An audience of more than 150 people munched on fried sweet potatoes and sipped masala tea as the African Student Association kicked off its cultural celebration event Saturday.

Traditional African music and cuisine selections from Senegal, Swaziland and Nigeria flavored the environment at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 2210 Lincoln Way. The event’s theme, “Hadisi ya Historia Yetu” – “The story of our history” in Swahili – echoed throughout the night.

Members of ASA, adorned in colorful African garb, greeted audience members as a rich African drum rhythm played in the background.

Babatunde Agbaje, ASA president and senior in family finance, housing and policy, said more than 300 fliers were passed out around campus. The effort showed as candle-lit tables filled quickly with families and ISU students.

“We are so thankful to see so many people interested in our event,” Agbaje said. “It shows a lot of love and support.”

The program of events began with a brief history of Africa followed by a fashion show highlighting traditional African clothing from a collection of countries. The unique collection reflected the depth of African culture and diversity.

“Africa is the second-largest continent in the world and has a rich culture, diversity and tradition,” said Keyna Eilor, ASA member and sophomore in professional health programs.

Flags decorated the walls of the church lounge, representing the multitude of countries on the vast continent.

“How many flags do you see here?” said Ahmadu Baba-Singhri, assistant professor of sociology at Grand View College and keynote speaker for the evening. “The many flags represent the many, many people and cultures that make up Africa.”

Baba-Singhri’s presentation addressed the truth behind African identity and how the country’s dramatic history affects both its people and cultural identity.

“Africa is a character and is something that we share as black people,” Baba-Singhri said. “It is the collection of people and how they feel, how they think, and how they act.”

Explaining what an African was, as Baba-Singhri described, was a difficult question. He said that simply studying the violence, poverty and war present on the continent does not capture the true meaning of being African.

“We are a people who have a unique history of slavery, oppression, subjugation and the struggle to be free,” he said.

Baba-Singhri said an identity crisis exists in Africa because its people come from so many different languages and cultures.

“Africa is a country itself,” he said. “We define ourselves as Africa and as black people and the identity that we maintain from what we take from our past and present civilizations.”