BLACK IS THE FUTURE | Nakeia Medcalf | ’18 MDes Int Ar

The African Alliance of Rhode Island has carved a path for people of African heritage within Providence and beyond. The struggles of navigating the non profit world will always remain, however these are merely obstacles that are always faced head on through perseverance and determination.

The summer revealed one of the most important solutions to remedy the oppression in the built environment–through self-determination. By definition the term self-determnination is the process by which a person controls their own life. While this definition may imply a level of individuality, within a community setting it is inclusive of everyone. By bettering oneself and fulfilling one’s civic responsibility as an individual, an individual’s contribution aids in remedying the community.

Overall my experience this summer was filled with highs and lows, moments of discouragement but not moments of defeat. After a long conversation with NJ Unaka, I had to rethink my ideas of a successful workshop. I remembered that during one workshop session I asked students to define success. I recall their responses having nothing to do with obtaining a full and complete understanding of Afrofuturism, but rather their willingness to improve or change something. The act of being proactive in trying to learn something new, gain new information was a turning point, a catalyst to a successful unknown. This attitude of success awakened in me towards the end of my time with AARI.

Ultimately, I realized that Afrofuturism though a large topic is an interesting one. And the fact that many people were interested in the subject and its history was a success in itself. The questions and conversations surrounding the topic of community and Afrofuturism ignites a passion that forces one to question the environment and offer solutions to change it. Using Afrofuturism as a tool that injects the community with the spirit of social activism encourages others to consider how their identity, self-determination and civic responsibility can create better spaces for people of color.

I enjoyed speaking with the community and engaging in a workshop setting. There are many many things that I would like to change moving forward but I can say that it was a success! And I think that there is so much more to be said about Afrofuturism and the communities of color it can offer solutions to.

I am empowered and enriched by the contribution of others within the Providence community and can confidently say, “Black is the Future!”

Black to the Future

We all want the same things in life and though a history of oppression can derail a person’s vision of happiness and security, being oppressed does not define the future. After two workshops with two very different groups of people, that is something I have come to understand more.

What remains vague is how to get there. The strategy.  Over the past month, I have been reviewing and transcribing commentary from workshops around the Afrofuture. Each workshop was different. The audience was different. The age group was different. And the attitudes were different.

Something that resonated in the first group was the idea of a community thriving around a central focus. The epicenter of many commuities is a place, somewhere that everyone knows they can go to and feel safe and wanted.  A place where values are shared and there is a respect around said values. Within one workshop, the church was suggested as the hub for the Afrofuture community. The church has long been an establishment within the Black community. Even the early Exodusters that moved in west to Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico designed their communities around the central hub of the church. The site plans of these all-Black towns emphasized the church as a monument, a place that What the church allowed was a place for the community to fellowship with all generations. The group of participants in this workshop are considered to be baby boomers which made a lot of sense as to why the church would be one strategy for the Afrofuture.

The challenge of inclusivity amongst people of color and religion is to fixate a church as the central focus means to centralize a specific religion. Though there are strengths in the moral compass that the church represents, there are definite challenges. That said, the outcome of this group was a shared desire to have some architectural representation as a hub for the community. And that that hub has long been removed from the Southside of Providence.

I must say that speaking with people who have lived and breathed Providence their whole lives was captivating and filled with passion. Their experiences are valid and are crucial to understand the plight of people of color within Providence.

While no concrete strategies were determined, there was a general positivity and hope that with SELF-DETERMINATION, people of African heritage will prevail.

Destination Diaspora | African Alliance of Rhode Island | Nakeia Medcalf | MDes ’18

Traditional Jamaican Meal prepared by the Maroon chief, served in a calabash.

To further the conversation of Afrofuturism and the Afrofuture, I traveled to Charles Town Jamaica to attend and present at the Tenth Annual Charles Town International Maroon Conference, Maroons and Indigenous Peoples: Towards a Sustainable Future.

The Maroons, much like the Exodusters were some of the first Afrofuturists. The Jamaican Maroons are descendants of maroons, Africans who escaped from slavery to establish free communities in the hills of the eastern parishes of Jamaica. The maroons escaped strategically and unapologetically to return to their roots and way of life. Their traditions remain in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

Women’s Circle with Maroon Chief and other women of the community. No Men Allowed! Yes!

In the coming days I will host the first of a series of Afrofuture workshops with the community with the African Alliance of Rhode Island. This workshop series will engage with members of the community young and old on their visions of the future through the lens of people of African heritage. My journey to a Maroon Village served as both a precursor to these workshops and also an opportunity to gain more information to share with others in regards to the visions of our ancestors. One of my goals working with the African Alliance of Rhode Island is to broaden the conversation amongst all people of African heritage on what the Afrofuture can be. This conference helped me make strides toward this vision.

African Drummers from nearby Portland and Charles Town, Jamaica

The Maroon Conference was an enriching experience that I was eager to share with others. Being amongst a community with such longevity based on their defiance against the oppressive control that plagued them once before was the most compelling experience I have had thus far. From the music, spirituality, food and people, the Maroon people showed me how the norms of African heritage can exist in a community. Each day was more exciting than the next and I learned a great deal about the people who designed and built their environment for themselves. I was encouraged, inspired and grateful to have had such an amazing time. After my time here, I hope to spread the word about the goodness of this festival and the kindness of the people in this village.

African Drummer speaking on his trip to Africa at age 17 to play the djembe and percussion instruments.

We can all learn from the Maroon people. Though they had an uphill battle, through perseverance and self-determination they were able to carve out a path to an autonomous life, a life built around their design, their governance and their surveillance.

Late night performance from local Maroon village members. So Powerful!

Communities of Color Are Not Commodities | African Alliance of Rhode Island | Nakeia Medcalf | MDes ’18

The African Alliance of Rhode Island has faced its steep challenges with grace, understanding, patience and sincere care for the community it seeks to serve. The obstacles presented to the African Alliance manifested in the early weeks of my presence there. The first challenge was justifying the significance of educating community members as health educators that serve the community to the Department of Health. Therein was the biggest problem. Why do organizations that seek to propel the community forward have to justify anything to the hierarchical superiors so out of touch with what is going on the ground? This question, and many others is one that has stuck with me for the duration of my time with AARI. That said, the obstacle was and is only a stepping stone to bringing an idea to life.

In order to raise awareness on the importance of blood pressure and hypertension disease within the community of people of African heritage, AARI is hoping to create a program within one of the most common gathering places for people of color– the barbershop. To initiate the program, we met with the DHS to find out where best to employ their resources. Their role as an organization is to aid in preventing disease and promoting health. Like all government institutions, the DHS must work within the boundaries of rules and regulations that limit their outreach capabilities to a certain degree. Rather than dwell on what the Department of Health could not do, we decided to think of ways to exhaust all of the resources they were willing to provide.

The idea to exhaust all of the resources in front of you brought up the discussion around communities of color as commodities who are viewed as experiments for an ideas with little follow through. Though the discussion with DHS proved to be discouraging, we all left the meeting hopeful that the Providence community does not have to be a commodity. Instead, we can be a community that takes the resources available and continues to strive for better. We can take the resources that we have and apply the same strategies to all communities of color.

The barbershop has always been a staple in the African American community. The barbershop is not simply a place to get your haircut—instead it is where your voice is heard, where conversations are started and resolutions are made. It is safe space where friends, family and the neighborhood can gather. The trust the African American community has built around its barbers and the barbershops role in the neighborhood makes it the perfect place to begin the conversation of best health practices around blood pressure and hypertension. Bringing in health practitioners to train barbers and other community members on using blood pressure measurement tools is the goal in growing an understanding to the importance of healthy habits.

As healthcare issues continue to effect the African American community, specifically in the areas of blood pressure and hypertension, the new initiative by the African Alliance will engage the community in an effective way, where they are. And that is exactly what this community needs now.