I did not post a diary last Saturday. Why? Because for the second time in three years, I was a chaperone for our Arts students on a field trip to the Circle City Classic in Indianapolis.
Well, it’s a variety of things. It’s a celebration most of all. A celebration of culture, scholarship, pageantry, music, art, and the legacy of HCBUs in America.
For 39 years, Indiana Black Expo has hosted Circle City Classic®, a unique showcase of HBCUs, academic excellence, culture, music, and tradition. Circle City Classic® is a scholarship fundraiser that has helped IBE award over $5 million scholarships to deserving youth attending colleges and universities nationwide since 1984.
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IBE is committed to assisting Indiana students in their pursuit of higher education. Every year, thanks to proceeds from The Classic, Scholarships are awarded to current high school seniors and students currently enrolled in a post-secondary institution who exhibit outstanding leadership, scholarship, and community service. To date, we have awarded over $5 million in scholarships to Indiana Students.
Thanks to the generosity of the IBE, high schools from around Indiana are given tickets to the culmination of the Classic: First, a college fair where seniors can be interviewed AND APPLY to HBCUs across the country. They can also apply for the scholarship opportunities at the fair. If students arrive early enough, they can view the parade. And what a parade. Greek organizations showcase their alumni through stepping exhibitions. Local cheer squads, dance companies, bands, and more make this a highlight of the day of the classic. After the parade, the students who are given tickets come to the college fair at Lucas Oil Stadium. There, the final event of the Classic is the Game itself, featuring two HBCUs AND their bands. Naturally, as most of the kids from our school that attend are band students, the Battle of the Bands and the “Fifth Quarter” is the highlight.
With all the preliminaries addressed, let me tell you about my experiences. Two years ago, I decided “what the heck, I’ll chaperone” without realizing how much walking there would be. But that’s not important. What’s important was this: We had kids from two different high schools but all in the same district wide Arts program making friends. Having fun. Talking deep things. I heard conversations about how seniors were juggling practice time, jobs, and academics to still excel. I heard underclassmen discussing their graduation plans. I heard kids of all years, in both schools, discussing their personal mental issues, and talking about the help they’re getting to cope with their vicissitudes.
This year, we had a lot fewer students, and they were from only our school and not the other school in the district. BUT—a student who was there two years ago from my school was ON THE FIELD as a member of one of the bands. And HBCUs take band seriously. Watching the students this year I had to laugh at the naked shock on their faces when the wall of sound from these two fabulous bands hit them. It was priceless. A good time was had by all.
I hope the Circle City Classic continues and our kids get the opportunities IBE provides.
Now, on to Tops!
TOP COMMENTS
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down. Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
Sadly, there have been no nominations for Top Comments on a Saturday for a while now. Let’s all see if we can find some!
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for Saturday September 30, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
