The annual Black History month assembly here at Mercy took place on February 23. Organized by Mercy’s Human Relations Council, also known as HRC, it included a wide variety of song, dance, poetry, and cinema, with girls from all grades participating. This long awaited assembly was held in the auditorium with the entire school attending, as well as additional family members of students.
The assembly began with members of the HRC performing a skit, where they asked the teacher about Black History month. Sage Johnson, a senior, began by introducing the different components of Black Art. Among these was the art of singing. The audience shifted its focus to the center of the stage, where four students explained different genres of music and their artists. After each student, another would follow by singing. It began with Blues and ended with black opera. It ended by showing various black artists ranging from Ray Charles to Aretha Franklin. The assembly was off on a great start.
“Because this was primarily student-led and the script was written by a member of HRC, I think my favorite part was watching it come together,” senior Sage Johnson said.
“Watching all of these girls that I go to school with share something that is so personal to each and every one of us, really brings us together. That is hands-down my favorite part of this assembly,” Johnson said.
Additionally, a big portion of the assembly included many different forms of dancing that are prominent within the black community, such as tap dancing, ballet, and a rendition of step dance. Performed by Izzy Ahme, tap dancing is a significant part of black culture. Tap dancing gained popularity during the Harlem Renaissance and continues to be an important part of Black Arts.
Similarly, ballet was introduced to the Black community during the Harlem Renaissance and continues to be an important aspect within Black Arts. Performed by Kennedy Dobson, ballet proved to be an inspiring and capturing feature of the assembly.
“I wanted to do ballet because my main goal was to show versatility in the black community,” Dobson said. “A major stereotype that we’re faced with is that we’re only good at hip-hop, but I wanted to prove that the black community can do so much more than that.”
Along with dancing, poetry was a major part of the assembly. Three Mercy students performed distinguished poems from various black authors across the black community. Incorporating poems into the assembly was a major success and elicited great reactions from students.
“I think through performing today, I touched a lot of people and made an impact on their thinking,” junior Jada Roberts said. “I also thought it was really fun, and joining together with all of my similar peers made me feel very powerful while performing.”
She was a part of the main dance number in the assembly. Over 30 black Mercy students dressed in uniform and danced to powerful music on stage.
“I’m really proud to be part of something that moves a lot of our Mercy family,” Roberts said.
This year’s Black History Month Assembly was incredibly performed and hugely popular among the student body. The event was extremely successful for the community of HRC and the awareness of all Mercy students. A tradition that has been carried on greatly, Mercy’s Black History Month Assembly has become a staple event for the Mercy community.