Africa Night connects cultures roots

African Night was back at the CSU Ballroom on Apr. 13, highlighting the culture of many international students.

The annual event was themed “Roots of Africa.” Zoe Gorah, president of the African Student Association, said they wanted to debunk the myths about Africa.

“Everyone has this stereotypical image of Africa, but we don’t really have what exactly is put out,” said Gorah. “This time we’re taking the stereotypical African village theme, but owning it and doing it ourselves and showing people how we would do it, instead of how people see us.”

Gorah said people were excited about making “a home away from home” because this is the place where they were able to show off their flags, cultural clothing and food.

“For me it’s good because I’m far away from home so I don’t get to eat my traditional food that often,” said junior Edidiong Ukoeninn. “It’s always good to return to the traditional dishes that we eat a lot.”

Besides the cultural dishes, attendees got to see the fashion show. Students presented their cultural dresses and, later, walked on the stage with the flags of the countries they represented.

In addition to that, African Night offered a talent show.

“A lot of the performances are cultural dances from villages or songs that are popular,” said Laued Nyanwleh, vice president for the African Student Association.

One performance featured The Boys, african students who collaborated together to sing about unity. Members of “The Boys” represented four different countries in Africa.

Gorah said the 300 people who attended made new connections, tried food and watched different performances throughout the night.

“I came here to Africa Night because I wanted to see the culture as well as share my own culture with others,” said junior from Ethiopia Makda Asmelash. “I also wanted to listen to different music, see what the other culture looks like, as well as meeting new people at the event. It’s a really good opportunity to have every African and non-African students united.”

Header photo: (Africa Night in the Centennial Student Union’s ballroom highlights the culture of international students. This year they took the stereotypical view of African villages and made it their theme making it their own. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)

Write to Amalia Sharaf at Amal.Sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu