Hundreds of students gathered Friday evening for the Black Student Assembly’s welcome event, “The Gallery.”
Hosted inside and outside the University Auditorium by the Black Student Union, the event primarily served as a coming together for organizations serving UF’s Black student body through service, culture and interest groups.
Its audience — primarily members of these organizations, as well as new Black students looking for opportunities to get involved — seemed eager to see what their peers would show off during performances and future event announcements.
Gabriel Hubbert, BSU’s external vice president and a UF political science senior, said The Gallery’s purpose was to introduce new students to UF’s Black-student-oriented organizations.
“[The event] is so that they can see that there is a Black student body here at UF, and we are here to advocate for them,” Hubbert said.
Collaboration, service and community
Before the main show started, organizations tabled outside the auditorium to represent their groups and causes. Ranging from cultural, educational and political clubs to small businesses, representatives were enthusiastic as they chatted away with their peers and welcomed any new faces they saw.
Dwight Brown II, a 21-year-old UF political science and sociology pre-law senior and president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at UF, tabled for his organization before the ceremony began.
The event helped him network and connect with others, he said, and he believes the event was important because many Black students share similar ancestries.
“Uniting us [on] all fronts and bringing all the diasporas together … that’s kind of the purpose of this event,” Brown said.
Inside, local Black artists led a showcase of portraits and pottery of varying styles.
Ezekiel Abassa, one of the artists featured, exhibited oil-pastel works he said were inspired by his memories and experiences growing up in Ethiopia.
While not a student or a UF affiliate, Abassa said he believes exhibitions such as the one put on by the BSU are positive for both Black students and Gainesville residents to be inspired to show up and show out for Black culture.
“I feel like it’s a great opportunity [for artists] to do their thing, to put their name out there,” Abassa said.
The main event
Singing, spoken word poetry recitals, poetry rap and dance numbers were scattered throughout the show, and the audience roared with excitement at the start and conclusion of every performance.
Between numbers, speakers like Daphne Valcin, a UF alumna and the event’s keynote speaker, spoke on how students can make the most of their time in college by building connections and remaining focused on their commitments in and outside the classroom.
“Learn, adapt and keep going,” Valcin said.“That’s what we’re here to do at UF — it’s learning how to develop the skill to take whatever happens and make something even better out of it.”
Taylor Blythe, a UF political science junior and BSU’s president, spoke about the meaning of being Black at UF. Blythe addressed the funding cuts and reduced administrative support for events catered to Black students.
BSU and other UF organizations focused on serving minority groups lost signature event status and flexible funding due to UF’s dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives after Florida passed a law prohibiting public universities from using state or federal funds for DEI programs.
“The system is built to make us tone down who we are, to make us dull our shine … They’re waiting on us to lose our color,” Blythe said. “What I can promise you is that we are not backing down.”
Contact Sofia Garcia at sofiagarcia@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @sconsuelogarcia.
Sofia Garcia is a first-year journalism and political science double major at UF and serving as the student government reporter for Fall 2026. This is her first semester at The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, playing video games, or connecting with her friends and family back home in Miami.
