Black Independence Day including Silent protest March to the Arcata Plaza

Saturday 6-20-2020

Turn out was good, it was intimate and sweet and allies were respectful during celebration

Facilitator of today’s event was Valetta Molofsky Cultural Educator/ Artistic Director and Founder of HC Black Music and Arts Association (HCBMAA)

From the director

“The purpose of HCBMAA is to educate, advocate and support our POC Youth with knowledge from our own African historians. The stories shared bring purpose, hope and our Black Culture/ Traditions alive. Our goal at HCBMAA is to have Black mental health services available to decrease post traumatic slave syndrome. Provide wellness classes to our youth so their voices are heard. We will have a 3 day summer camp in August based on Afrocentric practices. Currently we are looking for volunteers to mentor our youth. Hold a sista prayer circle for our prayers warriors to pray for our community and lastly we want to embrace our heritage by singing Negro spirituals that is our legacy passed down from our ancestors. “

Board members Present today

Valetta- President, speaker
Wilda Thompson (Secretary)- did the open prayer
Jenifer Be (Treasurer) handed out mask to the black community donated by Open Door Clinic

Board members not present
Doug Smith Vice President (was sick)
Chaplain pastor Roger Williams (our of town)
Parliament Steven Bell (Currently in South Africa for a year)

Special Guests:
Jude from Judedrum productions
Congo Drummers from Nigeria son and dad routine played a piece from home. They also drum during the silent protest.

Singers:

Healing and compassionate spirtual singers

Dejani Did a rap she wrote

Olivia Dunn and Zera Starchild sang a duet

Speakers

Florence Parks, Director of Big Brother Big Sister spoke about the history of the Silent Protest of 1917. She also explained why we were wearing all white. Women wore white for purity, standing strong while the men represent in black, which signifies the color of our skin. The men had integrity and held the women up by protecting their backs. This March signified that each man present in Black is a good man.

Latrice Watson shared the roots of her father and the land of the slaves. she talk about how important is to know where your roots are from so you can pass it on to your children

Takasha

Priestess

Shared about her baskets and staff

Emma

Owner of Ginger Love talk about inheriting her grandmother’s sewing craft and sharing stitch by stitch her passion she has for keep this tradition alive

Aj

Shared his poetry and history of colonialism in Catholic Churches and how they benefited from black traditions

Reverend Anthony from Huff Bayside Church did a piece on what if God was a woman

Red, shared his experience on LA

Zera, spoke about her daughter trauma as a youth and how she took up painting. She shared a oil painting of a beautiful woman representing both parentage as a bi-racial youth

Carloyn Glinsey an elder in the community, shared her history about her Louisiana upbringing

There was an African library for people to read books like grandma hands, the color of law a forgotten history of how our government segregated America by Richard Rothstein, Unseen the unpublished Black History from the New York Times, shades of a Black, post traumatic stress disorder by joy degroy and the book valetta read out of was we rise, we resist, we raise our voices.

Nilah Rain reading the Ancestors pray while I lit the candle.

Freedom March 2020