Video: Essence Performs for Youth in the BCC

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

Essence of Soul performed for middle school students and their families this Sunday afternoon in the Black Cultural Center. The guests were on campus as part of a family college trip hosted by the Educational Alliance Group‘s Students Pursuing Achievement and Readiness for College (SPARC) program. SPARC works with New York City students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades to help them prepare for high school, and eventually college.

SPARC’s program manager, Ja’Dell Davis ’06, led an academic tour of the campus earlier in the day, and current Swarthmore students participated by leading a campus life tour and speaking on a panel about their college experiences. As the finale to a full day, Essence of Soul put on a three-song show, featuring John Legend’s “It Don’t Have to Change,” Jazmine Sullivan’s “Love You Long Time,” and Frank Ocean’s “We All Try” (below).