A New Future for Black Arts Fest

“Does one start with the polyrhythmic music of West Africa or the primordial tragedy of the blues? Should one start with Paul Dunbar or Toni Morrison?” These are the question Philip Atiba Goff ’99 asked himself eight years ago as he planned the first annual Harvard Black Arts Festival (BAF). And what did he come up with? In his vision, BAF was founded “to remind our artists of their points of origin and to share those origins with our audience.”

His vision has proven to be an enduring one. This week, BAF 2006 will draw together black cultural and artistic traditions from around the world to celebrate their common origin, points of intersection, and distinctive regional heritage.

The festival, dedicated to Harvard Business School alumnus and beloved former faculty advisor of Kuumba, Walter J. Leonard, bears the title “Soaring Spirits: Black Expression in the Diaspora.” The dizzying calendar features black art not only from all over the world, but also from across the spectrum of creative work. The Food Festival on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. in Ticknor Lounge will feature dishes prepared by the Nigerian Student Association and the Native Americans at Harvard College, among others. As the BAF co-chair Ofole U. Mgbako ’08 explains, BAF seeks to educate and remind students that “the history of black culture is in no way monolithic….Look at the history of this country—you see a lot of African Americans today with Native American ancestry.” And the proof is in the pudding, as they say.

The great ambition of BAF is two-fold: the hosts of the festival intend to explore black cultural heritage through multiple artistic media—theater, dance, music, film—while also crossing countless national borders. They plan to pay homage to black art as a cohesive entity while also preserving the distinctive qualities of each culture represented. As Mgbako puts it, “We’re trying to achieve a good representation of what it means be black all over the world”—a tall order by most standards. “It’s impossible to capture all of the various elements of art therein,” writes Adrienne Whaley in an e-mail, “particularly as the peoples of the Diaspora continue to move to and influence new locations and people, so each year the BAF attempts to provide a cross-section.”

This year, the cross-section will include a production of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” a BlackCAST production, which explores “intra-racial experiences and inter-racial relations within the music industry,” according to Julie Ann Crommett ’08, a member both of Kuumba and the BAF board. The play, a meditation on artistic ownership, takes place in 1927 in a blues recording studio during the course of one day.

BAF will also take an analytical approach to black art and how it integrates itself into political culture by exploring the versatility of artistic expression in a political context. In the words of Adrienne M. White ’08, BAF’s Jazz Brunch coordinator, “This is a chance to learn more about black communities’ own culture, their past, and their potential for creativity.” On Friday, there will be a panel discussion entitled “Redemption Songs: The Relationship between Black Art and Activism in the 21st century,” sponsored by BAF, the Black Students Association, and the Institute of Politics. The panel will include talks by guest speakers Uzodinma Iweala and Chandra Ortiz, and will be moderated by Lecturer on History and Literature and Quincy House Resident Tutor Timothy P. McCarthy ’93. On the same day, the film, “Keep on Walking: Joshua Nelson, The Jewish Gospel Singer,” will be shown at the Carpenter center. There will also be an Arts Showcase that will include an act by a Senegalese musician from a family of griots along with performances by members of the wider Boston community.

BAF’s broad cross-cultural ambition will be displayed in full force on Saturday, Mar. 4, when participants will be encouraged to participate in a hands-on exploration of black art forms by attending one of the many workshops open to anyone interested. Options range from an Expression workshop to a trip to the Afro-Brazilian world of Capoeira. The event will conclude on Sunday with the “Big Easy Jazz Brunch” which will focus on New Orleans and the redemptive effects of music for a community so ravaged. Opportunities will be provided for donations to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

In a university with a black population that has so large an international component and is comprised of students from such varied backgrounds, this festival provides an opportunity for Harvard students of any race to participate in a celebration of black cultures through events that simultaneously eliminate boundaries between groups and celebrate their cultural diversity.

Mgbako emphasizes that this is not an easy feat: black students, he says, tend to fall into one of many specific groups within the black community at Harvard. The festival, he explains, “reasserts the notion of community” by focusing on commonality without ignoring diversity. The intention, he claims, is not for people to forget their individual heritage, but for them to “look to see where their cultural identity intersects with that of other cultures.”