A time for critical reflection, a step show, a pajama party and a barbecue sum up the Fourth Annual Harambee for African Americans students at Iowa State.

“It’s a time for black students to come together and celebrate Veishea in a different way,” said Jacqueline Sowell, program director of Black Student Alliance.

“We didn’t feel like a part of the Veishea community, so we created something for ourselves and made it alcohol-free. We feel that it is very important that all our events are alcohol-free,” Sowell said.

Harambee starts Thursday and ends Sunday with a barbecue.

The weekend will begin with Black Out Day. This is a day when black students are encouraged to abstain from participating in business activities in Ames

“Black students are encouraged to make no purchases from Ames businesses in order to demonstrate the amount of business and money black students contribute to Ames, despite of being a minority group,” said Randall Duvall, vice president of BSA and counselor of Student Support Services.

In past years, the day focused on the lack of diversity at ISU by encouraging students to not attend classes.

“We wanted to make the point that without black students present in classes, the classes lose a whole lot in terms of thinking about different subjects and providing different points of view,” Duvall said.

However, for this year’s Harambee, the students will focus on the economic issue only, he said.

In addition to Black Out Day, workshops will also be held Thursday at the BCC starting at 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The workshops are open to everyone.

“It’s a chance for students to critically think about situations black students in America face,” Duvall said.

Even if the students who are attending are knowledgeable of the situations, the workshops give people a chance to better understand among themselves, he said.

Thursday will end with a special workshop program titled “Black Athletes and Our Community at ISU” starting at 7 p.m. at the BCC.

“Black athletes don’t feel like a part of ISU, so this is a chance to bring the issue out into the open and start the healing of that relationship,” Sowell said.

After a day of critical reflection, Friday is a time to relax and party.

The party will be held in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union beginning at 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The event is open to everyone and is $5 per person.

Party-goers may have to make it an early night because Saturday morning the Harambee Olympics are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Omega Psi Phi and the Oracle Club will co-sponsor the Harambee Olympics.

Among the many events, there is a three-legged race, a basketball game and a spades tournament.

All indoor games will take place at the BCC, and all outdoor games will simultaneously be held near Towers.

“We want people to come out and just have fun doing some recreational activities,” Sowell said.

After a full day of competition, the night ends with a talent show and pajama party in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

The talent show will consist of various students showcasing their talents. It is a two-hour program of singing, dancing and comedy acts.

In addition, BSA will be performing a historical representation of African American culture through a step show.

“All the people stepping are non-greek, and it is not by design, but by choice,” Duvall said.

The step show is to demonstrate the connection between African dance and stepping techniques that many traditional black fraternities and sororities do, he said.

“This allows students, who ordinarily wouldn’t meet because of different interests, to meet,” Duvall said.

It is a time to learn from each other and provide a network for African Americans, he said.

Stepping is a dance performed by African Americans as the Native Ghost Dance is performed by Native Indians, he explained.

“Stepping is an experience that we put our souls into, and to me, that is sacred,” Duvall said.

Although students cannot directly participate in the step session, they can join the pajama party later that evening. The pajama party will be held from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will cost $1 with pajamas and $3 for those in plain clothes.

“These events have always been very successful in the past, and we get a lot of different ethnic groups that come to the talent show,” Duvall said.

To close Harambee weekend, the BCC will be hosting “A Taste of Harambee Barbecue” on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The barbecue will be an “all-you-can-eat” buffet that is free and open to the public.