2021 Season: SOUL-CIAL JUSTICE SUMMER
Remembering our past and reimagining our future through healing, restoration, and justice!
FREEDOM RIDE FOR VOTING RIGHTS LAUNCH
Black Voters Matter is kicking off their Freedom Ride for Voting Rights in New Orleans Friday, June 18th!
They’re boarding “the Blackest bus in America” on Juneteeth for a reverse Freedom Ride from the South to D.C. to continue the fight for voting rights! After our people showed up and showed out for last year’s presidential election, racist lawmakers around the country got to work moving to enact voter suppression laws across the country.
The Freedom Ride for Voting Rights will travel to nine cities encouraging folks to vote, raising awareness about the oppressive legislation designed to silence us, and empowering communities to fight back against racist laws.
Join us at Ashé on Friday, June 18th for the first of this year’s Freedom Ride for Voting Rights rallies as we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the original Freedom Rides! Hear from Freedom Rider, Civil Rights Icon, and New Orleans native Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, register to vote, enjoy food from our favorite Black-owned food trucks, and get you a snowball!
FAVORITE FATHERS BRUNCH 2021
Our Favorite Fathers Brunch honors men who are making a difference in the lives of families and communities in New Orleans. This powerful event spotlights men across the spectrum of fatherhood — men who celebrate culture, fight for equity, honor legacy, and uplift communities. We call these men “Baba” — a denotation of “father” in African cultures.
In becoming an Ashé Cultural Arts Center Favorite Father, men join a community of over 500 men who are shepherding in the next generation with positivity, emotional intelligence, strength, and passion. In addition to honoring these men, we are also commemorating great fathers nationwide whose lives have been taken too soon by police brutality.
We are excited to partner with Shea Moisture for Men this year to provide our Favorite Fathers with a self-care package.
JUNETEENTH COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR
In partnership with New Orleans East Hospital, we’re inviting the community to a day of wellness featuring FREE vaccinations, health screenings, healing work, and more!
As part of our holistic approach to actualizing equity for all, we recognize that there is no soul-cial justice without health justice. The dismal health outcomes of Black communities due to centuries of institutionalized racism in our health care system must come to an end.
While we work to inform and advocate for policy changes to achieve health justice, Ashé is proud to join New Orleans East Hospital and other health and wellness providers standing in the gap to provide our communities the kind of care so long denied us.
Join us on Juneteenth for a day of community care. Love up on yourself and your people!
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION: THE LONG WALK TO LIBERATION DRUM CIRCLE
New Orleans has a special place in the history of Juneteenth, for while Texas was the last place where our enslaved ancestors learned that legal slavery had been ended, New Orleans was the first.
On September 22, 1862 President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation stating in part that "all persons held as slaves… are and henceforward shall be free". On January 17, 1863, General Order No. 3, the President's Proclamation Declaring Slavery Abolished in the United States of America, was read at the St. Charles Theater and was followed by what is considered the first Jubilee celebration, when over 200 formerly enslaved and free people of color marched to Congo Square to celebrate with each other.
Join us in the rhythm of our ancestors on June 19th in the Ashé parking lot for the Long Walk to Liberation Drum Circle featuring drummers, dancers, healers, artists, activists, and musicians as we pay homage to this iconic date in our collective struggle.
This year’s Juneteenth drum circle is dedicated to the life and legacy of Portia Pollock.
THE SANKOFA CIRCLE: MAAFA
“Art gives society a way to have difficult conversations.” - Carol Bebelle
Join us for a special Maafa edition of The Sankofa Circle!
Ashé co-founder and poet, Carol Bebelle is joined by Luther Gray, James Borders, Gason Ayisiyin, and Rev. Johnny Youngblood in a discussion about the past, present, and future of slavery, and the importance of the Maafa Commemoration.
Sankofa is an African word/symbol derived from the Akan tribe of Ghana. It symbolizes the quest for knowledge through patient, critical and intelligent investigation. It is from the wisdom of the past that we ensure a brighter future. The Sankofa Circle brings together artists, activists, scholars, culture bearers, and culture keepers to celebrate our collective glory.
2021 MAAFA EXHIBIT —
POLYRHYTHMIC: THE MOVEMENT OF OUR PEOPLE
"The 2021 Maafa Exhibition explores the movement of dance. Dance engages communities. Dance strengthens bonds and preserves cultural heritage. Dance expresses spirituality. To experience cultural dance is to sample the beliefs, values, norms, philosophy and cultural practices of the community to which it belongs."
- Gason Ayisyin, Maafa Exhibit Curator
This year’s Maafa exhibit explores the polyrhythms and dances of Africa and the Diaspora. Artists were invited to consider the following questions: How is dance cultural and/or spiritual? How does one communicate through dance or movement? How does dance touch your soul?
Join us for an exploration of ancestral movement featuring the 2021 Maafa visual artists and dance performances by Silhouette Dance Ensemble and more.
MAAFA COMMEMMORATION
POLYRHYTHMIC: MOVEMENT OF OUR PEOPLE
Join us as we honor the ancestors, known and unknown, who endured the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade — those who were so that we could be. We ask that you wear all white in their memory and meet us in Congo Square and at the river for a day of remembrance, resilience, and resistance.
Performances by: Sunni Patterson • Luther Gray • Spirit McIntyre • Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective • Shangobunmi Durotimi the Artisté • Michaela Harrison • N’Kafu Traditional African Dance Company • Culu Children’s Traditional African Dance Company
Words of wisdom and healing by: Our 2021 Grand Griot Herreast J. Harrison • Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes • Carol Bebelle • Sunni Patterson • Nana Anoa Nantambu • Sula Spirit • Freddi Williams Evans • Malik Bartholomew • Rev. Denise Graves • HMK Amen • Cherice Harrison-Nelson • Rev. Rose Bratcher • Dwayne Muhammad • Kathleen Dorsey Bellow • Rev. Gregory Manning • Rev. Paul Beedle • Rachel Dangermond
2021 MAAFA EXHIBIT ARTIST TALK, EPISODE 1
We're back with another season of Maafa Exhibit Artist Talks! The 2021 Maafa Exhibit — Polyrhythmic: The Movement of Our People — is a celebration of the polyrhythms and dances of Africa and the Diaspora. Artists were invited to consider the following questions: How is dance cultural and/or spiritual? How does one communicate through dance or movement? How does dance touch your soul?
Hear from three of the Maafa Exhibit featured artists — Gason Ayisyin, Jessica Strahan, and Charlie V. — as they talk about the significance of their featured pieces, their artistic process, and their exploration of the importance of dance and movement for the healing and liberation of the African Diaspora.
THE ART OF RESISTANCE FT. LIONEL MILTON
Lionel Milton shares new and existing work in this special Soul-cial Justice Summer pop-up exhibition. The Art of Resistance is a visual exploration of the power of creative defiance in the face of struggle.
For decades, Lionel’s colorful style has vibrantly demonstrated energy with ubiquitous appeal and eclectic charm. He started his career as a graffiti artist when he was in his teens under the name ELLEONE. Over the years, Lionel has been commissioned and collected by the likes of Uber, Capital One Bank, ESPN, Red Bull, P&G, and Heineken.
Growing up in a culturally-rich place like New Orleans, the city heavily influences and continues to inspire his artwork.
UNSTAGED FT. DOMINIC SCOTT & LETRAINIUMP RICHARD
Ashé UNStaged is a series of concerts is designed to showcase musical innovators in sound and spoken word. These concerts are a mix of straight ahead performances, unique collaborations and one-of-a kind experiences, establishing connections between artists, audiences and beyond.
This month's featured UNStaged artists are R&B star and director Dominic Scott and pop singer/songwriter LeTrainiump Richard!
KUUMBA SUMMER FEST 2021
Join us for the first-ever Kuumba Summer Fest Saturday, July 24!
Kuumba Summer Fest is an exciting day of art for the whole family! Stop by for free breakfast from the Black Panther Party Vanguard, art exhibits and performances by our Kuumba Academy Warriors, live Kuumba Academy art classes for kids, food trucks, and music!
Kuumba Summer Fest is free and open to all who want to experience the art-centered fun and fellowship of the Kuumba Academy.
2021 MAAFA EXHIBIT ARTIST TALK, EPISODE 2
It’s episode 2 of the 2021 Maafa Exhibit Artist Talks! The 2021 Maafa Exhibit — Polyrhythmic: The Movement of Our People — is a celebration of the polyrhythms and dances of Africa and the Diaspora. Artists were invited to consider the following questions: How is dance cultural and/or spiritual? How does one communicate through dance or movement? How does dance touch your soul?
Hear from five of the Maafa Exhibit featured artists — Journey Allen, Gason Ayisyin, Eric Waters, Alina Allen, and Sean Clark — as they talk about the significance of their featured pieces, their artistic process, and their exploration of the importance of dance and movement for the healing and liberation of the African Diaspora.
BLACK AUGUST THEATER EXPERIENCE
The Black August Theater Experience aims to honor those we have lost to systematic racism through a remembering of our ancestors' contributions to actualize freedom. Come celebrate and learn the incomparable history of Black theater from established and emerging voices of the New Orleans Black theater community.
The Black August Theater Experience features:
Virtual performances by No Dream Deferred, Voices in The Dark Repertory, L.B. Landry Black Box Ensemble, and others.
The Importance of Theater Arts Education in New Orleans — a panel conversation featuring Deiontre Franklin, India Mack, Laci Jones, Troy Poplous, Jyna Roots, and Dr. Alexander C. Marshall, moderated by Don Lewis.
A digital art exhibition curated by the Amistad Research Center and Tommye Myrick.
The Black August Theater Experience is presented by the Black Southern Theater Collective: Junebug Productions, Voices in the Dark Repertory, No Dream Deferred, Chakula Cha Jua Theater Company, Ashé Cultural Arts Center, Karen "Kaia" Livers, India Mack, and Jyna Roots.
THE GREEN BOOK: GUIDE TO FREEDOM OUTDOOR FILM SCREENING
Join us for an outdoor screening of The Green Book: Guide to Freedom.
In the 1930s, a black postal carrier from Harlem named Victor Green published a book that was part travel guide and part survival guide. It was called The Negro Motorist Green Book, and it helped African-Americans navigate safe passage across America well into the 1960s. Explore some of the segregated nation's safe havens and notorious "sundown towns" and witness stories of struggle and indignity as well as opportunity and triumph.