The Black History Month Showcase, hosted by Boston Latin School Black Leaders Aspiring for Change and Knowledge (B.L.A.C.K.), returned to BLS on March 1 after years of absence. The showcase featured a wide array of talented performers focused around this year’s theme of Afrofuturism.
According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Afrofuturism expresses notions of Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism that envision liberated futures for Black life.”
In addition to BLS’s Gospel Choir, Step Squad and Jazz Band, the audience also enjoyed selections from soloists, spoken word artists and the Origination Dance Team. The showcase also contained a fashion segment, which displayed outfits celebrating Black creativity and resilience.
Amanuel Habtemariam (III) remarks, “It was cool to see all of these people doing all of these cool things and I feel like [the showcase] was kind of like a call to the past, while also being like a call to the future by showing our capabilities and stuff like that through the arts.”
In the weeks leading up to the showcase, both students and teachers were busy with planning and rehearsing, all while balancing their other responsibilities. One of the main difficulties was accommodating the hectic schedules of the performers and the short month of February.
Nonetheless, BLS B.L.A.C.K. was not only able to host the showcase, but also a spirit week and a cookout, all of which took place in the same week. They were able to partner with ZaZ Restaurant, which provided Caribbean, Latin and Asian fusion dishes.
Ms. Rose Delorme-Metayer, the Director of the McCarthy Institute and faculty advisor for BLS B.L.A.C.K., comments, “It’s always important to highlight the different aspects of Black life and culture, but also in particular, for people to understand that so much of what they see around them originates out of Black arts, Black music, Black dance and Black culture in general.”
