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On Thursday, February 19, FACES hosted their fourth annual Speak For Your Change event. The show, put on in collaboration with CAB, showcased various cultural groups and individual students, reflecting the diversity of the Boston College community and confronting racism.
There were several dance and musical performances throughout the evening, put on by Aero-K, a hip hop group under the Korean Student Association, Against the Current, a Christian acapella group, Masti, a South Asian Dance Team, V.I.P, a Latin Dance Team and F.I.S.T.S., an all female step team. The diversity of the groups was reflected in the types of dance showcased.
Shannon West / Gavel Media
Aero-K featured more traditional hip-hop moves to various popular songs, impressing audience members both with their skills and obvious enthusiasm. Against the Current gave a heartfelt performance singing “I Don’t Wanna Be” by Gavin Degraw.
Masti performed an energetic and theatrical number, depicting an Indian romance and wedding. Their number was funny and interactive, giving the audience a chance to experience “a big fat Indian wedding.” V.I.P. gave an electrifying performance, showing some traditional yet provocative Latin dance moves. F.I.S.T.S.' steps were loud and dynamic, grabbing the attention of the audience as they celebrated their sisterhood.
Many individuals also gave spoken word performances, which covered as diverse an array of topics as the dance groups did styles. Some of the performances focused on personal experience, while others addressed systemic racism and current events.
Shannon West / Gavel Media
Ashlie Pruitt, A&S ‘15, gave a powerful performance when she delivered her poem “Queen,” which addressed “the pressures of having to be a strong black woman.” Brittany Burke, A&S ’15, read with passion her poem focused on “language and dignity as it applies to indigenous people in Latin America,” addressing oppression and injustice on a global scale. Patience Marks’s, CSON ’15, poem “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” was similarly political, as it addressed the shootings of black men in America.
Dr. Lillie Albert, the faculty speaker, and an Associate Professor in the Lynch School, closed the night by thanking the student performers and giving a beautiful reading of Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”:
“You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise,” Dr. Albert said, ending the evening with a moment of hope and inspiration.
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