Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct names.
WKU students filled Russell Miller Theater Monday night for the inaugural Black Excellence Cabaret, celebrating culture and strengthening community.
The WKU Alpha Psi Omega Mu Lambda Cast celebrated Black History Month with its “Black Excellence Cab” cabaret, an evening of performances highlighting Black culture, ancestry, history and joy. The student-run showcase was held on Monday at 9 p.m in the Russell Miller Theatre in the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. With low-cost tickets and an open call for performers, organizers said the event is designed to create an accessible, affirming space for black creativity on WKU’s campus.
Savannah Mack, majoring in technical theater and design, is also one of three freshman hosts, with Love Eden and Isaiah Smith. Alpha Psi Omega does cabarets about two or three times a month. The events grew from a simple idea by APO Vice President Annie Sanders.
“She had the idea, and then the three of us got nominated to host the cab,” Mack said.
Performers were chosen from a Google sign-up form circulated by Sanders, and Mack said the hosts wrote the script from those submissions to introduce each performer.
“We wanted to show, of course, Black excellence, and we also wanted to be informative,” Mack said.
The lineup included student and faculty acts, and the crowd response convinced many attendees that the show belongs on campus every year.
“I hope that us doing it this year continues happening every year, and it gives people the opportunity to share their work,” Mack said.
Sheard, majoring in musical theater, performed “I’m Here” from The Color Purple and said the song mattered to him because it’s about a young Black woman growing into her own skin, which he relates to as a mixed student who struggled with his Black identity and has recently begun to embrace it.
Sheard said he remembered seeing videos of Cynthia Erivo singing “I’m Here” and thinking “Oh my God, I relate to that so much.”
“As soon as I saw they were doing this cab, I wanted to do it,” Sheard said.
Sheard said he hopes audience members walk away with a message of self-acceptance, and that “they can love themselves no matter what.”
First-time attendee Stone Dieme, majoring in theater, said the cabaret’s energy was contagious. He said White’s personal narrative was especially powerful for its historical message.
“It was definitely very encouraging, and it was just very exciting,” Dieme said.
Organizers said future goals include keeping the cabarets a regular part of campus life and boosting participation; the group typically aims for about a dozen acts but had only six this time.
Students and hosts asked the university to continue supporting and funding events that center black culture, saying visible backing can help the community grow.
“They should continue to keep funding these events and don’t lose light of them in the future,” Demi said.
