Attending performances: 2 points

 

I volunteered as a stage hand for the last show of Spriggs Burroughs’ Festival of Eccentrics. FOE is a ballroom style competition show with houses for dance, acting, music, and poetry. It explores themes of love, sexuality, identity, and more in such a raw manner that you can’t help but be in awe of the performances. I volunteered for FOE last year as well, and while it obviously changes from year to year, I will always think it remains a strong and beautiful show. I think it’s important to have spaces like Spriggs Burroughs and performances like FOE at Spelman and in the AUC because black culture, especially black queer culture, is something that is consistently appropriated and devalued. At prestigious institutions with strict reputations, having these safe spaces for black queer expression is vital for the student body. Additionally, with the first part of my research interest being “black queer and feminist,” seeing physical representations and upholdings of these identities is important to me.

By Samantha Hines