Mercer kicked off African American History Month with a fashion and runway show at Trenton Hall on the JKC campus on February 1.
Lucia Brown-Joseph, chairman of the Black History Month Committee said, “This year we decided to portray the African diaspora. So we have clothing from Africa, we have India, and we have the Caribbean.”
Students and local models wore brightly colored and printed dresses made of Kente cloth and other traditional fabrics. There were vendors, speakers, caterers and a live band for the event that ran from 10 am to 4 pm.
Brown-Joseph explained that garments were loaned from local boutiques to “showcase the black entrepreneurs.”
Professor Katina Lindsay, who runs the college’s Fashion Design Program, said the event was an “opportunity for us to come together for one day to celebrate our heritage and culture together through music, food and fashion.”
Beth Dubrow, Teaching Assistant of Mercer’s fashion design program, had her hand-painted pieces inspired by Japanese and Korean culture, featured in the show.
Models, Kershie Astride and Anu have walked the runway before, but this was their first MCCC Black History Month show.
Anu wore a Sari for her first look which is a traditional dress worn in South Asia. Her second dress was a Dashiki that originated from West Africa.
Brown-Joseph said, “Realize that if we, as a people, don’t come together and be a community we are not going to have a vision.”
