Two years on, Flagstaff’s Lived Black Experience Project seeks hard conversations

ADRIAN SKABELUND Special to the Daily Sun

Having hard conversations may not be the first strategy that pops into mind when seeking to build community and connections, but that has been the goal of the Lived Black Experience Project in Flagstaff

For almost two years, the project has sought to bring awareness to the history of Flagstaff’s Black population and the issues and injustices residents of color including Latino and Indigenous residents, have faced, hoping to bring communities and individuals together

That was the message of Kim Robinson,the project coordinator for the organization.

The project saw its beginning amid the uprisings of 2020, said Robinson. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Officers, protest and reckoning gripped the nation.

Locally it was no different, but Robinson said many local Black leaders felt the local context for northern Arizona and Flagstaff was missing from the discussion, and the project hoped to address that issue, Robinson said “There were several Black leaders in Flagstaff that came together and said, well, we need to do something productive about this The reason of the upheaval, of the anger is because of the lack of education, the lack of information, and so the Lived Black Experience Project was started as a pro-active initiative to address issues that lead up to [the killing],” Robinson said. “We talk about the impact that the Indigenous, Latino and Black communities have made on Flagstaff and also the Southside community And we educate people.

From Black cowboys, lumberjacks and employees of timber mills,Flagstaff’s Black population has a rich history, but one that is often forgotten about, Robinson said

In 2020, the project held close to a half dozen listening sessions covering topics from housing to issues facing youth of color today

While the national reckoning on race in America that began in 2020 may be receiving somewhat less attention now, the events and conversations the Lived Black Experience Project organized have continued, Robinson said.

The project puts on a dinner at the Murdoch Community Center on the fourth Sunday of every month where attendees can listen to a speaker discuss topics from local history to issues faced by minorities nationally,Robinson said And Robinson said she sees those moments for education, for residents of all races,as supremely important in understanding racial dynamics in the county and at home and how to move forward.

“What I’ve had in my experience, people are incredulous to experiences that have not hit home for them,they don’t believe something like this could happen,” Robinson said. “It was definitely bringing it home. Because it feels so far away; when you see things happening on the other side of the country, it’s just so far away, like that doesn’t pertain to us

The monthly talks can be streamed live on the project’s Facebook page, where viewers can also participate live by asking questions Past talks are posted and can be viewed on YouTube.

This year’s project is also putting on a near monthly community and cultural arts market at the Murdoch Center on the first Saturday of each month Those markets are planned for Feb 4, April 1,May 6,June 3,July 1,Aug 5, Sept 2, June 3, Oct 7 and Nov 4