The African American Cultural Center is carrying Black History Month and Black euphoria into March with their newest gallery, “Black Euphoria: Love Letters to Black Life.”
The gallery includes photographs and attendee-made scrapbook pages from throughout NC State’s Black History Month programming. Scrapbooking stations across the space allow anyone to include their experiences of Black euphoria in the exhibit. The back wall is covered in affirmations and quotes that capture the many embodiments of Black love and joy.
Alexis Grant, a second-year studying material science engineering and one of the center’s programming interns, said the gallery is meant to represent the engagement from throughout the month.
“Part of the thing we wanted to do is really cultivate that unity,” Grant said. “We wanted people to be engaged with everything that we’re doing throughout the month and to do something that is creative or calming or refilling to the soul.”
The gallery opening on Feb. 28 began with music and poetry performances from students, staff and attendees. Keniya Beckwith, a second-year studying psychology and president of the Prose and Complex Thoughts club, read Tiana Clark’s poem “Broken Sestina Reaching for Black Joy,” which attempts to reconcile Black love with police brutality against Black people. After reading the piece to the audience, Beckwith said she chose the poem because of how Clark explores the duality of Black joy and Black pain.
“I know that the theme of this event tonight was Black euphoria and expressing yourself in a positive way, but I think it’s also important to remember the issues that Black people face systemically and the oppression that is constant,” Beckwith said. “I think Tiana did a really good job of showing that both things can be true; you can be extremely proud to be Black and extremely proud of the things that you have and then also reflect historically on the issues that you might have suffered from in the past.”
Other performances included Sarah Moody, aka Sarah Hoops, reciting three original spoken word poems exploring time, love and self-awareness. Korie Roane, a graduate student in social work and the center’s graduate assistant, sang Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On” and “Is This Love.” Brionna Johnson, interim library coordinator for the center, read Nikki Giovanni’s “Love Is.”
After the performances, attendees could look at the pictures and read the pages that were already hung on the wall and make their own pages to include in the exhibit. Keonte Edmonds, a doctoral student in the College of Education, used his scrapbook page to appreciate the moments when he does not have to mediate his own intersectional identity.
“I am scrapbooking about just different affirmations [of] what it feels like to be Black and also queer at the same time,” Edmonds said. “Oftentimes I feel like I have to pick and choose one when I’m dealing with life. Not having to pick and choose all the time, that’s what mine’s about.”
This interactive element is perhaps the most unique aspect of the gallery, allowing visitors to collaboratively create the display.
“I like that [it] is interactive,” Roane said. “It’s all beautiful, and I can’t wait to see it grow as more people learn about it. I like that you can see yourself up here when you come into the gallery, not only in the photos that are around, but you can put yourself up here.”
African American Cultural Center director angela gay-audre said they appreciated the opportunity for self-expression that the gallery provided.
“I think it’s something powerful to put pen to paper, or marker to paper, or to express yourself in whatever way is important and necessary for yourself to show love, whether it’s to yourself or to other people,” gay-audre said. “There’s so much creativity that’s in the room, even [in] the sticky notes. Everything holds value. Any opportunity that Black folks get to share and express love, gratitude and appreciation for themselves, I think, is beautiful.”
Anyone is welcome to add a scrapbook page to the exhibit and reflect on February’s celebration in the center’s gallery on the second floor of Witherspoon.