A major celebration of Black art, history and culture returns to Fort Lauderdale at a pivotal moment in the national conversation about democracy, public memory and education.
This year's Africana Arts and Humanities Festival, taking place this weekend, will have the theme, We, Too, Sing America: 250 years of Black Life and Culture, which draws inspiration from Langston Hughes' poem, "I, Too."
It will take place at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, with a keynote conversation on Friday and cultural events, performances and readings all day Saturday.
Dr. Karsonya "Kaye" Wise Whitehead is the keynote speaker. She is a nationally recognized public historian, cultural critic and educator whose work centers on Black public memory, racial justice and social transformation.
Other authors and speakers will have presentations and conversations on Black life in America and resistance. Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks is a professor, documentary producer and the author of My America, which is a portrait of Langston Hughes and his writings on democracy.
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When it comes to celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, historian and regional library manager Dr. Tameka Hobbs says there is a larger issue that we are still grappling with: how we tell the story of Black Americans.
“This is a big anniversary for the country; there is this desire to be celebratory in what we're doing, but the reality of Black history is that we have a very different experience,” she said.
The country declared independence in 1776, yet Black people were not fully liberated then. The ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865 legally ended slavery, and the 15th Amendment in 1870 fully extended the right to vote to all Americans.
However, Black Americans had to contend with 100 years of Jim Crow. They couldn’t really exercise the right to vote until the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Dr. Hobbs says Black people fully being able to enjoy all of the benefits of citizenship in a basic way is still recent history, and that is the part of Black culture that needs to continue to be explored.
South Florida also adds to the story of Black America. Black labor helped develop the region and its economy, from Bahamian workers building Coral Gables in Miami-Dade County, to Black railroad workers who built Henry Flagler’s railroads.
Those workers stayed and lived in South Florida. In Fort Lauderdale, Black people were forced to live in the northwest section of the city. Away from the beaches and west of the railroad tracks. That became the Sistrunk community, where the center resides today.
“ There is a geographic history to the racialization of our neighborhoods,” Dr. Hobbs said. “ So much of how people live and where people live is really defined by laws and customs and things that were put in place intentionally to say that Black people could not be in some places.”
She says the real American story is how do you continue to use your First Amendment rights to protest, assembly and free speech to demand more and better from your government.
“ For me and my family, that has been the part of America that has made my existence better than that of my parents, that made my parents' existence better than their parents' existence,” she said.
Dr. Hobbs wants to explore and highlight those stories that showcase all the things Black people have contributed to the country. There are many stories to celebrate, but there are also many others detailing struggle and protest.
“ Those are stories that we really need to continue to tell; there is no shame in that,” she said. I think that it is a part of what makes America what it is.”
IF YOU GO
What: 2026 Africana Arts & Humanities Festival
When: Friday, March 27 - Saturday, March 28
Where: African-American Research Library and Cultural Center
Ticket and guest information: Here
