Valley celebrates sneaker culture

Umoja Back Scholars mixes it up, offering food, dance, and photos to close out Black History Month.

By: Angel Martin, Staff Writer

Students who attended the Sneaker Ball Thursday at the Art Gallery are waiting in line for their keychains after making memories in the photo booth. (Photo by Scott Beckstead)

As students walked into the art gallery, passing through a doorway of streamers, they were greeted with music, lights and walls of sneakers. 

“It really demonstrates what we stand for, what our mission is, what our values are,” said Academic Senate president Edgar Perez.

The second annual sneakerball was held in celebration of Black History Month, inviting Valley's student body, neighboring high schools and curious community members. Dr. Elliott Coney, the head of the Umjoa Black Scholars, collaborated with the LAVC Art Gallery to connect participants with sneaker culture, offering food, photo-ops and a custom keychain design table. 

Dr. Coney hoped the guests would view the custom keychains as a reminder of the mixer, saying the keepsakes “will connect them to us.”

Gallery Director Janine Nagy is a long-standing partner of the Umoja program, helping put this and other events on during Black History Month, including a Paint N Sip where students completed sneaker-related artwork, heavily featured throughout the Sneakerball. 

As well as artwork, the gallery walls were covered with over a dozen temporarily donated sneakers, ranging from $80-$160. 

Whether this was their first introduction into the world of dunks or they were true sneakerheads,

guests were able to come and show off their kicks while indulging in a room surrounded by sneaker culture.

“I think it was a great outcome,” said Dr. Coney. “The purpose of this event is to be a mixer and celebrate not just internally on campus but externally within our community."