The Harlem Renaissance ended 60 years ago, but that did not stop the Black Student Cultural Programming Board.
The organization transformed Baker Center Ballroom into a scene straight out of the epic period of jazz and cultural revitalization for the 2005 Homecoming coronation, Harlem Nights
Saturday evening.
The Harlem Renaissance was such a great period that we decided to bring it back to celebrate this year's Homecoming said junior Dominique Ellison, BSCPB president. With this theme we were able to take it and run with it.
The annual celebration, which began in 1976, included a competition for king and queen, dinner and entertainment. Sounds from Urban Jazz Coalition filled the ballroom with live music; it truly was a homecoming for the now Columbus-based band formed at OU during the '70s.
The competition to reign as king and queen was extremely steep this year as a peak of 13 contestants competed for the crowns. Candidates - students from an array of academic years, ethnicities and student organizations - participated in a series of events leading up to Saturday's performance, most of which involved intense fundraising in conjunction with their sponsoring organizations.
The proceeds raised by the contestants are an important contribution toward the Blackburn-Spencer Scholarship fund, an endowment started by BSCPB and named in honor of the first black female graduate of Ohio University and the first black student to serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees. The academic scholarship awards $7,500 to minority students each year.
Judged to meet the criteria of attitude, punctuality and interviewing skills, freshmen Eric Franklin and Danielle Carpenter took the titles of king and queen in front of a sold-out crowd.
It took a while for me to realize I had actually won
Carpenter said. I thought 'Wait
that's me!' when they called my name.
Sponsored by the Student African American Brotherhood, Carpenter cited the impromptu question-and-answer session as the most difficult portion of the competition. Questions covered a wide range of local and national current events issues, with some contestants tackling the media portrayal of Hurricane Katrina and OU President Roderick McDavis' diversity initiative.
Franklin responded to a question about the effect of hip-hop music on today's youth, and though he was nervous, he said he was ecstatic when he was named a winner.
This was the first time that I worked hard for something and actually won it
he said.
Franklin, sponsored by Ladies of Soul Dancing in Sync Company, also went home with the award for best banner. Miss Congeniality, an accolade awarded to the contestant showing the most enthusiasm and kindness throughout the week's events, went to senior Jacqueline Rozsa, sponsored by Promoting Ohio University Wellness Education and Responsibility.
Although the evening was the culmination of a whirlwind of Homecoming events, Angela Davis, assistant director of Lindley Cultural Center, pointed to the contestants and the work of BSCPB as a real-life sign of the motif of the year - diversity.
What makes this Homecoming so special is that it was a diverse atmosphere
she said. Diversity is more than just black people and I think it proves that the President's initiative is working.
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Shaylyn Cochran
