Afro Ball royalty crowned

SANDUSKY — The return of the Afro Ball pageant was quite the royal affair. Sandusky High School seniors Anisha Chopra and Christian Smith were crowned Afro Ball queen and king, respectively, during the event on Sunday at the high school's auditorium. The pageant, created more than 50 years ago, showcases Sandusky High School minority students' talents and professionalism as contestants compete in three categories: Talent, interview and formal wear. In addition to Smith and Chopra, other pageant contestants were junior Aryanna Hicks and seniors Brooklynn Seavers, Destiny Jarrett-Jackson and Shakiya Randleman. The event also featured non-competitive acts from Sandusky youth including Sandusky High School's step team, Ebenezer Baptist Church's youth praise dancers and pianists Zach Haas and Ava DeFreitas. Additional pageant winners on Sunday were: • Dedication Award: Shakiya Randleman • Congeniality Award: Anisha Chopra • People's Choice and Best Interview awards: Destiny Jarrett-Jackson United Black Students adviser Jarvis Cole-Caston co-coordinated the pageant's return, after eight years of absence, with Raquel Pace, the executive director of the Ethel J. Roldan Center for Cultural Awareness. "Our contestants did an amazing job," Cole-Caston said. "I'm so proud of them. Our non-competitive acts did an amazing job as well." Proceeds from the event will support United Black Students and scholarships for the pageant winners. The student group, among other events, hosts the Black History Expo and the Black History Month assembly for the entire Sandusky middle and high school campus. The Afro Ball will become a yearly event. "Next year, the Afro Ball is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2024," Cole-Caston said. "Traditionally, a school dance occurs immediately after the pageant. This tradition will resume next year." _ Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood