Another kind of March Madness: women’s history month event by Mayeline Perez
The month of March is known for celebrating three things: the love for the Irish, remembering the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and highlighting the contributions of women worldwide. In 1981, Congress authorized “Women’s History Week” in the beginning of March 1982. By 1987 the week turned into a month that was petitioned by the National Women’s History Project.
And City College is celebrating just that. On March 14th, the No Boys Allowed College Tour stopped by the school’s campus to showcase the talent of women within our community. The performance was held on campus and focuses on young women in the arts. This tour presented by Nigel “Scott Morris” Guscott centers only on women with a female host, Moxie Knox, and how they display their talents to the world. “No Boys Allowed” allows women to be seen in a different position and not for the way they appear but for their skills and craft.
The show included twelve women that showcased their talents in dance, poetry, and music. All women having the common themes of love, family, and womanhood. While all ladies did great on their performances, the following stood out in the two hour show.
Ashley ‘Ajay’ Johnson performed two pieces of poetry which discussed her love for her brother and her mixed heritage. She used words in Spanish in a soulful voice which had the audience captivated to her poetry.
Kat Garcia, a Bronx spoken word poet, had many supporters sitting in the audience putting their “Xs” up in the air to represent her neighborhood. Dressed casually in baggy pants and red Chuck Taylor’s, Garcia was a true professional while delivering her poem. During her performance the microphone cut off the sound, so Garcia pushed through and projected her voice to the audience. The crowd commended her for her perseverance and she finished strong.
Finally, She Real who has a combination of both beauty and skill was the talk of the night. Coming to the stage with camouflage tights and a crop top long sleeve, people thought she was going to be like any other average female rapper. As she went on with her performance, the audience paid attention to her lyrics. During the middle of her performance, She Real gets off stage and decides to engage with the crowd while rapping to one of her songs on her latest mixtape, Life,Love, Fear & Music.
The No Boys Allowed College Tour at CCNY was only its second leg of the tour and will continue to display their unique styles allowing the audience to reminisce when hip hop was at its prime for women. The next show will be at John Jay College on March 21st with free admittance. For more information about upcoming dates and campuses, check the Facebook event page at http://www.facebook.com/events/416263821796336/
