For the past three years, the National Association Advancemnt of Colored People (NAACP) club has hosted its annual Cultural Assembly. Advisor Natalie Jennings and club president Arda Gocuklu work hard as students and staff come together to display a tribute to black history month. Here is, in order, all the acts that were performed
After a Master of Ceremonies introduction, Stroudsburg’s choir performed Lift Every Voice and Sing, with Layla Carol as a conductor. The NAACP Foundation writes that Lift Every Voice and Sing is a powerful hymn of hope and struggle written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson.
Sandra-Lyn Johnson read the Nikki Giovanni poem, Knoxville, Tennessee. The poem highlights the nostalgia of the author’s childhood and is an excellent show of the view through young black eyes.
Stroudsburg’s Step team then followed by performing a stop-off led by Rhianna Taylor and Joyia Adams. According to Upstaged Entertainment Group, Stepping originated from African rhythmic traditions, heavily influenced by West African folk dances, the Atlantic slave trade, and the African gumboot dance. It then evolved into a distinct percussive dance style in the American South.
Next up, the choir returned to perform the popular gospel song Total Praise by Richard Smallwood, who recently passed. At age five, he was playing piano by ear, at seven, began formal training, and at eleven, formed his first gospel group. Richard Smallwood would grow up to be a world-class composer, pianist, and arranger, who made contributions to the world of gospel with hits like Anthem of Praise, My Everything, and Trust Me. He will forever live on in the memory of millions.
Stroudsburg’s Mountie Majorettes then performed an original choreography to the song End of Time by Beyoncé. ABC News writes that Majorette dance originated from European carnival traditions, specifically Dutch Dansmarietjes (dance-maries). It evolved in the American South during the late 1960s, transformed by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) into a distinct art form combining jazz, hip-hop, ballet, and African dance, officially starting with Alcorn State’s Golden Girls in 1968. Majorette has now been embraced by Stroudsburg High School, as our team can be found performing at assemblies, basketball games, and more.
Following the Mountie Majorettes was Kathleen Carpio and Villeroy Favour Nsanyui with a Colorguard flag performance to the song Folded by Kehlani.
Laila carol and I then sang Last Time from the movie Sinners, accompanied by Jonas Ballantyne on piano, Apinan Sronchaipol on drums, and Solomon Gabriel on bass. The 2025 movie Sinners discusses themes like racial violence, the power of music, and the complex relationship between African Americans and spirituality.
To end the assembly, Arda Gocuklu sent closing remarks as well as a song from the ladies, Laila Carol, Kira Smith-Stewart, Tiana Baker, Crislly Anne Bay, and Lucia Espitia. The girls sang the song Count It All Joy by The Winans, an American gospel quartet from Detroit, Michigan, consisting of brothers Marvin, Carvin, Michael and Ronald Winans.
As well as honouring black history, the Stroudsburg NAACP Club Cultural Assembly is a representation of what it means to come together despite differences in background and to work hard toward something good.