Kwanzaa Celebration at Hayti Heritage Center Dec 27

Access to culturally diverse celebrations and activities is plentiful and easy in Durham.  Tonight is a great example as people are invited to kick off their shoes, get ready to dance, eat and celebrate Durham's African-American community at the Hayti Heritage Center's annual Kwanzaa Celebration!

The focus of this year's event is Kugichagulia, the Swahili word for self-determination. Festivities take place tonight, December 27 from 5-9:30 PM. Performances include diasporic music from Elements of Percussion, dancing with Collage Dance Company, a healing “griot” session with The Magic of African Rhythm, and surprise guests! Bantaba will be hosted by Chuck Davis. There will also be an African-style marketplace showcasing original artwork by local artists, cultural books, clothing, jewelry, and more.

Dinner plates with vegan and vegetarian options. Come early, plates are available, but sell out quickly. All proceeds benefit Collage Dance Company.

Doors open at 5 PM with ceremonies and performances from 7-8:30 PM. Suggested donations are $1 for Children, $3 for adults, but no one will be turned away.

Learn more about Durham and it's rich African-American heritage online.

  

Trumpeter Tom Browne at Hayti Heritage Center

The smooth sounds of the trumpet will soon echo through St. Joseph's in Durham not once, but twice in one evening.

The Heritage Music Series will present trumpeter great Tom “Funkin’ for Jamaica” Browne! Friday, May 10 at 7pm and 9pm. Tickets are $15.

Throughout Browne’s career, he has hit the highs that many in the music industry only aim for. If his chords have yet to find a place in your heart then you must not be listening to Tom Browne.

At a young age, Browne attended the High School of Music and Art/Performing Arts in New York and studied under Murray Karpilovsky, principal trumpeter with the NBC Orchestra directed by Arturo Toscanini. While building a name for himself on the New York jazz scene, Browne honed his talents through the teachings of Jimmy Nottingham, Richard Williams, Woody Shaw and Freddie Hubbard. He played alongside Weldon Irvine and Sonny Fortune in his first ever pro level performance. Browne’s talent and charisma attracted support from many jazz greats.

Browne has had a number of hit releases including “Browne Sugar” (1979), “Love Approach” (1980), and “Magic” (1981). In 1980 and 1981 Browne’s hit “Funkin’ for Jamaica” landed #1 as the US Billboard R&B single and his “Thighs High” at #4.

During his career Browne has received many Billboard honors including Best Instrumentalist, Best Jazz Cross-Over, Best Jazz Artist-Trumpet and Best Jazz Solo Album. His CD “S’Up” was released in August 2010 and features Fred Wesley and the Groove Collection.

Tom Browne’s stellar career speaks for itself, and he remains one of the finest jazz trumpeters and performers in the industry.

For more information on events in Durham, visit the Durham Event Calendar.

Concert to Benefit First In Families of NC

Going to a concert in Durham is always a great experience, but attending a concert that helps people with disabilities is even better.

First In Families of North Carolina will host a benefit concert Sunday, April 7^th, 4pm at Historic St. Joseph’s Performance Hall (Former St. Joseph’s AME Church), located at 804 Old Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27701. The ticket cost is $25 in advance and $35 day of event with all proceeds going to First In Families of NC.

The event will feature singer-songwriter, Jonathan Edwards. Four decades into a career of uncompromising musical integrity, Jonathan delivers songs of passion, insight, and humor, all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age. Jonathan Edwards is a vital and relevant artist in today’s folk and Americana scenes and measures his success by his enduring ability to attract and take care of his audience. His repertoire includes classics such as “Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy,” “Sometimes,” “Everybody Knows Her,” and the 1971 hit song “Sunshine (Go Away Today).”  

Also performing will be Durham-based blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, JohnDee Holeman. Born in Hillsborough, NC, John Dee Holeman has toured both in the US and overseas, including performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall and abroad on behalf of the United States Information Agency’s Arts America program. More recently he has recorded on the Music Maker label, backed by well-known players such as Taj Mahal and Cool John Ferguson. In 2008 Zeke Hutchens produced John Dee’s most recent CD, “You Got To Lose, You Can’t Win All The Time.”   

FirstIn Families of North Carolina is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to help people with disabilities and their families to believe in their dreams, achieve their goals, and give back to others. First In Families serves individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and/or Traumatic Brain Injuries and their families throughout North Carolina.  

For tickets and information contact First In Families of NC at 919.251.8368  or  www.FIFNC.org

For more information about events in Durham, visit the Durham Events Calendar.

Jazz Legend Was "Sentimental" About Durham

Sometimes, not very often, a story hits a reader. Sometimes that hit is hard like a linebacker, other times it's just a glancing touch that brings memories of a person who elicited that "just so" feeling.


This story is all of the above.

For background and context, Durham was once home to one of the most vibrant Hayti communities in the US, and many famous African-American artists, musicians, performers, and authors made their way to and through Durham as a result. One of those was Duke Ellington - the jazz legend known the world around.

Today the blog North Carolina Miscellany posted a marvelous little bit of information that deserves to be noticed.

Ellington, a recipient of 13 Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, is less well-known for those accomplishments than for his songs - compositions that endure today as standards copied, emulated and repeated seemingly without showing signs of wear. One of those pieces was composed, on the spot to help a friend out of a delicate situation with two ladies, in Durham. That song is In a Sentimental Mood.

Read the blog post in full while imagining the heyday of Durham in which the song was created. The economy was good, money and work were plentiful, the world was at peace, and the nearest cabinet radio was filling the room with the dulcet tones of America's music - jazz, some of which came from right here in Durham, NC.

Durham's Poetic Traditions

Durham boasts a poetry and spoken-word community that continues to grow in popularity each year. Durham is where great things happen, and that includes great performance art.

Darrell "SCIPOET" Stover

Much of the momentum behind this community comes from Durham's African-American community, and leadership from the Hayti Heritage Center is part in parcel of that growing energy. So, its only fitting that former Hayti Heritage Center Program Director and Poetry Power program founder Darrell "SCIPOET" Stover is returning to Hayti to celebrate his new poetry collection, "Somewhere Deep Down When."

This Saturday, March 3rd, the Hayti Heritage Center Presents "Poetic Traditions" an evening celebrating the release of Stover’s collection - it is  part autobiography, part archive and part tribute to numerous local friends.

Amiri Baraka

Stover will be joined by some of these friends for the event; special guests include Poet/Activist Amiri Baraka and Chuck Davis, director of the African American Dance Ensemble.

Poetic Traditions begins at 6PM, tickets are available at the door. For more information, visit Hayti Heritage Center's website.

42nd Annual Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival

Of all the festivals and annual events celebrated by Durhamites, none captures the spirit of Spring, renewal and community quite like The Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival. Now in its 42nd year, the festival was established in honor of the West African festival of harvest and celebration. Entire villages would gather to give thanks through dance, praise and feasting. The hallmark of the festival is the spirit of sharing as each family or tribe shares its best fruits with the entire village.

Durham has embraced the family friendly festival as a celebration of African and African American history, culture, art and music. Headliners for the 2011 festival feature national and local talent including Rob Base & Big Daddy Kane, Shana Tucker and Lo-K-Shun. The Bimbe Cultural Arts Festival is Saturday, May 14, from 12pm-8pm at CCB Plaza, 201 N. Corcoran St. The festival is preceded by a week of supporting events.  Make some plans to go and see another of the reasons that Durham is where great things happen.

Schedule of  Events

Tuesday, May 10, 2011, 1 p.m.
Back to the Future Teen Summit
Hillside High School Auditorium, 3727 Fayetteville St.

Thursday, May 12, 2011, 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
2011 Poetry Slam
Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville St

Friday, May 13, 2011, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Bring It To The Floor: Teen Talent Showcase
Holton Career and Resource Center, 401 N. Driver St.

Friday, May 13, 2011, 8 p.m.
John Brown Little Big Band
Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville St.
Admission: $15 Adults/$10 students and senior citizens

Saturday, May 14, 2011
12 p.m. - Welcome
12:05 p.m. - Salute to Elders
    (By The Magic of African Rhythms)
12:25 p.m. - African Dance Presentation
    (By The Magic of African Rhythms)
12:55 p.m. - Winner of the Poetry Slam Contest
1:05 p.m. - Shana Tucker (Jazz)
2:10 p.m. - Ohenemma (African)
2:30 p.m. – Domestic Violence Presentation
2:45 p.m. - S.T.O.R.M. Reggae Band (Reggae)
3:45 p.m. – HIV/AIDS Presentation
4 p.m. - Cardye (R&B)
5 p.m. - Really Real (Rap)
5:15 p.m. - Lo-K-Shun (Old Skool)
6:15 p.m. - Brian Dawson’s DJ Medley
6:30 p.m. - Feature Headliner Act:  Rob Base & Big Daddy Kane

Neighborhood Recognized for Historic Significance

Durham’s storied past has once again been honored with the recent announcement from Preservation Durham and the Historic Preservation Office of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources that the Stokesdale Historic District has been entered in the National Register of Historic Places as of December 28, 2010.

The Stokesdale Historic District centers on Hayti, Durham’s largest historic African-American community, and it stands as the only intact historic neighborhood that remains of Hayti. The residential historic district is located south of Downtown Durham and is roughly bound by Umstead, Lincoln, Lawson, and Concord Streets.

Listing in the National Register gives recognition that the properties have historic, architectural, or archaeological significance within the context of the community, state, or nation. Benefits include state and federal tax benefits for historic building rehabilitations as well as some protection against adverse action by state and federal agencies.

Holding a significant place in African-American history, Durham is a diverse and entrepreneurial place with a community culture that paved the way for Durham to be home to Black Wall Street with two African-American owned and operated banks and the largest African-American owned insurance company in the country. This designation again solidifies Durham’s position of importance in African-American history.

Interested in finding out more about Durham’s African-American history? Download Durham’s African-American Heritage Guide here or pick up a copy at the official Durham Visitor Information Center in Downtown.