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Since its creation in February 2004, each year Shades of Black has been showcasing a wide variety of black talent from in and around the Palouse.
The event, which was started by then University of Idaho undergraduate Kwapi Vengesayi, attracts performers and attendees from all across the northwest to come and experience black culture.
“Shades of Black is a showcase that highlights the different textures and dimensions of the black experience,” Vengesayi said. “It is a celebration of a culture, not a race.”
Vengesayi first got the idea to create the event when he realized that several different black groups from both UI and Washington State University all had their own large and successful events, but there was no event in which they all got together.
“I did things like Africa night and I knew all these people and they all had their own different talents,” Vengesayi said. “The African student groups all had their own big events but never had one that brought them all to the same stage to perform together.”
The first show in 2004 consisted of 12 performing groups and roughly 300 people in attendance.
Last year Shades of Black featured close to 50 performers and their largest crowd ever, estimated around 750 people.
The performances at the event vary, from choirs, dance, rap, poetry and much more. Vengesayi described them as a plethora of different acts, each bringing their own distinct talent to the table.
“The show is always evolving,” Vengesayi said. “I invite the performers but I don’t tell them what to do, so it keeps it fresh and interesting. I usually don’t know what each act will do until rehersals.”
One of the best things about the event is that students get an opportunity to see their classmates in a different light, and maybe learn something new about them, Vengesayi said.
“You get this opportunity to see classmates, or football players, or just someone you passed on campus present these talents that you maybe didn’t know they had,” Vengesayi said. “It’s an enlightening experience and you get to see people and this culture for more than the stereotype.”
Eudoxie Peckham, who has been involved with the event since it began, said she always looks forward to seeing the different things people will do.
Peckham, who first came to the Palouse in 2001 from Africa to attend UI has been performing different dances at each Shades of Black event over the years.
“After I performed for the first time back in 2004 I found that I wasn’t as shy,” Peckham said. “My dancing also improved and the more I performed the better I got. I now enjoy dancing a lot more.”
Peckham, who will be dancing a traditional West African dance tonight along with three new girls, said she’s excited to see what everyone else will bring to the table.
Martin Boston, a Washington State University student who has also been involved with Shades of Black in the past, said that this show is one of the better shows put on, especially in the Palouse, each year.
Boston first got involved with Shades of Black because he thought the idea behind the event was a profound one and that he had some talents in places that he felt could be useful for the show.
“There’s such a great array of talent that gives people such a great experience of black culture,” Boston said. “People work so hard for this show, and it’s always so tastefully done. It’s spellbinding.”
Some have even experienced professional success from performing at the show.
Alvin Williams, who graduated from UI last year, had his first time performing at Shades of Black last year and said it’s really boosted his comedy career and he’s now doing it professionally.
“It’s cool because I’m not coming back to perform this year as a student who does it for free,” Williams said. “The Black Student Union is paying for me to come and I get to be a part of the event as a special guest, which is pretty cool.”
Williams said that Shades of Black is the “most authentic display of African American talent in the area” and is impressed by the postive response it gets.
“Shades of Black gets such a remarkable response and the entire place will be packed with people of all races,” Williams said. “Even though it’s a display of African American culture, all races are involved. You see these people on a daily basis and you have no idea how talented these people are, you probably don’t even think twice about it. Then you see them on stage and you get to see this hidden talent you wouldn’t see otherwise. It’s amazing.”
Vengesayi said that people should come and be a part of the celebration that is Shades of Black and help create the sense of community they’re building amongst each other.
“You’re part of an experience,” Vengesayi said. “It’s an entertaining showcase that could feature your classmates, football players, or someone you run into every day in the Idaho Commons. It’s a unique mix of people doing different things.”
He said the event is unpredictable and no one ever knows what to expect because you’re always thrown a “curve ball.”
“It’s always dynamic,” Vengesayi said. “You could see collaborations you never would have thought of. The common misconception is that this event is just about blacks as a race, but it is about bringing together a culture and showing others what we’re about. It’s flexible, and you don’t have to be black to experience and enjoy the culture.”
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