Eastern’s African American students and faculty gathered with a blast from the past on the “Soul Train.”

The African-American Heritage Month committee’s first “Soul Train: EIU Edition” event took over Tuesday night in the Grand Ballroom at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union as students and faculty celebrated four decades of African-American music and culture.

Students wore afros, overalls, backwards caps, exposed bra straps and spandex, while old videos of “Soul Train” broadcasted in the background as they paid homage to the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s.

Kendall Jackson, a senior family and consumer science major, said the event was a nonrestrictive event, where students could have fun and celebrate their heritage.

“The thought process of this was to do something different and innovative but also staying true to the theme of the month, which was bring back,” Jackson said. “The African American music is just soulful and rejoicing.”

There were people dressed up in the clothing of the “Soul Train” era decades.

The popular decades people represented were the ‘70s and the ‘90s.

People who represented the ‘70s said their fascination of the era came from their parents.

“I love ‘70s music, that’s when my mom came out of high school and I said ‘Hey, I want to get a taste of Soul Train since I wasn’t here yet,’” said senior health studies major Jessica Wallace.

The majority of the people who attended “Soul Train” represented the ‘90s.

hey partied in the mix of flashing cell phone lights snatching at the shadows.

The event also allowed students to express their love for the past with imitating performances of celebrated artists, such as Chaka Khan from the ‘70s and Bell Biv Devoe and TLC from the ‘90s.

Compared to the other three decades, the ‘80s was under represented in music and costumes.

The self-proclaimed “’90s babies” said it was only right that they represent the era that they were born.

Ariana Moore, a junior kinesiology and sport studies major, was one of the “’90s babies.”

“I feel like the ‘90s was such a great time period, everybody was into their clothing and into their music,” she said. “The energy about the ‘90s was great.”

Isis Sims, a sophomore athletics training major, said aside from all of the partying, “Soul Train” has a personal meaning because it represents black unity.

“It was just so positive to see black people coming together,” Sims said. “Throughout our lifetime it’s always been negativity for black people, so it was just so great to see them represented so positively in the media.”

The idea of African American harmony was a present theme with many of the students that attended.

There were some students, such as Alexis Lambert, a senior psychology major, who said they viewed technology as a reason for separation in the African American community, and this event was more or less a saving grace for them to give technology a break and enjoy themselves.

“There are so many outside interruptions like technology distracting us from having a good time,” Lambert said. “Tonight is about having a good time while embracing our African American culture through the arts.”

Darronté Matthews can be reached a 581-2812 or at [email protected].