The annual Black Voices event celebrates the achievements and stories of Black students and community members through performances of song, poetry, spoken word, dance, and testimony. The event, presented by the Black Student Union (BSU), is happening Friday, February 27 from 7 to 9pm in Skye Lounge.

The 2026 event will feature artwork and testimonies from individual students, dances by United Praise Community Dance Team, and a performance by City on a Hill Gospel Choir, a new addition to the campus community that made their debut earlier this spring semester at the MLK Night of the Arts. 

Black Voices’ predecessor was Cultures Collide, an event started back in 2016 by Colette Comer ‘17, a human services major on the Multicultural Student Services Team. Colette was passionate about starting the event as a way to show off the talents of others and to bring awareness of the culturally rich student populations on campus. 

“I reached out to so many students on campus, asking them to bring a song, a poem, a dance, a favorite food,” recalls Colette. “It was impactful to see everyone who came together to learn about and celebrate who people are and what they love.” 

While there was no BSU on campus during the time that Cultures Collide was an annual event, Black Voices has been one of the biggest events hosted by the BSU since the group was restarted in 2020. At that time, Cultures Collide hadn’t been hosted for a couple of years, so the BSU took the same general idea and revitalized the event. 

James White ‘28, current president of the BSU, remarks on the meaning of the event. “The greatest thing is all the talents. I love the poems that come from the heart. I love the testimony. It gives people that you might think of as quiet a chance to get in the spotlight and do something amazing. It’s our biggest opportunity of the year to show the campus who we are. We want to be heard and we want to be seen.” 

That chance to truly be heard is one reason James has found performing at Black Voices a fulfilling experience.  

“There’s always a message to my music, something that I’m telling the listener about. I’m a pretty secluded person, but I want people to really understand me on an emotional level. If someone can relate to what I am saying in my music – that’s what it’s all about.” 

Black Voices is meant not only as a celebration of Black culture and talent, but as a bridge to build connections across and even beyond campus through the arts. 

“Black Voices is an invitation to everyone to take a little peek inside our culture. I hope that we all develop more understanding of the misconceptions that other people may go through. And that's not necessarily about race – it’s just nature to judge too quickly sometimes. But by having these events and discussions, we can come to listen to each other and respect what the other person thinks.” 

For Rhyanna Lowe ‘29, a freshman music education major, the chance to be a part of the City on a Hill Gospel Choir and perform at Black Voices has helped her find a strong community of friends at Geneva. 

“We get to grow close by spreading the word of the Lord together. It’s a blessing to be with a group of Black individuals who love music and who love praising the Lord just as much as I do.” 

These aspects of Black Voices summarize what the BSU aims to provide on Geneva’s campus. The BSU meets every other week, with one fun event and one deeper discussion per month. Even though playing a competitive game of charades and eating pizza might seem surface level at first glance, it helps to build community and foster strong relationships that lead to genuine and difficult discussions later on. 

Zaire Price ‘27, a junior in public health and treasurer of the BSU, appreciates that the BSU provides “a space for people of color to be themselves, and to share just an hour together” – or more, in the case of the long evening the BSU members spent laughing, talking, and building their homecoming float, which is Zaire’s favorite memory as part of the BSU. 

The BSU’s meetings are meant for the broader campus community to engage in thoughtful conversation around racial and societal issues as well. Their newest series of events, “Real Talk,” tackles questions of civil rights, reconciliation, faith, and politics. The BSU is bringing in guest speakers like Dr. Todd Allen, former Geneva professor and current vice president for diversity affairs and professor of communication at Messiah University, to guide conversations that produce real dialogue and growth. 

James White hopes that Real Talk provides students the opportunity to “answer a couple of questions that they’ve had that maybe they’ve been afraid of asking and talking about. We want to welcome people and encourage a space where we examine things from others’ points of view.” 

Zaire shares a similar sentiment. “One thing I have learned as part of the BSU is that what other people think is worth getting to know about them. Everyone is welcome along with their unique perspective, because we are all made in the image of God and are meant to support one another.” 

James White offers a final encouragement to attend Black Voices and learn about what the BSU is doing on campus. “Come enjoy a night of the arts. Come learn a little something and have a laugh too. Come see the talents that God has gifted people with.” 

By Reagan Shields ‘26