Black History

Tourism expands from the Fort Lauderdale beaches to the Sistrunk Historic Corridor

THE WESTSIDE GAZETTE — Over 300 movers and shakers are expected to attend sessions at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel, and the organization will also stage several special events as part of the conference at the Urban League of Broward County and African American Research Library and Cultural Center, the Sistrunk area’s economic and cultural campus.

Published

7 years ago

July 16, 2019

Carma Henry

By Dr. Kitty Oliver

Over 300 movers and shakers are expected to attend sessions at the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel, and the organization will also stage several special events as part of the conference at the Urban League of Broward County and African American Research Library and Cultural Center, the Sistrunk area’s economic and cultural campus.

Fifty local youth will be selected for mentoring workshops and community service activities with high-profile women of achievement in entrepreneurism, business, and professional careers.

A public forum at the Urban League on the #Me-Too issue on Tuesday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m., will bring together law enforcement representatives and individuals with federal and social science expertise and community members for a candid discussion on sex crimes and sexual harassment issues Tuesday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. The organization will also host a public event on technology training skills for entrepreneurs from 9 a.m. to noon that day.

In the process, convention participants will also get a firsthand view of the emerging Sistrunk destination, a cultural district offering heritage tours, performance spaces, service-learning tours, and arts experiences and a center for economic development projects.

“We’ve always wanted to ensure that our communities are impacted by tourism – in education and in economics – and this is making Sistrunk part of the larger tourism story. It’s a strong initiative,” said Albert Tucker, Vice President for Multicultural Business Development with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau, a partner in the events.

The convention is hosted by the Broward chapter club with the support of affiliates in the Southeast region. “Many of the participants will be visiting Fort Lauderdale for the first time,” said Bernadine Bush, chair of the local convention host committee and a Miami club member. “We hope that, in addition to enjoying the conference, we’ll develop new tourism opportunities where people will come, extend their stay, and come back.”

The Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs was founded in 1935 by African American business and professional women excluded from access to the mainstream networks because of racism. The 2,000-member alliance of clubs has become a major promoter of opportunities for women in a wide range of workplaces and in the home. The group also provides a bridge for young people entering businesses and professions and conducts programs in communities globally.

In addition to the group’s Historic Sistrunk experiences, the National Vocal Arts Competition, a signature convention event where young classically-trained vocalists compete for scholarships, will be held at the Westin Hotel July 17. A gala on July 20 will recognize and honor individuals in the local community.

“We want people to know that we are a valuable hub representing women who can share experiences on all levels,” said Diane Toppin, National President. “And, we look forward to learning about the area and seeing the changes to the community.”

This article originally appeared in The Westside Gazette.

Carma Henry

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Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.