This Friday, September 16th, OASIS (The Organization for African Students’ Interests and Solidarity) hosted Dashiki Day: a day for OASIS members and other members of the community to wear dashikis and/or traditional African attire to show pride in & respect for African culture.
Dashikis have recently become a huge fashion trend, but their origin and significance is much deeper than a fad. Angum Check*, a sophomore from Cameroon, says “Dashikis are a symbol for unity among the African diaspora.”
Angum explains that dashikis became a trend in the late 1960s, as the Civil Rights Movement gave rise to the more radical Black Power Movement. Dashikis, along with Afros and other style trends became symbols of unity and pride in one’s Black identity.
Today, OASIS powerfully re-ignited that pride for many students, and made our campus a little more colorful and beautiful than it already is.
Photos by: Nina Tan, Staff Photographer
