First published Feb. 21, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell.
By Marissa Yelenik
“Some people have the privilege to dress down, to have wilder hair colors, to have visible tattoos and still be perceived as ‘professional enough,’ I do not,” said senior biology and anthropology major Nina St. Hillaire, performing an entry from her journal.
“It is something I’ve been taught since I was young, very young.”
St. Hillarie was one of dozens congregated at the Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy Office’s annual Black Monologues event last Tuesday night, where Black students shared their perspectives through prose and poetry. They spoke about social justice, about love — appropriate for Valentine’s Day — and about Black History Month.
“Being a minority in the United States means either I am the exception or I am the rule, and there is basically no nuance for me. I am either an excellent model of an individual, or I am a stereotypical Black woman. And one detail out of place has the power to move me from the first category to the second,” St. Hillarie said.
The night, intended to amplify Black voices and educate audience members by exposing them to new ideas, was filled with both originals and covers. Soft music played under the impassioned words of performers.
Freshman Devin Moore spoke with passion and frustration about their experience with racism and bullying, leading them to activism.
“What I am is strong, brave, smart, wise, an A student, a competent Black young adult,” Moore said. “I am someone who has gone through so much hate, that I’ve learned to stand up for myself. I have learned not to let what others think of me define me… I inspire others to be upstanders, and teach them to speak up against the hate and embrace who they are.”
MICA Coordinator Micaylah Jones said the event was a chance to feature ways in which Black people resist.
Not just armed resistance that may be popular in depictions of Black resistance, but in all the other ways we resist including how we find love, how we find joy and happiness, how we build community with each other, how we build community with others, how we build coalitions,” Jones said.
Junior India Harsley read the piece “Ifー” by Rudyard Kipling, which focuses on keeping your composure even when everything surrounding you tries to break it.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
“My main gist for talking about the Rudyard Kipling poem, ‘Ifー’ was just to empower Black students, Black women especially, in being successful and persevering through their classes and whatnot,” Harsley said, “and just existing at a PWI knowing that there may be some difficulties but there’s also a lot of strength that comes from just being here and being who you are as a Black woman in that space.”
While slightly lacking in turnout, the night was impactful for performers and audience members alike. It was a night a community came together to help themselves, and help each other. The event will be held next year.
“I hope that this night is a reminder to take a moment and think about all the ways that just being here,” Jones said, “and living and being yourself is really a radical act, and you should celebrate that and yourself.”
Leave a Reply