The student-led wellness organization, StateoftheParty, hosted a sunrise yoga session at the Washington Monument on Tuesday, April 1. Howard students gathered for a guided yoga session focusing on community and wellness.
Grace Kalere, a sophomore international affairs major from Cambridge, Massachusetts and founder of StateoftheParty, organized the event alongside advertising major Salimah Scott, a certified CorePower yoga sculpt instructor, who led the session.
Kalere founded the organization StateoftheParty to act as a “social commentary” on community priorities and how students choose to spend their time.
“State of the party is a political play on words…a social commentary and critique. It’s the state of our community and our priority,” Kalere said.
Kalere described the nightlife scene in Washington, D.C. as “very rampant,” noting that much of the spending power within it comes from Black and brown communities, but the cost of going out in D.C. can quickly add up. From paying for parking and cover fees to expensive drinks and sections, a night out can become financially demanding.
“Nightlife used to be about collective release and joy… but now it’s financially exhaustive, sterile and repetitive,” Kalere said.
Through StateoftheParty, Kalere connects this shift in how students have fun to a broader conversation about wellness within the Black community.
According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Black people in the United States have a higher risk of chronic disease.
“There’s a lot of chronic illness due to inactivity within our community. Black people showed up very disproportionately in those numbers,” Kalere said.
For Kalere, this reality shapes the purpose of StateoftheParty. By creating events centered around movement and community, the organization aims to encourage students to adopt healthier habits while rethinking what social life can look like.
Rather than eliminating fun, StateoftheParty seeks to redefine it, offering alternatives that prioritize both physical and mental well-being.
Nya Young, a sophomore early-elementary school educator major from Kansas City, Missouri, said the event created a space where she felt represented.
“It was really nice to start my day doing yoga with people that look like me,” said Young.
The event also addressed a broader need for balance within Howard’s high-achieving culture. According to Kalere, students often feel pressure to stay constantly busy, which can come at the expense of their well-being.
“Howard students sometimes need to relax,” he said. “We are so busy and occupied… and sometimes that’s not the most healthy thing for our bodies.”
For Scott, who led the yoga session, the event was an opportunity to foster both movement and meaningful connection.
“I’m really excited that so many people were able to come and build community,” Scott, a junior from Naperville, Illinois, said. “It’s a space where we wake up and fill our day with joy and movement in our body.”
Scott also noted that many wellness spaces lack diversity.
“I feel like we’re not well represented in wellness spaces,” Scott said. “So it’s important that we have Black yoga instructors, especially young Black women, because people want to see themselves reflected.”
In the future, Kalere hopes to expand StateoftheParty by bringing activities not predominantly associated with Black communities, like golf and racquet sports, further challenging perceptions around wellness and accessibility.
“I just want our student body to feel like we can wake up early, catch the sunrise, move together and enjoy ourselves while staying healthy,” Kalere said
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
