Black History Cultural Festival promotes diversity

The Black History Cultural Festival at Urbana High School was an opportunity for students, families and community members to celebrate Black History Month and the importance of diversity.

Participants were treated to a soul food dinner, student performances, a raffle and displays from community vendors.

“The cultural event is basically for the whole district to celebrate culture throughout the whole district and the diversity in our district,” Dionne Webster, substitute principal of Yankee Ridge Elementary School, said. “And just to get the word out about the different cultures in our building, the different organizations in the community that are available.”

Students from various district schools participated in band and choir performances, dances, and a “stepping” routine in which performers use clapping, footsteps, spoken word and their entire bodies to create intricate rhythms.

Chris Harrington, a sophomore at Urbana High School, delivered a monologue about the issues facing black males in society.

“It was basically about the N-word in society and it was a black man really trying to spread awareness about that,” Harrington said. “It was basically saying how us using that word especially gives other people permission to demean us and look down on us.”

Urbana Middle School eighth-grader Jorjio Neely is a member of the Urbana Dance Team that praise danced to “Still I Rise” and “America the Beautiful”.

“We performed (those) because of a new year and a new president, and a new African American president,” Jorjio said. “ ‘America the Beautiful’, it was for everybody, and ‘Still I Rise’ was for people that were in situations, just to let them know they can rise from that situation and it can be all good.”

Jorjio and Harrington agreed that they enjoyed the opportunity to perform and appreciated the unity the event promoted within their schools and community.

“I thought it was awesome. I liked how everybody came together and performed like that and everybody was clapping and everything,” Neely said. “Usually people coming together can cause like a distraction and drama. So it was good that everybody came together and laughed together, had a good time.”

Unity is exactly what Grace Mitchell, the event’s organizer and chairperson for the Black History Cultural Committee, wanted the students and their families to take away from the gathering.

“Although its Black History month, one of the things that we try to do is include people from all ethnic groups,” Mitchell said. “I think it allows those, not just in Urbana, but in Champaign and the surrounding communities, to see that we work together as a district to try to promote diversity, to try to have more ethnic groups involved in the school.”

Not only did the event encourage harmony among ethnic groups, it also promoted unity within the community. Local vendors and organizations were invited to host a booth at the event to promote their product or service.

Mitchell also encouraged the vendors to bring items to give away to those in attendance, an idea she got from the Taste of Champaign.

“To me, this is like a big open house where we can all get together,” Mitchell said. “A lot of times, families don’t know what some of the services and resources are in a community and this gives them a chance to come out and see what the vendors in the community and see what the programs in the community are all about.”

Champaign County Children’s Advocacy Center was one of the vendors in attendance. The center provides social resources from domestic violence and parenting classes to groups for drug and alcoholism.

Brittanie McMullen, a family advocate worker for the center, said they viewed the event as an outreach opportunity.

“We’re a new agency, so it’s good to get exposure in different places since a lot of people don’t really know about us, they don’t know the services within the community,” McMullen said. “So we’re here to promote our name.”

But the event was more than publicity for the center. For McMullen, events that promote diversity, like the cultural festival, are vital to the health of a community.

“You definitely don’t want any specific race or group of people to feel left out.” McMullen said. “I think events like this just help everyone feel united, so I think that’s a good thing.”

The students’ involvement in the event went beyond performing, as they created much of the artwork featured on the vendor’s booths. For Mitchell, this is just another way to involve the students in the process and make the event more personal for them.

While the event is designed to celebrate racial diversity and empower participants, it is also about uniting students from the different Urbana schools.

“I see that as a way of them being unified as a district, you know at all levels, at all the schools,” Mitchell said. “I think it gives them a real sense of pride, I think it makes them feel real proud of themselves when they can get up there and perform among this many people.”

The significance of promoting diversity and unity within the schools wasn’t lost on those in attendance, either.

“I believe living in America, it’s one of the most important things we can promote because it’s like the beginning of change,” Dwayne Purnell, whose cousin performed in the festival, said. “If we can get diverse people in one setting and we actually have common goals, things like that, I believe that is one of the main recipes for change in the culture.”