Student voices, live music kick off 100th year of Black History Month at SU
The “Live and Loud: Black History Month Kickoff” featured testaments to the importance of celebrating Black History Month and live music from local jazz band Claymation Music and Entertainment. The band played songs from black artists, such as “All of Me” from John Legend. Milena Chiari │ Contributing Writer
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For Syracuse University junior Za’Mani Pierre-Louis, celebrating Black History Month 100 years after the first is crucial to see how far the celebration has come.
“I think it sounds a little cliché, but I think we really are our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” Pierre-Louis, Black History Month Planning Committee student co-chair, said. “I know in 1926, Carter G. Woodson wouldn’t have imagined what Black History Month would be in 2026.”
On Friday afternoon, SU hosted the Live and Loud: Black History Month Kickoff in the Schine Student Center, beginning the 100th anniversary celebrations for Black History Month. The event was part of month-long programming.
The event opened with remarks from planning committee chairs sharing their love for black history and what it means to them. Planning the event consisted of weekly meetings with the co-chair committee and reaching out to people on campus and in the area. For senior Nana Akua Osei-Wusu, a student co-chair in the planning committee, the kickoff event felt like a community away from home, she said.
“Knowing that Syracuse is a (predominantly white institution), I feel like it’s very important to celebrate Black History Month because we do have a big Black community, and it’s important that they feel seen and celebrated as the Black community has been through a lot,” Osei-Wusu said.
The event included a live performance by Claymation Music and Entertainment, a local jazz band. While the band played songs by notable Black artists, like John Legend’s “All of Me” to Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us,” attendees moved around the atrium, singing and dancing with each other.
“It’s free live music, it’s a free show, so many talented people here to celebrate this month, so I think it’s a great vibe to get this month started off right,” SU sophomore Naiel Tuccu said.
A month dedicated to honoring Black history is “inspiring,” SU junior Trinity Jennings-Pagan said. It is also a way to look back on how far the Black community has come.
“In order to not repeat the same mistakes, you have to look at what came before you and in honor of contributing more to our community, we have to look to see who’s shattered glass ceilings before us,” Jennings-Pagan said.
The kickoff even allowed some attendees like Tuccu to better understand their own history.
“We can build up each other, the African community, the Black community, but also create a welcoming presence for others on campus,” Tuccu said. “When we share that culture, I think that strengthens our culture.”
