Black History Month: Sankofa

OnFriday, Feb. 20in the Mathey Common Room, the Princeton Association of African Students will be hosting its second annual fashion show. The theme of the show is Sankofa, or "the Awakening." The word "Sankofa" originates from the West African language Akan and literally means to “reach back and get it.” In modern America, Sankofa symbolizes pride for African heritage and the importance of learning from the past. The show will focus on celebrating African pride with performances from BAC, Ellipses Slam Team, Umqombothi, the Ethiopian Dance Group, models wearing traditional African clothing and traditional African cuisine.

The show, sponsored by the Departments of Anthropology, African Studies and Art and Archaeology, the Lewis Center, the Fields Center, the Center for African American Studies, the Bobst Center and the Alcohol Initiative is free for PUID holders and $10 for non-PUID holders, with a suggested donation of $10. All of the proceeds will go to the Pan-African Global Academy in Ghana, which was founded by Anthropology Professor Carolyn Rouse, Ph.D. Sankofa is one of the many events planned for Black History month, which will focus on this year’s theme of empowerment.

According to head of the modeling committee Adaure Nwaba ’16 and head of the designers’ committee Wilglory Tanjong ’18, the model selection process was difficult because they had a great number of wonderful models audition.

“We had so many wonderful people audition to be in the show and were so amazed and grateful for all of the enthusiasm, especially as this is only our second year organizing and hosting this show,” Nwaba said.

The selection process was thorough and systematic.

“This year, for SANKOFA: The Awakening, we selected models based on the following criteria: their ability to walk, their high energy level and enthusiasm, their ability to hype up the crowd, especially by the dance or pose they chose to do at the end of their walk,” Tanjong said.

Furthermore, the models were rated on a scale from one to five, with five as the highest possible score a model could achieve.

“We rated models on a scale of 1-5, with five being the highest, and one being the lowest. The judges also put comments about each model’s walk next to their score. Following auditions, the modeling committee and the head of the designers’ committee got together to discuss each model’s performance. This year, we had over 70 people try out for 43 spots. Most selected models had scores averaging 4.5 across the board from all judges," Tanjong added.

Many of the selected models eagerly anticipate the show.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know the other models as well as preparing to give an amazing show celebrating African culture!” model Ugonna Nwabueze ’18 said.

Model Folasade Runcie ’18 also expressed enthusiasm for the show.

“I can’t wait to meet and work with new people, and dress up in traditional African clothing,” Runcie said.

For all those involved, "the awakening" has already begun.