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The 2023 Black Heritage Celebration committee is comprised of 11 members. Each member used their own interpretation of the theme “Black to the Future: Our Revival & Rebirth” to craft and execute traditional BHC events with innovation and creativity.
Keynote Service Day Soul Revue Finale Recap
The multi-talented actress Amanda Seales, most known for playing Tiffany Dubois in HBO’s Insecure, graced the Betts Theatre stage and captivated the audience with insightful social commentary, comedic timing, and storytelling.
The beauty of the Black Heritage Celebration is the variety of opportunities to serve GW’s Black community
As a part of this year’s Black Heritage Celebration, the GWU BHC committee hosted Soul Revue-- a night of performances, skits, and activities celebrating Black ingenuity and joy.
Finale is an annual celebration of Black excellence and the perfect opportunity for Black people to feel connected to their community. Through this celebration, friends can connect through music, fashion, food, and dancing.
The Black Heritage Celebration commemorated Black History Month this year with the theme, Black to the Future: Our Revival & Rebirth.
The 2023 Black Heritage Celebration committee is comprised of 11 members. Each member used their own interpretation of the theme “Black to the Future: Our Revival & Rebirth” to craft and execute traditional BHC events with innovation and creativity.
BHC
Year: Senior
Major: Public Health
In 10 years: Getting my fruit picked out
BHC Co- Chair
Year: Senior
Major: Public Health
In 10 years: With a timeshare at Disney
Soul Revue Chair
Year: Senior
Major: Public Health
In 10 years: Pursuing my career as a social epidemiologist
Keynote Chair
Year: Senior
Major: Journalism & Political Science
In 10 years: Centering myself and surrounded by love
Chair
Year: Senior Major: Political Science
In 10 years: I see myself launching a political consulting firm
Ariana Harris
Marketing Chair
Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychological and Brain Sciences
Mayowa Gbadamosi
Finance Chair
Year: Sophomore
Major: Business
Analytics
Clarke Gilmore
Programming Co- Chair
Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychology, Pre-Med
Service Day Chair
Year: Sophomore
Major: Business
Administration
Reianna
Marketing Chair
Year: Freshman
Major: Biomedical
Engineering
Programming Co-Chair
Year: Freshman
Major: Electrical Engineering
Moniah Dailey Telease Bowen Co- Chair Kamiah Brown Ella Stern Tino Stephens FinaleOn the first day of the annual GW Black Heritage Celebration (BHC), the multitalented actress Amanda Seales, most prominently known for playing Tiffany Dubois in HBO’s Insecure, graced the Betts Theatre stage and captivated the audience with insightful social commentary, comedic timing, and storytelling.
This year, the BHC theme was: “Black to the Future’’ which recalls the aesthetic tradition of Afrofuturism. Further expanding on this year’s theme, senior and BHC chair Telease Bowen explained, “Black to the Future celebrates Black history and Black future. It celebrates our heritage by celebrating all areas of it, what’s brought us to this moment, but also the hope of what’s to come right
The selection of Amanda Seales as keynote speaker was certainly a strategic pivot when compared to past celebrations. Feeling as though community conversations on race had “approached a stagnant and predictable point,” Seales was chosen for her envelope-pushing rhetoric and, conversely, her digestibility.
Further inspired by Foggy Bottom’s supposed lack of creativity, Bowen believed that Seales’ defiant and unique embrace of her own creativity would positively impact the audience. The desire to subvert the status quo was further evidenced by the interview style of senior Ella Stern. “Putting the questions together was a lot of fun,” said Stern. “We hoped that the questions we wrote would spark meaningful conversation between Amanda and myself that could translate into wisdom or advice for students in attendance.”
The interview, which felt more like a conversation between friends, touched on Seales’ experiences in college (such as pursuing a master’s at Columbia to better inform her artistry), her experiences in the entertainment industry, and most importantly, her explorations of Blackness and identity. Perhaps the most telling aspect of the Keynote was the Q&A section, as Seales answered all questions gracefully and honestly, no matter how personal.
Seales implored the Black students of GW to strive for greatness despite the overwhelming obstacles and to acknowledge our privilege as Black students traversing the campus environment with like-minded individuals. Only then can we actualize a better, Blacker, future.
Written by: Alfred Taylornow.”
The beauty of the Black Heritage Celebration is the variety of opportunities to support GW’s Black community. From events like the Sneaker Ball, Poetry Night, and Finale, students are able to express themselves in creative ways whilst also being reminded of the importance of service.
As we continue to amplify Black voices within our community and overall, providing a balanced and well-rounded experience ensures that we learn to excel in all spaces. This year the Service Day chair, Brent Biscoe, did everything in his power to create a day dedicated to reminding students of the benefits of service.
Held at the community Grow Garden, students were able to focus on building healthy and sustainable practices and enjoy each other’s company. As we prepare to usher in warmer
Additionally, this year’s Service Day efforts not only had an effect on the Black students of GW, but also benefited the entire GW community as the Grow Garden is a shared and communal space which provides harvests to our local DC community.
Written by: Ira Issoufou
As a part of this year’s Black Heritage Celebration, the GWU BHC committee hosted Soul Revue, a night of performances, skits, and activities celebrating Black ingenuity and joy.
As Black students at GW, we have all encountered prejudice, but Black culture is not built on suffering alone. Soul Revue is a gathering where each of us can feel supported and involved. There is light at the end of this tunnel. Yearly, Soul Revue is an opportunity to make more friends to laugh with; an opportunity to celebrate us!
Soul Revue honors the contributions made to GW and the Washington DC community through a series of Black-led performances. Black culture is often exploited and appropriated however, in many facets of American life, there would be no culture without us. Soul Revue accomplishes the mission of taking ownership of our agenda artistically; showcasing our vast contributions to this community and the world.
Rather than a direct look at Black future, Soul Revue draws on experiences from the past
Kamiah Brown, this year’s Soul Revue Chair, declared that this event “Is a revival of those earlier experiences, sentiments, and the collective energy that surrounded past Soul Revues.”
Soul Revue is an opportunity for students to showcase their unique creativity through their direction and execution of the event. Brown’s nostalgic take on the Soul Revue ‘23 programming reflects the unique touch that she is bringing to this year’s event.
Finale is a celebration of Black excellence and the perfect opportunity for Black people to feel connected to their community. This celebration conects friends through music, fashion, and dancing.
This year’s Finale took place on Friday February 24th at the local, Black- owned, DC venue: The Gathering Spot. The location was sophisticated, yet provided the perfect “blank canvas” for the Finale planning team to create an experience tailored to Black GW.
When questioned about her favorite part of the Finale setup process BHC Co- Chair Moniah Dailey says “I most enjoyed working with a Black owned establishment because they truly understood the ways in which we were trying to find a space to capture Black joy.” The 2023 team wanted to personify the venue in a variety of
Finale is the final event in BHC’s lineup of events celebrating Black History Month. Tino Stephens, the Finale Chair, wanted to support the theme “Black to the Future” by incorporating digital design elements and creating a venue tailored to the theme to add that futuristic feel to the experience. The dress code also had some afro-futuristic elements.
Annually, Finale creates a safe and exciting atmosphere for our community to relax and unwind in an environment that is fully accepting.
This allows Black GW to take a moment away from the struggles that we experience and nurtures a moment where students can solely focus on celebration with community. When asked what he was most looking forward to Black GW experiencing at the closing event, Stephens had this to say, “I’m most looking forward to our people feeling a sense of unity and free and unjudged.”
Stephens added, “I also can’t wait for people to use the confessionals since it would be the first time we did something like that and it will always be nice to look back on the night and hear people’s perspectives regarding the night and the event overall.”
Stephens is determined to create the best experience possible and he is cutting no corners! The saying goes ‘everyone has a Finale story’ and after this year, we can’t wait to hear what yours will be.
ways, she goes on to explain, “This year we are personalizing the space with lighting adjustments, photo booths, confessionals, and more. The process has been long, but I can’t wait for people to truly enjoy all the effort put into the event.”
The Black Heritage Celebration commemorated Black History Month with this year’s theme Black to the Future: Our Revival & Rebirth. When asked to put this theme into the context of celebrating our heritage, co-chairs of BHC Moniah Dailey and Telease Bowen had this to say: “Black to the Future means making strides toward progression and enhancing the black community here at GW. We are utilizing the work of past Black leaders as the blueprint. They have set the foundation, but we are also ensuring that we leave our legacy behind.”
– Moniah Dailey
Soul Revue '23
Soul Revue '23
Finale '23
SoulRevue'23
“Black to the Future celebrates Black history and the Black future. It celebrates our heritage by celebrating all areas of it. What’s brought us to this moment, but also the hope of what’s to come. We are a limitless people, and Black to the Future is a limitless theme. It doesn’t harp on what or who we were but instead creates space for curiosity and imagination about what we could be!” –
Telease Bowen
Finale'23
To showcase what Black to the Future encompasses, this February BHC lined up events traditional to the organization, but as Bowen puts it, with their “own twist on them.”Bowen hopes that students recognize BHC’s innovation, intention, and quality through this lineup. She believes this year’s celebration sets a “timeless standard” for “the future of BHC and Black GW.” She exclaimed that the moderated discussion with Amanda Seales, Soul Revue, and Finale are experiences she will never forget!
Sneaker'23Ball
Written by: Madison Spencer
Soul Revue '23
Dailey, Bowen, and BHC finance chair Mayowa Gbadamosi collaborated to gain support from the University Program Fund. In their pitch, they highlighted the frequent use of Black students in advertisements of GW, but a reluctance to meet the funding needs of the only BHM programming black students receive. Luckily, this year’s BHC is the most financially successful on record. A credit to last year’s BHC finance advisor Destiny Montgomery.
2023’s Black Heritage Celebration is one for the history books. To live on in the memory of current black GW students, and to mesmerize those to come.
KIERA SONA
MIGUEL GOMEZ
ANNA-ZOE PETERSEN
TELEASE BOWEN
SUAD MOHAMED
HOPE RWAGA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CO- ART DIRECTOR
CO-ART DIRECTOR
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
TREASURER
COMMUNCATIONS DIR.
