Spencer Finley

Politics Editor

sjf5814@psu.edu

On Friday, February 25, as part of Behrend’s Black History Month commemorations, the Organization of African and Caribbean Students, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Association of Black Collegians hosted a fashion show, which was accompanied by remarks from a guest speaker, Gary Horton, who is a community leader, a former member of the Erie Board of Education, and President of the Erie Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP; the evening also featured a short performance from the Behrend Dance Team. 

The evening started with some brief remarks of introduction, and then launched into a brief performance from the dancers. After this performance, there was a short break, after which, the fashion show began. The fashion show featured African-inspired designs; bright colors and bold patterns could be seen on every piece. There were an approximately equal number of men and women’s pieces presented. The fashion show took place in two iterations- one of the parts took place before dinner, and one part took place afterwards.

In between dinner and the second part of the fashion show, the guest speaker rose and delivered his address. Horton rose and discussed the importance of being civically involved and informed about history. He also expounded on the importance of voting and spoke about the struggle that went into securing the right to vote. He also discussed the underappreciation of the efforts of black women, both in the past and continuing into the present. 

After Horton gave his speech, there was another brief break, after which the second part of the fashion show commenced. The major difference between the second and the first parts was that in the first parts, there was typically one piece displayed at a time; during the second part of the show, however, there were two or sometimes more pieces displayed at a time. Again, bright colors and bold patterns were displayed in abundance. 

After the second part of the show, there was another brief break followed by closing remarks, after which everyone was invited to make use of the photographer and photo backdrop outside. 

Apologies both for the short duration and tardiness of the article. I’ve been swamped with campaign work, essays, and debate prep for the past week. I also did not record the event as I was not expecting to hear a speaker and my phone was at an extremely low battery percentage.