The Red Room Auditorium at the Howard University College of Medicine’s (HUCM) Seeley G. Mudd Building, a place usually used for lectures, transformed into an artistic experience with lively music, lighting and decorations for Friday’s Legacy in Motion Fashion Show.
The event, organized by HUCM graduate students to celebrate Black History Month, featured medical students who are models, designers and performers, with four segments of the show— Heritage Reimagined, The Power of Today, Casual Class Attire in Medicine and Howard Pride in Action—featuring Howard merchandise designed by the students on sale for fundraising.
This idea stemmed from Amber Courtland, a sophmore medical student from Selma, Alabama, wanting to increase involvement in Black History Month at HUMC whilst recognizing her classmates’ talents simultaneously.
“We have a designer and a few people who like to style. You see them walking in class and you’re like, ‘Oh, what he got on?’ Then we have models and I was like, ‘Let’s try to create gear that is Black History Month centered and just try to show off the talent of our class,’” Courtland said.
When Courtland recognized there was no event for HUCM to celebrate Black History Month last year, she and Camryn Edwards, another second-year medical student from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, began planning.
Edwards was the MC for the event as well as a model and organizer. She said the event was a way to express how multifaceted the medical students are as well as Black individuals as a whole.
“People think we’re always in our books, and we’re nerds, which we are. But still, we are Black at the forefront of that, and we love to embrace our culture and show people the beauty of our identity as Black doctors,” Edwards said.
The show featured styles ranging from Nigerian bridal wear to streetwear. The DJ played pop music, and the audience was filled with people enthusiastically supporting their friends and family with loud and excited reactions.
Kaya Rowe, a sophomore medical student from Silver Spring, Maryland, designed parts of the show with her friend Naomi Kamaba: Naomi & Kaya Denim Reimagined.
Although it was difficult, Rowe and her classmates were happy to fit the fashion show into their schedules.
“[Class] wouldn’t be enjoyable at all if we weren’t able to do both. Just doing medicine all day is hard for me, because I have so many interests,” Rowe said.
Mikayla Harris, a second-year medical student, has been modeling for years and was excited to introduce a new hobby to students who participated as models in the show. She said the experience was fulfilling.
“This is a passion of mine. I’m able to reignite that passion for fashion and modeling through this event, which is really exciting,” Harris said.
Harris also pointed out the importance of community on campus as graduate students.
“We recruited some of our classmates and some of the first-year medical students to be a part of this show, because we really want everyone, no matter what their experience is, to be a part of this community,” Harris said.
The event was also an opportunity to blend the community of Howard undergraduate students with graduate students. Edwards and other organizers invited undergraduate students, law, dentistry and pharmaceutical students.
“We wanted to reach out to as many undergrads as possible, like ‘Hey y’all are right down the street from us, our building is located next to your dorms, come!’ So we can really feel like this is a big family as a whole university,” Edwards said.
Copy edited by Anijah Franklin
