Music and poetry have both played a substantial role in the development of black culture throughout the decades. Both have always served as a venue through which black people could express the struggles and hardships of life in America. Music and poetry have given voices to the voiceless and faces to the faceless. It is through learning and understanding these works that we connect ourselves to our past.
The purpose of the Classy Affair was to celebrate the contributions of African-American artists to the arts. This was what our event intended to display, however, this is not how the event played itself out. Lack of proper direction, leadership and clear communication among all parties involved steered this initially grand idea off of its original course. And for that everyone is owed an apology. This goes not only to the students at the university, but to the black artists whose works were not properly spotlighted as well.
It was this group of phenomenal people for whom this celebration was supposed to pay homage. Not conducting this event with the honor and respect it deserved was regrettably one of the biggest mistakes of them all. Stress, lack of preparation and pure frustration are ingredients that should never be combined. They create a recipe for disaster. The desire to end Black History Month with a bang went from the lighting of fireworks to the detonation of explosives.
Last week’s event will serve most importantly as a learning opportunity. Allowing ourselves to make mistakes, accepting responsibility for them and then figuring out how to correct them is one of the best things we can do as human beings. Failure only comes to exist from things in which life-lessons are not gained. Acknowledging our weaknesses and the points of improvement that can be made is how we – as individuals, leaders and organizations – grow.
Echo Lima • Mar 5, 2014 at 3:42 PM
Please forgive me, but stating that “everyone is owed an apology” is actually not an apology at all.
Now if you had said “I apologize to everyone for my actions…” THAT would be an apology.
After reading your “apology” readers are left to feel that you are rationalizing your actions.
Professionalism • Mar 4, 2014 at 10:48 PM
So you decided to act unprofessionally because you were stressed? What are you going to do when you’re the Real World? Are you going to storm on the stage and act out because you’re stressed out? Maybe you should learn to control your temper.