DeKALB – NIU students gathered to watch multiple performances of slam poetry, modeling, painting, dancing and roller skating on Thursday to honor Women’s History Month.
Four Poets, One Mic put on the Women’s History Month Showcase at 7 p.m. in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium.
Darius Jackson, also known as Dr. Jackson, co-founder of Four Poet’s One Mic, closed out the evening with a poem called “Herstory.”
Jackson said the poem is about one of his female friends who went to NIU who passed away.
“The doctor said I’m sorry but you caught cancer. See secondhand smoke, not a joke, she knew it all along,” Jackson said. “Every time Andrew smoked, she felt it in her throat, hold her breath so she don’t choke. She hit the floor, eyes full of tears, trying to reflect her life back on all these years.”
Jackson said the other members of Four Poets, One Mic told him he had to perform “Herstory” for the Women’s History Month Showcase.
“It’s a story that I always like to tell cause, when I see current NIU female students I think of her, Jaz. I think of her,” Jackson said. “I share that story to let them know they’re not alone, other people have went through it.”
Jackson said he felt connected with the audience.
“My goal is to always at least touch one person in the audience with my stories, and I feel like I achieved that goal,” Jackson said.
Present Perfect Modeling Organization performed a routine to a mashup of multiple songs including “God is a Woman” by Ariana Grande.
“We looked amazing, the vibes were there, outfits were there, I really felt the vibe of the Black woman coming together,” senior nursing major Diana Tassy said.
Alicia Richardson, a senior business major, said the audience helped the vibe of the show.
“As far as the audience, everybody was cool, they were supportive. They were clapping, and you could tell that everyone was genuinely having a really great time,” Richardson said.
The models wore outfits in different combinations of black and white, along with high heels.
The Northern Black Choir opened the night with a performance of a remix of the song “Awesome God” by Michael W. Smith.
Sydney Williams, also known as Chakra, performed multiple poems where they also transitioned into singing.
“It was enough people that it felt intimate and it felt like that I could relate back and forth with the crowd,” Chakra said.
The Idol Club performed a K-Pop dance routine to “Sugar Rush Ride” by TOMORROW X TOGETHER. They danced all around the stage, even putting a member across the leg of three dancers.
Cheyanne Hoerr, also known as Jellyfishtheliontattoo, performed a speed painting of flowers. She finished her painting in three minutes and 20 seconds.
“I think it went really well,” Hoerr said. “I was super glad that the young woman that came up and helped me when my easel fell. That was just awesome and I wanted to thank her.”
The club announced the Glow in the Dark Art Show for Hoerr’s paintings. From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 23 in the Skyroom of the Holmes Student Center, there will be free snacks and raffles along with Hoerr’s art.
T performed a routine on light-up roller skates where she managed to lay on the ground and then skate up.
“Four Poets is based on racial and social injustice, we do poetry about love and a lot of it is related to the Black culture,” Chakra said.
Food was provided including cheese and sausage pizza, along with buffalo and BBQ wings from Vinny’s Pizza.
Amarachi Nwawueze, also known as Amaraa, is one of the four poets in the club and the newest member. She performed multiple poems including one called “I am not my hair” which received multiple cheers and snaps from the crowd.
“I was vibing with the crowd,” Amaraa said. “They were very energetic, and I liked that a lot.”
