Join Afiya Carter curator the annual Hayti Legacy Kwanzaa’s panel discussions. This Sunday’s conversation will be held virtually and live-streamed at the Hayti starting at 12:00 pm.
Back in the Black Durham is a community discussion with Back in the Black coalition members – William Jackson, Camryn Smith, and Cyril Broderick Jr. – about the American Rescue Plan Act and the coalition’s strategies for getting 45% of the roughly $112 billion federal dollars (allocated to Durham city and county) into the pockets of Black community members negatively impacted by COVID.
Afiya Carter is a researcher and co-founder of Alphabet Krew, LLC, a Research Consulting Firm. With over 20 years experience in the public and private sectors, Afiya specializes in data analysis, project management, and community based organizing from a social justice perspective. Afiya is a powerful force within our community and uses her positive attitude and limitless energy to inspire others to work hard and succeed. Afiya is motivated by her family and in her spare time she enjoys spending time with her adult children and gardening.
To join the conversation:
Join Baba McDaniel Roberts in-person at the Hayti Heritage Center at 1 pm for the Candle Lighting Ceremony, a defining feature of the Kwanzaa holiday tradition . Baba McDaniel Roberts presents the seven principles and table elements essential at every Kwanzaa.
Baba McDaniel Roberts is a native of Durham, NC. Currently, Baba McDaniel is the Dance Teacher at Community School of Digital and Visual Arts, Artistic Director of the The Harambee Collective, Co-Director of Baba’s Rising Sons, Assistant Artistic Director of the African American Dance Ensemble. Baba McDaniel is also the 2016 recipient of the Durham Arts Council’s Emerging Artist Grant in Dance. Baba McDaniel pays homage to his Dance Father , the late Baba Chuck Davis and all the ancestors of greatness. His mantra:”Believe in Yourself, Keep the Faith, and Don’t Give Up”.
Celebration of Resilience is a drumming, dancing, and storytelling performance with Kuumba Dance Co. celebrating the resilience of humanity. Starting at 1:30 pm the performance will include a “Bantaba”, encouraging participants to share their celebration of resilience through dance participation.
Kuumba Dance Co. was born in 2006 by Patricia Hall based in Danville, Va. Kuumba was founded to share West African culture through song, music, dance, and storytelling. Kuumba is a community group sharing culture and positive inspiration with every being it shares a space with. Kuumba stands behind its mission statement of “sharing Positive Energy makes life worth living!!”
Kwanzaa is rooted in harvest celebrations practiced throughout the continent of Africa. At the end of the year we harvest crops – a manifestation of our intentions – self-care, positive energy, faith, discipline, and good works planted throughout the year.
Seeds of Remembrance is an “altar call” to remember our connection to the land, ancestors, present and past. Beginning at 2 pm Community will gather at the garden planter in “Ezili Square” (back patio) to plant SEEDS in affirmation of an abundant new year.
Earthseed Land Collective is based in Durham, NC. Their mission is to remember and reimagine their relationship to themselves, each other and the land in pursuit and practice of collective liberation. Their collective is made up of 7 black and brown folx who share their gifts as farmers, entrepreneurs, facilitators, and teachers, each of them is deeply enmeshed in networks and communities devoted to creating alternative models for sustainability, equity, and cooperation within communities of color across the NC region. Together they invest in a more equitable world by lovingly centering BIPOC, queer folx, women and other communities pushed to the margins.
Our voices are our first instruments. Through sound, vibration, and the sheer joy of singing together we have the ability to heal our hearts, minds, and bodies.
Closing out Hayti Legacy Kwanzaa at 3 pm is Raising Voices Community Sing for Joy and Affirmation. This Community Sing is a space for our individual and collective healing through song. Let Visionary Conductor Joy Harrell Goff bring out the beauty of our voices in unity (umoja).
Joy Harrell-Goff is a performer, musician, educator, teaching artist and culture bearer of African-American musical heritage and tradition. She has a range of experience from classical concert performance and musical theater to studio recording and radio broadcasting. Sister Joy, as she is affectionately known by many of her students, has taught music, voice, acting, and digital production privately, in workshops, and in the public school classroom for over twenty years. She has been a professional actress in musical theatre, film and television. She has also performed in solo voice recitals and in various musical ensembles on concert stages throughout the United States and Europe. Joy received her bachelor’s degree in music from NC Central University and her master’s degree in music from the University of Northern Iowa where she served as graduate assistant to the founder of the African-American Art Song Alliance, Dr. Darryl Taylor. Joy holds a K-12 music education certification from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, and has a certification in musical theatre from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. Currently, Joy is the Visionary Conductor and Executive Director of BUMP: The Triangle, a non-profit in Durham, NC dedicated to connecting youth by heritage to the music, art, and cultural practices of the African diaspora.
The Magic of African Rhythm 