Four girls twirl around the stage, carrying Bibles and reaching out for each other’s hands. They then fall to the ground, the lights dim, and the music slows. These performers are telling the story of a hate crime that took the lives of four young black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, while they attended Sunday school. The metaphorical resurrections of the girls followed, representing the way they continued to live through the sharing of their stories and the impact their deaths had on social justice. 

The showcase, “Roots and Rhythms: The Story of Us,” explored the struggles and successes of black historical figures and the black community as a whole through dances, songs, and more. According to BSU co-presidents visual senior Taniyah Aris and digital media senior Tyson Jimerson, the production was split into two distinct sections. The first half highlighted the trials that black people have faced throughout history. Vocal junior Neila Bhagwandeen started the show with a solo of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also referred to as the “National Black Anthem” By the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The song encourages members of the black community to “rejoice” and “sing a song full of hope.”

“I felt so honored opening the BSU Showcase this year,” Bhagwandeen said. “It means so much to celebrate black culture and the talents the community in BSU has. I am truly blessed to have been a part of the performance this year.” 

The second half focused on celebrating African-American figures. BSU members presented spotlights on historical figures who have contributed to the black community. Theatre freshman Jillian Loiz presented a monologue from the perspective of Florence Price, the first black woman to have her musical compositions performed by a major orchestra, accompanied by a performance of one of Price’s pieces by a brass group.

“There’s no way to put a whole history into just one specific theme,” Aris said. “I made sure that this theme (for the showcase) was overarching on all the things we have done and all the things that we experience. I wanted to talk about oppression, but also let oppression be the reason why we’re liberated through our art.” 

BSU members also had the opportunity to share their own life experiences during the showcase. Visual senior Kameron George shared her experience with seizures and how these medical struggles early in her life helped form her relationship and love for art. Due to her seizures, she was unable to speak for several years and resorted to visual arts to communicate. George’s story was followed by a display of several of her art pieces, all of which were centered around her community and activism for racial equality. Theatre junior Alina Wester told the story of her grandfather, Richard C. Wester. He made history by becoming the first African-American Fire Chief in Riviera Beach. In her speech, she thanked her grandfather for “paving the way for people that look like me,” and she said she was the “legacy of greatness.”

“Telling his story and then flowing into how he shaped me with the entire school (in the audience) made my story feel seen and complete,” Wester said. “It felt like he was there with me the entire time I was speaking.”

Aris, Jimerson, and BSU sponsor Assistant Principal Teneisha Finney worked together with other BSU officers since the start of the school year to pick out music and performers to match their artistic vision for the production. Aris described the preparation as a “moving process” where everyone was “immersed.”

“It was really fun working with Taniyah, especially, and all the other officers,” BSU showcase coordinator and strings junior Musiq Williams said. “I think they have all been so welcoming, and I definitely look up to them.”

The hour-and-a-half long production concluded with a tribute to South Africa, titled “Jerusalema.” The song was performed in one of the country’s native languages, Zulu, and was accompanied by an orchestra and a DJ as the audience clapped together to the beat and all the performers came out on stage to bow.

“There is a very strong black community (on campus), and I also think that there’s a lot of cultural awareness,” Williams said. “That (community) has taught me that black culture is music and theatre and arts.”