High spirits and high anxieties were in the air as 10 women prepared for one of their last rehearsals for the “Miss Black EIU” pageant Tuesday.

At 6 p.m. Saturday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, the 10 contestants will compete in one of the last programs for African-American Heritage Month.

Adorned in a bathrobe wrapped in chains, Shana Mitchell took to the stage to give a self-written monologue titled “Breaking psychological chains.”

Mitchell, a senior health studies major, said she was using the monologue as a way to describe how African-Americans have a tendency to blame other people for their conditions.

“It’s about having to look at each other and how when we blame others, we’re putting the chains back on,” she said.

Her monologue was part of the creative expression portion of the competition.

The creative expression section allows the contestants to perform an act representing an issue important to each of them.

Mitchell will not be the only contestant to incorporate a costume during the creative expression segment.

Alaysia Mitchell walked onto the stage dressed in a judge’s robes and holding a gavel in her hand.

Alaysia Mitchell, a junior business management major, said her expression would be about a young man being sentenced to go to college.

“I’m aspiring to be a judge, so it seemed to fit,” she said. “Knowledge is power.”

Morgan Burrel, a junior health studies major, used a cape during her expression.

Burrel said she was a single mother and she wanted her piece to convey the idea of identity.

“People are always putting input into other peoples’ lives, but if you know what you want to do, you can have the best of both worlds – college and responsibilities,” she said.

Takieshyanna Banks, a senior communication studies major, said her creative expression act would be about a woman who watched her father beat her mother, so in turn the woman becomes an abuser.

Alante Johnson, a sophomore marketing major, said her creative expression act would focus on the idea of unity in the African-American community.

Johnson said she was excited for the upcoming pageant.

“I’m ready to get this show on the road,” she said, laughing.

Shandria Marshall, a junior health studies major, said she wanted to use the pageant to help show an unseen side of her.

“It’s a way to feel confident and show people a side of me they haven’t seen before,” she said.

Marshall said her creative expression section would encompass how the current generation views life.

She will be using a laptop and bedroom set up during her performance.

Tionna Alderson, a sophomore communications disorder sciences major, said she wanted to use the competition to break out of her shell.

“I’m a really shy person, and I wanted to put myself out there,” she said.

Alderson said her creative expression would be about autism and the idea that each person is a puzzle.

Parissa Boston, a junior communications major, said she joined the competition after the 2012 Miss Black EIU winner inspired her.

“I saw something in her that reminded me of myself,” she said. “I wanted to test myself, so I guess you could say I followed in her footsteps.”

Boston also said this was her first time competing in a pageant.

Ashley Macon, a senior family and consumer sciences major, said she entered the pageant to showcase her experiences while at Eastern.

“I want to broadcast the professionalism I have learned while at Eastern,” she said.

Another section each of the women will have to compete in is the talent area.

Brittany Brooks, a junior communication studies major, said her talent would be playing the piano.

“I’ll be playing ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ by Celine Dion,” she said. “It’ll be a salute to the troops, as well as fallen soldiers.”

Brooks also said this was the fifth pageant she had competed in.

Other sections of “Miss Black EIU” will involve an African garment section, where the competitors will dress in traditional African dresses, and a question-and-answer session.

Keiyanna Franklin, the 2012 Miss Black EIU winner and coordinator for the 2013 pageant, said the competition has roots in the Civil Rights movement.

“After the Civil Rights movememt, African-American women weren’t allowed to run for homecoming queen,” she said.

Franklin also said the pageant is very much ingrained in Eastern’s tradition.

“It’s something that is a part of Eastern’s history,” she said. “It helps promote involvement for black women.”

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].