On Friday, Feb. 23, Lowell’s Black Student Union (BSU) performed its annual Black History Month assembly during blocks 3 and 5. Contrary to previous years, this performance served as an ode to historically Black colleges and universities as well as the Divine Nine — a group of nine Black Greek-letter organizations. BSU members performed Step routines, traditional dances, skits, songs, and poetry that represented cultures across Africa. There were also special guest performances, including a speech from California’s first Black State Controller, Malia M. Cohen, who is a Lowell alumni, and performances by San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco’s Black Greek-life members.  

According to senior and BSU public relations officer Jaila Symone, the purpose of the assembly was to be more vocal about educating Lowell students on Black history and to showcase BSU students’ individual talents. For sophomore Asher Barolette, performing with BSU for the first time was an enjoyable experience. “I was so excited to perform, and it was so fun to do it with a group of my peers,” Barolette said. Through this year’s assembly, Symone hopes that students who were in the audience learned more about BSU’s presence on campus. “[This performance] means a lot,” Symone said. “It’s important that Black people are really recognized at Lowell.”