Hosted by Kennesaw State’s French Club, students celebrated the “Afro Diaspora Reunion” in the Carmichael Student Center on Feb. 7, 2023, where attendees were able to partake in various musical performances, poetry readings and traditional African foods.
The event was put together in honor of Black History Month, French Club President Andre Conde said. Originally, the event was going to be called “French Africa” due to the idea originating from the French Club but Conde decided to expand the idea beyond the club’s focus.
“This whole thing was to bring people together,” Conde said. “I don’t care what race you are as long as you’re here to celebrate the culture, to talk about what brings us together and spread the love and awareness.”
Conde said that it was no longer about just the francophone world. According to the event’s page on Owl Life, the goal of the Afro Diaspora Reunion is to “showcase an important part of the Black experience, from both historical, and cultural, perspectives” and give attendees a “greater sense of awareness and understanding of the African Diaspora in the Americas.”
“I think it’s very interesting and informing and I love it, especially coming from a different culture,” event attendee Valeria Sanchez De Luna said.
De Luna said one of her favorite things from the event was the fashion show, which was coordinated by Tsunami LaRonde.
In a music-filled room, vibrantly clad models strode confidently down the runway, posing to the sounds of applause as the next model walked down. Some wore more modern attire, others more traditional, but they all shared a commonality: representing who they are.
The fashion show had three major themes: streetwear, formal wear and tribal scene. The streetwear showcased fashionable modern attire, the formal wear exhibited cultural clothing and the tribal scene invoked traditional African attire.
“I know that last tribal scene was super wild,” Conde said. “There’s no words to describe it, it was just too beautiful to watch!”
LaRonde is not a member of the French Club, instead using his skills as a member of KSU’s Xtreem Modeling Team. The models only had two weeks to prepare for the show but LaRonde said it all came together in the end.
For the fashion show’s final theme, the tribal scene, LaRonde repurposed some cloth he was given from a previous show he did for Young Atlanta. There was enough cloth for a small team of models, which LaRonde took part of.
“The most rewarding part of the process is to see people do things they didn’t expect to see themselves do, to see that confidence come out of them,” model coordinator Tsunami LaRonde said. “For them to come out of the show, to walk on stage, be cheered on by everyone in the crowd and to still keep their composure, that’s the most rewarding part of the process, to see people grow.”
The event was sponsored by KSU’s Cultural and Community Centers, The International Student Association and the Global Village.
The event concluded with a choreographed dance performance.
“It was hard putting everything together but at the end of the day, it was good,” French Club member and event choreographer Rhode Angy Auguste said. “Everyone was on point and it was a success!”
Conde and Auguste said that one of the most rewarding parts of putting together the whole event was the friends they made along the way.
“Looking back, I’ve had very good memories and this is one of the things I will never forget,” Conde said.
