Students, faculty and staff gathered together in Talley Student Center Ballroom to witness students pay homage to women who have made a difference in the world, at the second annual “Unforgotten Women” program Monday evening. The program was filled with music, dance and acting performances, devoted to recognizing influential and pioneering women.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences – Multicultural Association for Students and Women Empowering Society Together first organized the program last spring. This year, the organizations decided to hold the event as a part of Women’s Week, a week of programming organized by the Women’s Center in recognition of Women’s History Month.
Contributing organizations each performed a special tribute to a different woman. Members of the Beta chapter of Theta Nu Xi, Multicultural Sorority Inc. recited a poem and performed interpretive movements to the poem to honor Mary Eugenia Charles, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean.
LaDonna Joseph, a senior in biological sciences and and president of the sorority said, “I think it was a great opportunity for us to be able to honor women. The woman that we picked we actually didn’t even know about [previously] so it was a learning experience in itself. I think we’ll do it again next year since it’s going to be annual. We really enjoyed it.”
The African Student Union honored Janet Museveni, who is the current First Lady of Uganda. She played a role in developing national strategies of HIV/AIDS prevention after recognizing the widespread growth of the disease in Uganda, promoting such principles as abstinence and monogamy.
Isaac Owolabi, a senior in aerospace engineering performed a poem titled “One Continent, One World” that addressed the HIV/AIDS crisis. Following Owolabi’s poem, ASU presented a beauty show, featuring the ladies of ASU.
Owolabi said, “I felt honored to be able to honor women. The Bible says that out of Adam’s side came woman, but out of woman comes man so it’s like there’s this interconnectedness and we all need one another. I feel that we all need to learn to how respect and love these women, who are going to be leaders.”
CHASS-MAS and WEST collaborated to honor Claudette Colvin, the woman who pioneered the Montgomery bus Boycott movement before Rosa Parks.
A member of the NAACP, Colvin would not give up her seat to white person in 1955 but, she was not chosen to be in the forefront of the movement.
The members of the organizations performed a skit to illustrate Colvin’s struggle. Junior in business administration, Nikki Gallion, portrayed Colvin in a skit, while the other members portrayed fellow bus riders and dissenters who insisted she give up her seat.
“It’s definitely a blessing to be able to do this again with the Women’s Center It’s a lot of work but the end result is worth it” said WEST president Meshawn Chalmers, a senior in psychology.
Chalmers also said she felt the program gave people an opportunity to learn more about women who were not in the forefront or in the media as much as other female leaders.
Sarah Atchley, a senior in social work played a Beetovhen piece and “I Hope You Dance” by country singer LeAnn Rimes on the piano, along with an interpretive dance performed by Candace Payne, a junior in business administration. She honored Adele Marcus who taught piano at Julliard and around the world and influenced many notable pianists. Amber Carr, a senior in applied sociology, followed with a tribute to Lori Ann Piestewa, an U.S. Army hero who died in the Iraq War in 2003. Carr sang the national anthem while a slideshow depicting Piestewa’s photos and achievements ran in the background.
“I think [the program] definitely turned out the way I wanted it to I think we had a really good turnout compared to last year. It’s really growing so next year I know it’s going to be even better” said April Daley a senior in communication an president of CHASS-MAS.
“A lot of planning went in from last semester and contacting organizations to see if they wanted to participate. We just worked diligently” she said.
Students who attended the event also felt that it was an opportunity to learn more about and to honor the achievements of women.
Kelvin Carter, a freshman in computer and electrical engineering said “I loved it. It made me think about women more than normal.” Carter said referring to the influential women he learned about that night. He said that he would attend the event next year.
For more information about Women’s Week, visit the Women’s Center website or the Nubian Message online.