This past Thursday, Feb. 17, Black Student Alliance (BSA) and Multicultural Student Services hosted a poetry slam as part of the Black History Month events. The event took place at 6:30 p.m. over Zoom and everyone was invited to join and celebrate poetry. 

Since COVID-19 began, this event has transitioned to Zoom. Senior Tahj’ae Coleman said, “I miss when this event used to be in person, I think that we were all better connected and able to enjoy the event with friends, so it feels weird to have the event happen virtually, it doesn’t feel the same.”

The event was a safe space for EMU students to share their own work or to simply listen and appreciate other people citing their own work or poems that are meaningful to them. The event was shorter this year since it was attended by a few and only some people were willing to read their poetry. Junior Nardos Haile said, “BSA hosted a safe space to cite poetry, and the time shared was short but sweet. Some poetry was written by those who attended the event, and were beautifully written, while others shared poems that they liked and followed the general themes BSA has discussed this month.” 

This year, the event went beyond poetry and students were able to take the event as an opportunity to reflect on any difficulties and challenges they are overcoming as young adults and BIPOC people, or whatever was on their minds. Junior Joy Parakuo said, “I think that the fact that there were only a few people at the event made it easier for people to sit, relax, and share whatever was on their minds.”

The poetry slam event has occurred for many years now at EMU as part of the Black History Month celebration. When talking about the organization of the event, Haile mentioned, “BSA usually hosts a poetry slam every year during Black History Month. The hope is that members and other students can share either a work regarding themes seen throughout the month or just sharing something that has been on their minds.”

This year, the event was short-lived, and it lasted less than an hour since not many people attended the event. The event was organized to happen both in person and over Zoom; however, students opted for the option of joining the event from the comfort of their own space and over Zoom.