By Shaliese Hardy
North Carolina State University’s Annual Pan-Afrikan Festival is a week dedicated to embracing the African-American culture that many student may not experience while attending a predominantly white institution. The Pan-Afrikan Festival is hosted by the Black Students Board which hosts events from different cultural organizations that display African American traditions. The annual Pan-Afrikan comedy show has been an event that attracted not only NCSU students, but students from surrounding universities and Raleigh residents as well. This year’s comedians were Nema Williams and Tony Roberts.
The show began with comedian Nema William, a Bronx, NY resident. The audience was amused by his jokes about race, family, and real life situations. From having a black girlfriend to being tough, Nema entertained the audience and broke down racial barriers. Nema shared his big-city experiences about New York emphasizing the “local talent” he encounters on the subwayand the methods they use to collect charitable donations.
The main act was Tony Roberts, a well accredited comedian and resident of Los Angeles, California. Tony’s act included jokes about Greeks, football players, airplane situations, and included some personal roasting sessions. Tony wowed the crowd with a reenactment of a typical club scene and his experience with Omega Psi Phi hopping and disrupting his attempted advances at females. Attendees cried tears with his skit about the invention of Greek calls. Tony engaged the football players while humoring their habits of saving seats between each other stating that “men need space.”
Cracking on the size of airplane bathrooms, racial jokes, and even his slick comments about the back stage refreshments kept the crowd entertained. Throughout his act, Tony enjoyed “roasting” audience embers, and showing love as well. This year’s comedy show was one to remember, and contributed not only to the connecting of black students on campus, but fighting against the separation of races on campus as well.