presents A RETROSPECTIVE ON 50 YEARS OF BLACK LITERATURE & CULTURE AFRICANA ARTS & HUMANITIES FESTIVAL Powered by Broward County Library's African American Research Library and Cultural Center March 21 - 23 • 2024
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Greetings,
As Director of Broward County Library, I am delighted to present our first Africana Arts & Humanities Festival. It debuts at a momentous time for our library, as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, looking back on past achievements and forward to ever greater accomplishments.
This incredible, multi-day Africana Arts & Humanities Festival evolved from the South Florida Book Festival, which premiered 13 years ago. It is with enormous pride that we recognize how widely and profoundly its scope has expanded and morphed into a new entity: The Africana Arts & Humanities Festival.
The 2024 theme, “Rootedness: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture” connects us to the past and propels us into the future, always leaning forward to what comes next. As someone who will be attending with you, I anticipate being challenged, thrilled, astonished, entertained and enlightened. And as any past guest can attest, any AARLCC event with “Destination” in front of it is bound to be one pulsating party!
The programs that await us over the coming days are blockbusters. This year’s guests are talented, nationally recognized scholars, authors, musicians and exponents of Black culture at the highest level. It must be noted the presenters that we are able to attract are drawn here by the caliber of work done at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, a library of excellence since its grand opening in October 2002 under former Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison.
Thank you for joining us for the historic launch of the Africana Arts & Humanities Festival – a signature event that will see Broward County Library shine into the next 50 years!
Allison Grubbs Broward County Library Director3
MESSAGE FROM THE REGIONAL MANAGER
It is with great pride that we present the very first Africana Arts & Humanities Festival. This rebranding of the South Florida Book Festival allows the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) to enlarge the reach, impact and profile of this prestigious signature program.
The name change and conceptual transformation centers upon AARLCC’s core function as a research library with an archive of over 1,000,000 items preserving the story of African-descended people in this region. Thematically, it extends the Festival’s range to other, diverse cultural elements beyond books and authors to academic scholarship, music, visual and performing arts, and the culinary arts.
This year’s Festival theme is “Rootedness: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture.” The title of the Festival is taken from an essay by literary icon Toni Morrison, which uplifts the critical role of the ancestor in the Black literary tradition.
AARLCC’s archive also has a story to tell about the decade and its history-makers, with the collections of such luminaries as Alex Haley, Esther Rolle, Dr. Niara Sudarkasa, along with the stories and collections of local residents and their ancestors. This event examines the ways in which they broke new ground in the 1970s.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Broward County Library, we reflect upon the Library’s inception, early history and, concurrently, what was a pivotal decade in Black American history.
The 1970s represented a critical time for America as the nation began to embrace the full meaning of social and legal equality. The new reality was created from the convergence of the Civil Rights Movement, school desegregation, integration of the U.S. Armed Forces, immigration from the Black diaspora, the assassinations of key leaders, and a new wave of youthful activism. The 1970s emboldened the spirit of Black self-love, self-determination, and self-expression and took form in the Black Arts and Black Power movements.
Beyond preservation and generational storytelling, this expanded festival allows us to think and plan for the preservation of the historic Sistrunk Corridor and the northwest quadrant of Fort Lauderdale. Friday’s Neighborhood Revitalization Symposium offers business leaders and developers the chance to learn about investment and entrepreneurial opportunities in the area.
This effort would not have been possible without the AARLCC staff, our partners, and most importantly, our sponsors. I would like to thank Christic Henry, Executive Director of the Soul of Southside Arts & Humanities Festival, for helping us to bring her brilliant model for connecting culture and commerce to South Florida.
It is my hope that all attendees find something to celebrate, learn something new, and grow to appreciate the mission and purpose of Broward County’s African American Research Library and Cultural Center.
Tameka Bradley Hobbs, Ph.D. Regional Manager African American Research Library and Cultural Center
4
Thank You! Sponsors Partners 5
PROGRAM LISTING
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2024
Race and Reading: The Evolution of the Black Library
Panel Discussion
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: AARLCC, Gallery B
The history of racism in access to literature is often overlooked, but segregation in libraries was widespread in the South. Broward County was no exception. Leaders in the Black community responded with self-determination, creating their own libraries to address the intellectual vacuum left by their exclusion from white-only public libraries. Join us for a discussion with historians, librarians, and library advocates to learn about the evolution of the Black library in Broward County. Panelists include historian Derek Davis; Evelyn Grooms and Edith Gooden-Thompson, both former educators, former members of the Friends of the Mizell Library, and former presidents of the Friends of AARLCC; Tanya Simons-Oparah, former AARLCC staff member; and Samuel F. Morrison, former director of Broward County Library and the founder of the African American Research Library and Cultural Center. There will be a reception. This event is sponsored by the Friends of AARLCC.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024
Opportunity Tour
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Midtown Commerce Center, 1033 NW 6th Street, Suite 103, Fort Lauderdale, 33311
Designed to highlight investment and partnership opportunities, join the City of Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency for a tour showcasing new housing and commercial developments along the historic Sistrunk Corridor and surrounding areas. Learn all about projects under construction and in the pipeline. This is a chance to network and learn about potential community development partnership opportunities and business incentives. Catering will be catered by T Cooks with Flave. Space is limited. To register, email jadderley@fortlauderdale.gov.
Pulse of the People: Black Media & Cultural Conversations
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Gallery B
Join us for a conversation with Bea Hines, author and award-winning retired Miami Herald columnist, as she reflection on integrating a major newsroom in South Florida in 1970. The conversation will be moderated by Nadege Green, researcher and storyteller.
Tour of AARLCC’s Special Collection
Times: 12:30 PM, 1:15 PM, and 4:30 PM
Location: AARLCC, Special Collections Reading Room, 2nd Floor
The Special Collections Department invites visitors to view historical documents and artifacts from the African
6
Bea Hines Nadege Green
diaspora. The tour highlights collections such as African masks and sculptures, Esther Rolle’s Emmy award, Alex Haley’s manuscripts, Haitian paintings, selected writings by Dr. Niara Sudarkasa, and antique photography from the Love-Thornell Collection of Black American Photographs. Special Collections librarians will provide an overview of Special Collections and its services. Registration is required.
Screening and Talkback, “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am.”
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Auditorium
The 1970s represented a pivotal time for America as the nation began to grasp the full meaning of social and legal equality. This new spirit of cultural expression is reflected in the work of Toni Morrison. Her books The Bluest Eye (1970) and Sula (1973) presented a bold new voice in the canon of Black literature. Morrison also co-edited The Black Book (1974), which offered an immersive and graphic rendering of the African American past through photographs, ephemera, poetry, and letters. Equally as important as Morrison’s own writings were the Black authors she brought forward while working as an editor for Random House.
There will be a screening of the documentary, “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” followed by a discussion on Morrison’s impact and legacy with Dr. Carole Boyce Davies of Howard University, Dr. Regis Fox of Florida Atlantic University, Professor Zakiya Odoi of Broward College, and radio personality Jill Tracey.
Jazz at the Circuit: Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Songs of Hope and Change
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: The Circuit, 1033 NW 6th Street
Jazz at Lincoln Center presents an all-star ensemble of jazz musicians from around the country in a program of iconic music associated with Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and Cannonball Adderley. Featuring Brianna Thomas, Alphonso Horne, Aurora Nealand, Waldron Dunkley, Jim Gaisor, Corcoran Holt, Harvel Nakundi, Justin Poindexter and Jake Blasini. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024
Opportunity Tour
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Location: Departs from the Urban League of Broward County
Designed to highlight investment and partnership opportunities, join the City of Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency for a tour showcasing new housing and commercial developments along the historic Sistrunk Corridor and surrounding areas. Learn all about projects under construction and in the pipeline. This is a chance to network and learn about potential community development partnership opportunities and business incentives. Space is limited. Park and board the bus at the Urban League. To register, email Jadderley@fortlauderdale.gov.
7
Toni Morrison
PROGRAM LISTING
Pathways to Capital Readiness, Procurement & Funding Opportunities
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
Whether you have an idea to start a business or have an established business, you’ll want to explore Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) programming, procurement opportunities, events like the Broward & Beyond Business Conference (BBBC2024), and upcoming Micro-Grant Pilot and Mobilization Loan programs. Check out the federal procurement opportunities highlighted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Learn from the Urban League of Broward County (ULBC) about how to start a business, create a business plan, become capital ready, enhance your financial literacy, and gain access to capital, and more.
Moderator: Courtnee Biscardi, ULBC Executive Vice President
Mark Cassidy, AICP, OESBD Program/Project Coordinator, Senior
Ronald Bruner, SBA Business Opportunity Specialist
Legacy Redevelopment and Small Developers Real Estate Investments
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
A panel of experts will discuss the benefits of retaining and investing in family-owned property, and your neighborhood’s available property. Learn how legacy investment property and small development real estate investments can create generational wealth for your family and protect the community.
Moderator: Sheryl Dickey, President & CEO of Dickey Consulting
Panelists: Bryan Cunningham, Grow America
Clarence Woods, City of Fort Lauderdale CRA Manager
Althea A. Harris, U.S, Small Business Administration South Florida Deputy District Director
Dennis Wright, Wright Dynasty, LLC
Crossover Opportunities in Film
Time: 12:15PM - 1:15PM
Location: Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
The film industry requires an endless variety of skills and services to make a production possible. Small business owners will want to step into the spotlight of success by learning how to repurpose existing skillsets and tap into creative production industry opportunities. With panelists from Film Lauderdale (the Broward County Film Commission), attendees will also gain invaluable insights to access the numerous initiatives aimed at creating economic growth, high wage jobs, and new opportunities for small businesses.
Sandy Lighterman, Broward County Film Commissioner
Christy Andreoni, Film Lauderdale Assistant Manager
8
Courtnee Biscardi
Sheryl Dickey
Rooted in History & Talent: Small Business Success Stories
Time: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Location: Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
There is much to appreciate and learn about the journey from ideation to successful execution from those who have walked the pathway of business entrepreneurship. Get inspired by business owners who have overcome the challenges of starting and growing a business while cultivating a niche for their goods and services. Access key secrets shared by business owners about tough lessons learned, the benefits of certification, and additional wise tips that can propel your business onward and upward.
Moderator: Shaheewa Jarrett Gelin, Esq., Broward County Black Chamber of Commerce
Sharon Allen, Blue Tree Café
Darius Daughtry, Art Prevails Project
Lawanda Henderson, Taylor Tots Preschool
Dudly Etienne-Harvard, President/ Owner, Dudly’s Professional Services. LLC
Dawn Watts, CEO, DW Consultants Inc.
Kaola King, Owner, King Intelligence and Security Services, Inc.
Special Tribute to
Bobby R. Henry Jr. of the Westside Gazette
Get Certified to Do Business with Broward County
Time: 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM
Location: Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale
Did you know small businesses that are certified with Broward County have access to billions in procurement opportunities? Businesses must be registered to bid on Broward County procurement contracts. Learn more from Broward County’s Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD) about available procurement systems and opportunities available with BPRO, the new Broward County Procurement system; MAP Broward (Mobility Advancement Program); the South Florida Anchor Alliance Regional Marketplace featuring other key community partners; plus discover broad range of services offered by the Urban League of Broward County (ULBC) during this moderated discussion.
Moderator: J.R. McFarling, ULBC Small Business Development Officer
Sandy-Michael E. McDonald, OESBD Director
9
Shaheewa Jarrett Gelin
Bobby R. Henry Jr.
J.R. McFarling
PROGRAM LISTING
A Conversation with Michael Harriot
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Location: AARLCC, Auditorium
Michael Harriot is a critically acclaimed poet, journalist, and broadcaster who covers the intersection of race, politics, and social issues. He’s a senior writer for TheGrio.com, and his work is often cited by outlets and individuals from the New York Times and the Washington Post. Famously called “the King of Black Twitter,” Harriot has also created a podcast called “Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History,” which combines his skills as a researcher and humorist. In his book, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America, a New York Times bestseller, is a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans.
Destination Roots: A Benefit for the Africana Arts & Humanities Festival
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Lobby
“Destination Roots” will feature DJ Tillery James spinning funk, soul, and disco hits from the 1970s. This year’s festival is “Rootedness: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture.” In line with the theme, attendees are encouraged to pay tribute to the fashion of the disco era. Proceeds benefit the Africana Arts & Humanities Festival. You must be 21 years or older to attend this event. Go to https://secure.qgiv.com/for/aarlcc/ to purchase tickets.
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2024
Cornrows and Crowns: A Conversation with Camille Yarbrough and Kahran Bethencourt
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Auditorium
Join us for intergenerational discussion about hair pride between Coretta Scott King Award-winning authors Camille Yarbrough and Kahran Bethencourt of CreativeSoul (The Me I Choose to Be, Crowned, and Glory). The event will also feature a children’s hair show curated by Natural Trend Setters to celebrate the beauty and creativity of Black hair. This will be a celebration of Black hair that will span multiple generations, and celebrate children’s literature and highlight positive representations of Black aesthetic culture. Sponsored by the Broward County Friends of the Library and the Friends of AARLCC.
Revisiting the Fiction of the 1970s
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Gallery B
Dr. Shawn Christian of FIU presents his talk, “Prescience and Interiority in James Baldwin’s and Barry Jenkin’s If Beale Street Could Talk. Throughout the 1970s, James Baldwin experienced what many observers described as a period of decline
10
Camille Yarbrough Kahran Bethencourt
DJ Tillery
Michael Harriot
and disillusionment. Christian examines Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk and Barry Jenkins’ 2018 film adaptation. Baldwin’s novel follows a young black couple whose lives are torn apart by a false criminal accusation.
Dr. Shawn Anthony Christian is Associate Professor and Chairperson of the English department at Florida International University. He is also affiliate faculty in FIU’s African and African Diaspora Studies program. He specializes in 20th-century African American literary and print culture and is the author of The Harlem Renaissance and The Idea of a New Negro Reader.
Dr. Ayesha Hardison presents her talk, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?: Black Womanhood, Nursing, and Romance.” The 1970s initiated new themes in African American literature not only regarding literary fiction, as exemplified by Toni Morrison’s and Gayl Jones’s works, but also in terms of genre fiction— namely Black romance. Whereas the popular genre is recognized as taking root in the 1980s, and Black romance fiction has dominated the multicultural romance subgenre since the 1990s, Marilyn Morgan, R.N. (1969), one of the first romance novels by an African American writer featuring Black characters, remains little known. Dr. Hardison’s talk will engage Black women’s romantic, familial, communal, and professional love as an art and a politic.
Ayesha Hardison is a literary and cultural critic of African American writing and representation. An Associate Professor of English and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Kansas, she explores questions of race, gender, genre, social politics, and historical memory in her research and teaching. She is the author of Writing through Jane Crow: Race and Gender Politics in African American Literature (University of Virginia Press, 2014), and is co-editor with Eve Dunbar of African American Literature in Transition: 1930-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
West African Women, Work, and the Family: Dr. Niara Sudarkasa’s Contributions to Africana Scholarship
Time: 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Gallery B
This talk focuses on the scholarly contributions that Niara Sudarkasa made to Africana Studies as well as feminist studies in the 1970s, during the years that she worked at the University of Michigan. It also explores how her scholarship was influenced by her political investment and activism, particularly as it pertained to struggles against anti-Black racism and Eurocentric ideologies.
Erica L. Williams is Professor of Anthropology at Spelman College. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Anthropology and Africana Studies from New York University. She is the author of Sex Tourism in Bahia: Ambiguous Entanglements (2013).
From Islands to Mainland: Exploring the Legacy of Caribbean Immigration in the 1970s
Time: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Location: AARLCC, Auditorium
The desegregation of society in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s also opened immigration from the Caribbean to the U.S. Join us for a discussion reflecting on 50 years of Caribbean immigration with Dr. Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science, University of Florida,
11
Erica Williams
Dr. Shawn Christian
Dr. Ayesha Hardison
Dr. Sharon Austin Judge Norman Hemming Calibe Thompson
PROGRAM LISTING
author of The Caribbeanization of Black Politics, Judge Norman Hemming, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, and moderated by Calibe Thompson, Executive Director of Island SPACE Caribbean Museum.
Threads Tour of Black Broward, Sponsored by Broward County Transit
Times: 1:00 PM and 4:30 PM
Location: Departing from AARLCC
Discover Broward County’s Black History with Threads! Threads Interactive Map on Broward’s Black History is an interactive mapping project built in collaboration between Broward County Transit (BCT) and the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC). The selected historical landmarks include schools, places of worship, social establishments, and homes owned/established by prominent Black pioneers who significantly contributed to Broward County since the early 1900s. This bus will allow participants a chance to explore a few sites included on the Threads app. Registration is required.
A Conversation with Dr. Daniel Black
Time: 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Location: AARLCC, Auditorium
Daniel Black is an author and professor of African American studies at Clark Atlanta University. His books include The Coming, Perfect Peace and They Tell Me of a Home. He is the winner of the Distinguished Writer Award from the Middle-Atlantic Writer’s Association and has been nominated for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, the Ernest J. Gaines Award, and the Georgia Author of the Year Award. He was raised in Blackwell, Arkansas, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
In his debut essay collection, Black on Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America, Black gives voice to the experiences of those who often find themselves on the margins. Tackling topics ranging from police brutality to the AIDS crisis to the role of HBCUs to queer representation in the Black church, Black on Black celebrates the resilience, fortitude, and survival of Black people in a land where their body is always on display. Presented by the Ujima Men’s Collective.
From Alex Haley to the Present: A Genealogical Perspective
Time: 2:15 PM – 3:30 PM
Location: AARLCC, Gallery B
Few people were conducting genealogy before Alex Haley published Roots in 1976. Before Alex Haley most had never heard the word genealogy. Now, pollsters say genealogy is America’s number one hobby. Haley never imagined the world-wide impact and the vast numbers of people he inspired to search for their ancestors. Nor did Haley envision the effect of technology on genealogy research. Genealogy research has come a long way in the last 48 years. Join Tony Burroughs, Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association (FUGA), and travel through time as we see the impact and legacy of Alex Haley and also learn how you can get started tracing your family tree.
12
Daniel Black
Tony Burroughts
Thank You to our planning committee!
Dr. Tameka Hobbs, Chair
Aneatra King, AARLCC
Mo Beasley, AARLCC
Dr. Ramona LaRoche, AARLCC
Dahlia Barnett, AARLCC
Tramiya Fitzpatrick, AARLCC
Venkata Madiraju, AARLCC
Sheryl Dickey, Dickey Consulting, Co-Chair
Dr. Regis Fox, Florida Atlantic University, Co-Chair
Shaheewa Jarrett Gelin, Broward Black Chamber of Commerce, Co-Chair
Monique Headley, Broward County Officeof Economic and Small Business Development, Co-Chair
Willowstine Lawson, Broward Municipal Service District
Jonelle Adderley, Ft. Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency
Clarence Woods, Ft. Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency
Dr. Marquese McFerguson, Florida Atlantic University
Dr. Sika Dagbovie-Mullins, Florida Atlantic University
Dr. Sondra Washington, Florida Atlantic University
Dr. Rebecca Friedman, Florida International University
Dr. Valerie Patterson, Florida International University
Prof. Kisha King, Broward College
Emmanuel George, Black Broward Project
Bryan Cunningham, Broward Black Chamber of Commerce
Alexander Rundlet, Rundlet Advisory PLLC
13
14
15
