During the summer of 2023, Georgette Mensah-Hayes, LSEHD ’25, and Clarisse Ebeh, MCAS ’25, began to brainstorm the potential theme for Boston College’s African Student Organization’s (ASO) most ambitious event: its annual Fashion Show.
The co-event coordinators narrowed down their idea to a fashion concept that would allow the club to artistically showcase not only what they knew about the past and present of Africa, but what they envisioned for Africa’s future.
(Jaiden Nichols / For The Heights)
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ASO is a student-led organization that is “dedicated to sharing the diversity of Africa’s cultures outside and within the Boston College community,” according to a description on its Facebook page.
For ASO’s members, the club means so much more.
“I’m Ghanaian-American, and I feel like back home I didn’t really get a chance to really tap into that identity of mine,” Maame Twum-Barima, ASO’s president and MCAS ’25, said.
Twum-Barima was raised in Princeton, N.J., in a predominantly Asian-populated area where she struggled to fit in socially—a factor that motivated her to join ASO and become one of three freshmen representatives during her first year at BC, she said.
“I know that every Sunday or every other Sunday, when we come together for our meetings or we come together for practice, I know that’s a time I can make jokes regarding Nigeria or talk about certain things that I know people will understand,” Temilade Onile, ASO’s current secretary and CSOM ’26, said.
Like Twum-Barima, Onile was a freshman representative during her first year at BC. For Onile, the Fashion Show is a way she stays connected with her culture as an outsider looking in, while creating awareness on issues within the continent.
“Even though in school I was very much in tune with myself,” Onile said. “I just wished there were more African students like more people to relate to, so I knew when I got to college that there was going to be a bigger presence and I knew ASO was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Ali Diba, LSEHD ’25, was the third freshman representative for his class and is currently ASO’s social media chair.
Diba believes that his time at ASO, along with bringing him closer to his identity and connecting with other African cultures, has impacted his career goals.
“I was pushed to learn more about my culture, Senegalese,” Diba said. “In terms of career aspirations, I’m looking to pursue something along the lines of Black psychology, which leads to why I’m majoring in both applied psychology and African diaspora studies. I feel like I wouldn’t have a career aspiration designated to the wellbeing of Africans and African Americans if I wasn’t a part of ASO and didn’t have that support system.”
This year, ASO celebrates its 30th anniversary as the e-board prepares to exhibit Afro-futurism through fashion, narrative and visual storytelling, and dance performances.
At the beginning of each academic year, Twum-Barima says the club starts to contact fashion designers in the local Boston area to participate in the show. This year, however, the club has the privilege of collaborating with Akachi, a Nigeria-based designer who will ship her custom-made clothes to Boston for the event.
The 2024 Fashion Show will be composed of three catwalks, performed by 23 different models wearing the work of four fashion designers. In between each catwalk, the event will follow a narrative arc that will begin with the story of Africa’s past, then dive into its current events, and end with an optimistic vision of Africa’s future.
ASO’s fashion show will also showcase BC’s dance group, Presenting Africa To You (PATU), Boston University’s dance group, Afrithms, and Benedita Zalabuntu’s, MCAS ’25, spoken word.
“For me, the Fashion Show is very sentimental because, more times than not, it is hard to envision yourself, for like an African student, it is hard to envision your own heritage being showcased on such a wide scale,” Diba said. “Having our fellow students and us as an e-board walk on stage in front of hundreds of people and showcase our African heritage with pride and confidence is really impactful for us first and foremost, but then for Africans attending the event too.”
The Fashion Show will spotlight the pros and cons of Africa, Diba said, but the main premise of the event will be to envision a successful future for Africa.
(Jaiden Nichols / For The Heights)
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According to Onile, most ASO members have African heritage but were born and raised in America. This perspective allowed them to experience their culture from an outsider’s point of view with deep appreciation and a clear understanding of their privileged standpoint. Onile was born and raised in Norwood, Mass., but she feels deeply connected to her Nigerian heritage.
“Just because we are not living there does not mean we do not want to partake in re-writing our African future, because we’re all aware of what’s going on,” Onile said. “Things like corruption, political instability, civil unrest, are all things we are taking note of and just because we aren’t part of the diaspora does not mean that we don’t want to be part of the change.”
Last year, ASO’s fashion show tickets sold out, and this year, the club is preparing to welcome a larger number of people in a new venue. ASO’s fashion show will take place on Feb. 24 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at 300 Hammond Pond Parkway. The club is almost ready to welcome 700 people to the event that they have been preparing for since July 2023.
“If you’re not familiar with African cultures, I think this is a good first experience or a digestible form of intaking African art, media, and knowledge,” Onile said.