The Black Student Union held its annual Black Excellence Gala at Sikes Lake Center on Feb. 28.

The gala unites Wichita Falls residents to celebrate the history and accomplishments of Black Americans.

“It’s very important to emphasize the Black excellence, the things that kind of get muted, especially in Wichita Falls because the Black community in Wichita Falls is a minority,” Monique Watkins, the gala’s planner said.

BSU partnered with local businesses and the HBCU Divine Nine fraternities and sororities, a group of Greek life organizations that originates from Howard University.

“We just invite the people who own the businesses to come and celebrate with us, to dance and just take in the vibes of everybody partying together for the last day of Black History Month,” Watkins said, continuing, “There’s not many of us here and there’s many small, small businesses here in Wichita Falls and this is our chance for us to show them off and have a big party and celebrate.”

Watkins also emphasized the importance for students to come together to celebrate their heritages regardless of their backgrounds.

On Jan. 1, Texas Senate Bill 17 took effect, disallowing higher education institutions from using state funds to host  diversity, equity and inclusion events on their campuses. Before SB-17 was passed, MOSAIC held the Black Excellence Gala.

Watkins works for MOSAIC but prepared the event as a member of the BSU. Watkins said planning the gala was complicated because of SB-17. 

“It’s kind of like, well, I can still do that but, I only have this amount of money to do it. And it is way harder, but we still made it work, and still finding more creative ways and asking for help and reaching out to more people in the community,” Watkins said. 

Local resident and attendee Ken White discussed the importance of the Black Excellence Gala for the community, focusing on what representation means to him.

“I think, within the community, it’s great to show representation. Especially being an older gentleman, coming back and trying to show the campus of what quote unquote ‘black excellence’ may look like for the underrepresented minorities,” White said.