Black History Month is a nationally celebrated period to honor the history of the African community, but how does Webb recognize and commemorate the Black community in February?  

There are only a handful of events, at Webb that are prioritized around celebrating the month, but they may not be enough to bring the true meaning of the month to the forefront of Webb’s communities’ focus. 

“February is about the successes of people in modern and old history,” said Saraya Chigoji (‘27), a member of Webb’s Black Affinity. “Black history encompasses such a huge amount of American history and people should recognize that in their day to day lives.”.  

Webb’s Black Affinity organized an evening of Black excellence and joy to display Black culture through food, dancing, art, and more. The event reminded Webb’s community of the rich culture hidden underneath Webb’s surface. 

“Our planning process started at the top of 2025, and we used a lot of the same format as we did last year,” said Kenny Clay (‘25), president of Webb’s Black affinity group. “We knew we wanted food, music, a game aspect, and an art cafe.”  

The night opened with a display of traditional African clothing and artwork created by the Black Affinity students. 

“Everything in the art cafe came from members of the community, so some people displayed their own art they had made,” Kenny said. “Some people displayed their family members art, and some brought art they had from vendors and markets.” 

Many of the pieces displayed were donated by the family members of current Webb students, holding meaningful value to members of the community. 

One of the main attractions of the night was the traditional African foods provided by the family relatives of students in Webb’s Black Affinity. 

From the appetizing jollof rice to the fought-over puffs puffs, everyone’s plate was full and refilled for seconds. 

“We wanted food representing the entire diaspora and we have a lot of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in the group, so we asked people to bring a favorite food from their culture;, people’s parents cooked, and some people catered” Kenny said. “It was just about getting a super holistic picture of our background and our identities.” 

Throughout the evening, music performed by African artists filled the space and a Jeopardy song-guessing competition ensued, giving praise to Black songwriters and sings. 

“We knew we wanted an interactive event, so we developed Trivia based off music, meant to recognize the Black art that people have been appreciating and loving their entire life without realizing that it’s Black art” Saraya said.  

The main attraction of the vibrant event brought students and faculty to their feet to sing and dance. Black Affinity chose to bring in Traditional African dancers and artists to engage attendees.  

“To get the dancers here, we networked within all the parents of Black Affinity and see if anyone personally knew any dancers or performers they could reach out to, or any organizations that would be willing to come to Webb.” Saraya said. 

Once the crowd warmed up to the rhythm and melodies, students and faculty volunteered to play instruments and dance alongside the performers. 

Webb’s Black affinity poured their heart and soul into arranging the vibrant hours, and their hard work paid off. The Webb community tasted a piece of Black culture and attendees praised the organizers of the event. 

However, this event may not be enough to educate the Webb community and celebrate the month set aside for African greatness. 

“I think there needs to be more school wide effort, because Black History Month is something Black Affinity tries to shed light on with their event, but it’s just one night,” Saraya said. “Even though we can have our performance, music, and art from our black students, it doesn’t incapsulate everything Black History Month should be about.” 

The impact of the event was felt, but the community should still strive to make a larger effort to allow the entire month to be a celebration. 

“I think that with the scope of what we can do with such small members, I think for us it was very important, and everyone felt very good and empowered by it, but I would’ve liked to do more informative pieces, just around campus” Kenny said. “Last year we did a couple movie and TV screenings. I would like to get more aspects of culture, I hope that in the future that people can come together and feel empowered to make some more things in the scope of what they are able to do.” 

Black Excellence and Joy Night was impactful to the community members who took the initiative to attend the event, but there is only so much one night can bring. Instead, Webb should focus on celebrating the entire month of February and truly investing in Black History Month.  

The Webb community is full of diverse faces and cultures; it is our responsibility to make sure these heritages are recognized.