faces [and] see the students getting up and movin’ and groovin’ and just being involved in our culture.”
Kimble Angus, an architecture major, said that the event was enjoyable, although he didn’t anticipate joining in. He said he was drawn in by the JiggAerobics instructor.
“It’s been fun,” Angus said. “I didn’t expect to get roped into the entirety of it, but it’s been compelling. The JiggAerobics guy is super compelling. I loved his vibe. Very charismatic. A lot of fun. I love seeing people stream in and say, ‘oh look they’re having fun in there.’”
Boas said the dancing allowed for personal expression and reflected on her own cultural dancing and other styles like Zumba.
“Super cool and empowering. It is awesome that we have other people in here expressing [themselves] with dancing,” said Boas. “You can feel empowerment while dancing through the culture. You express yourself through dancing. There isn’t a correct way to dance, it’s just dance.”
Brown said Lotts brought energy that showed investment in student engagement.
“You see how he [Lotts] lights up when he talks about [dance]. That’s what is so important. Because just as important as it is for students to show up, it’s important for us to show up [too],” said Brown.
She said that the fulfillment in their work comes from seeing others engage and bring their energy.
“That is where that light comes from,” Brown said.
Mahamud Dalmar, an SLCC student studying finance, said he liked the sense of community.
“I feel like it brings the community close together. Once we get events like this, everything seems effortless [when] we’re together,” he said.
Christopher McKinley, coordinator for Heritage Month Events and organizer of the Black Family Reunion event, said he aimed to provide education while having fun. He referenced that students often spend time in lectures rather than learning through hands-on enjoyment.
“I want them to learn about different cultures from fun and engaging activities,” he said. “They can learn what we do at those Black Family Reunions through participating and engaging in dance and cultural education. A lot of them walked in shy and walked out friends.”
He added that he is eager to introduce more educational activities that expose students to new experiences.
“The cultural program is about bringing [students] together and keeping our students here so they can graduate,” McKinley said. “I’m excited to bring activities that are educational and expose them to new things.”
