Love Jones spotlights cultural diversity, talent

Every seat was filled and people stood on chairs and couches to see the stage for last night's Love Jones performance in the Bronco.

The event featured approximately 15 different acts -- poets, rappers, singers and dance groups like Collaboration (above).

Love Jones, hosted by Igwebuike, occurs quarterly. Last night, over 200 people came to see the show.

"For me, (Love Jones) means a sense of unity, having some fun and seeing people's talents," said Sephorah Green, who volunteered to co-host the event. "It's just to have a place of diversity -- I think this event has a lot of diversity."

The event started shortly after 7:30 p.m. At about 10 p.m., the performances gave way to a dance, featuring Santa Clara alumnus DJ Check-O with a performance by Sham at 10:15 p.m.

The night started off with a poem, but moved into vocal performances and dancing. One act included the Black Freshman Boys of Igwe, consisting of Christopher Paschal, RJ Kennedy, Russ White, Vitalis Obidi, Teddy Teshome, Devan Hatcher and Harun Abdi.

All lined up in front of the stage, Paschal stepped in front of the line. He then announced that their performance was dedicated to showing appreciation for African-American women.

"In honor of Black History Month," he said to the women in attendence, "we want to show you are our appreciation and honor you."

The boys then recited poems, before pulling out bouquets of red roses, which they then handed out to the women.

"That's so cute," one girl gushed with a rose in her hand.

Paschal described the experience of performing in front of the crowd. "It was definitely a little bit nerve racking but definitely worth it," he said. "The crowd is awesome and lively. They're very welcoming to the talent here."