Anime Aggies: Student group at NC A&T hosts first convention
Mar 22, 2023 10:28:22 GMT -5
DOOMS likes this
Post by aggie2039 on Mar 22, 2023 10:28:22 GMT -5
A&T is not the school of the past...I love how the school is evolving and becoming a safe haven for African Americans with different interest.
Anime Aggies: Student group at NC A&T hosts first convention for Black fans to nerd out
hen Solomon Aladekoba was in ninth grade, he saw Naruto at a McDonald’s. He had just gotten out of class and ran to the convention center in DC when the world around him began to change. Characters from different manga and anime filled the streets, mingling here and there, getting lunch. It was surreal.
“We just lost our minds,” Aladekoba says. “It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced. Just seeing everyone nerding out in their various little groups, I was like, Oh, I’m with my people. This is dope.”
Ever since then, Aladekoba has been chasing that dragon. In the last decade he’s been to three anime conventions; this Saturday, he’s helping to host one on his home campus. Aladekoba, a sophomore at NC A&T State University, is the treasurer of the Anime Aggies, a club that’s more than 350 members deep. Founded by Rose Jackson in late 2021, the group is carving out a place for the HBCU’s students to celebrate their fandom in a safe space. This Saturday, they will host their very first anime convention on campus.
“It originally started as a small thing for people to come and talk about anime,” Jackson says. “In our community, the Black community, liking anime is kind of frowned upon. So I wanted to open that gateway and say, ‘You can like what you like,’ and start a community to make friendships, open up the conversation.”
triad-city-beat.com/anime-aggies/
Anime Aggies: Student group at NC A&T hosts first convention for Black fans to nerd out
hen Solomon Aladekoba was in ninth grade, he saw Naruto at a McDonald’s. He had just gotten out of class and ran to the convention center in DC when the world around him began to change. Characters from different manga and anime filled the streets, mingling here and there, getting lunch. It was surreal.
“We just lost our minds,” Aladekoba says. “It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced. Just seeing everyone nerding out in their various little groups, I was like, Oh, I’m with my people. This is dope.”
Ever since then, Aladekoba has been chasing that dragon. In the last decade he’s been to three anime conventions; this Saturday, he’s helping to host one on his home campus. Aladekoba, a sophomore at NC A&T State University, is the treasurer of the Anime Aggies, a club that’s more than 350 members deep. Founded by Rose Jackson in late 2021, the group is carving out a place for the HBCU’s students to celebrate their fandom in a safe space. This Saturday, they will host their very first anime convention on campus.
“It originally started as a small thing for people to come and talk about anime,” Jackson says. “In our community, the Black community, liking anime is kind of frowned upon. So I wanted to open that gateway and say, ‘You can like what you like,’ and start a community to make friendships, open up the conversation.”
triad-city-beat.com/anime-aggies/
