Poetry was sung, rapped or recited during last Tuesday’s Poetry Slam at the library lawn.

The African American Student Society celebrated Black History History Month with spoken word, food and art.

The event kicked off with two women singing the Black National Anthem, followed by a reading of a list of African American innovators, including Barack Obama.

“As a club, we want to have the ladder effect on each other, we all pull each other up,” Deborah Addison, club president, said.

“I read the poem ‘And Tomorrow’ because it touched me,” Sherman Clark, music major, said. “It was talking about how tomorrows a new day, and it was deep. I wanted to share it with other people.”

The money raised from the mashed potatoes, chicken and lemonade sold at the event is going toward helping the club members purchase needed school supplies, said Clark.

“People were stopping and it got them hooked,” Kimberly Davis, vice president, said.

Although there were technical difficulties with the CD player, the event captured many students’ attention.

“We all got a lot of feedback,” said Davis, “A lot of ooohs and aaahs and cheering and joking.” Although the goal of the event was to bring people together in light of poetry, the event was tinged with silliness and fun which was expressed by the laughter permeating the event.