Correction: A previous version of this article omitted the last name of Jermaine Hagan in a photo caption. The caption has been updated to show this correction.
Long Beach City College’s second annual Art Showcase was held at the LAC auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 23, a showcase to honor Black Heritage Month.
At this event, there was a plethora of speakers, singers, artists, and dancers, all there to commemorate the occasion.
One of the artists, Marty Triplett, gave the audience insight on their journey, their artwork featured behind them as they spoke. According to Triplett, they put all their “emotions and love onto a canvas.”
With heartwarming earnesty, Triplett talked about what it was like to be both black and queer. They said, “I love being black, c’mon, we’re so beautiful and diverse and come in all different shapes and sizes,” receiving cheers from the audience members.
After speaking on stage, Triplett revealed that they came out when they were 13 and that it was a touchy sensitive subject at first. They come from a religious household where their family didn’t initially take their queer identity well.
Since coming out years ago, Triplett’s family has come around, “They now use my proper pronouns.” Triplett made it a point to mention how important the LGBTQ+ Center was in supporting them.
Then entered Noah Gordon, a charismatic member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Gordon walked the audience through the key aspects of his fraternity, including the different chapters and requirements.
The Omega Psi Phi fraternity at Howard University is a Black, Greek organization. According to Gordon, their motto is “Friendship is essential to the soul.”
Along with speaking, Gordon gave the audience a step performance, where he moved all around the stage while chanting. The fraternity’s dance steps are based on African ritual dances.
Gordon went into further detail on the step routine, saying, “Every D9 has their stepping and strolling, they hop and march.” The Divine Nine are a council made up of nine Greek-African-American fraternities and sororities. Omega Psi Phi was the first to be a part of the council.
The final speaker of the event was Jermaine Hagan, who’s been a speaker and an advocate since 1989.
To start, he told the audience an inspiring story of how at 17 years old he was able to convince a bookstore into obtaining more books on Black history. He was able to get through to the bookstore by being proactive and writing a letter.
Hagan had a focus on truth and the importance of obtaining that truth. He spoke of the TV news channels, saying, “TV is telling a lie about origins, black history does not begin in slavery.”
The mistreatment of Black people and the overall white washing of history was another big topic of discussion. The lawnmower and the sprinkler are both inventions created by Black inventor Elijah McCoy, who is often overlooked in favor of white inventors. Hagan said that this is where the phrase, “Is this the real McCoy?” originates from.
As he left his audience, Hagan asked them if they were living up to their full potential. He encouraged them to have faith in themselves, saying, “the most powerful force is a made up mind.”
At the helm of the showcase was Briana Pinkerton and Chrishaad Moye, both of whom have vital roles in counseling and hosting events around campus.
Pinkerton talked about the process of reaching out to all the student talent that participated within the showcase. She was “happy to put on the showcase, it means the world.”
Moye added that the showcase “encapsulates the entire month and is an homage to African culture.”
This was the event’s second year running and there are already plans for next year.