Electric Slide at Black August in the Park.
Some of us never really got to experience an authentic down home southern Black family reunion. That’s not really something I saw as a child New York. The closest to it would be children’s birthday parties, quinceaneras, and block parties. Close but there’s a difference in the atmosphere. I grew up watching movies and tv shows that depicted the Black family reunion. There were Soul Train lines; kids chasing each other; dominoes slammed and spade books called; the sounds of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Earth Wind And Fire, Kool & The Gang, The Isley’s, Commodores, Al Green and so many more bringing generations together.
That generational togetherness is exactly what co-founders, Crystal Taylor and Moses Ochol, have brought to the community of the Triangle and surrounding areas for almost a decade. What started as a defiant act against gentrification has blossomed into a celebration of Blackness in any and every form.
With so many stereotypes and divisive attempts to define Blackness it was a beautiful sight to see the culture—the Diaspora, on full display. There wasn’t just representation of Black-Americans, but Afro-Caribbeans/Latinos, and Africans. Unity in the wake of tumultuous times.
