On September 16th in Towson Maryland, the 27th annual African American Cultural Festival was celebrated. With R&B star Musiq Soulchild headlining the performances, the festival had many events and vendors for all ages to enjoy from 10pm to 7pm. The festival is held for families and all ethnic backgrounds to celebrate African American culture. The non profit organization hosts this festival every third Saturday of September.
A Talk with Madame Speaker
The festival was founded in 1995 by Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, Adrienne A. Jones. She has worked for Baltimore County since 1976. She is the first African American and the first woman to serve as the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. I spoke with Jones about her inspiration for the festival.
“I saw various other festivals like the Italian, German, etcetera, other types… but there was nothing for our African American community. So in 1997, I decided to establish a festival and some team leaders had a meeting and we decided to do that. One of the things I wanted to do is make sure we highlighted the African American community because there are plenty of negatives out there. But there were a lot good things that people were doing, and I wanted it to be free and wanted not to have alcohol,” Jones said.
I asked her about her favorite part in putting the festival together every year. Madame Speaker responded, “The fact that we can make a difference for young people, middle aged, and seniors – something for everyone. And every year, we do a follow-up. There may be something that we want to add from when we have heard from individuals that were there. Primarily, we always got positive feedback and they say, ‘We’ll see you next year!'”
Outside of the festival date, the BCAACF makes it their mission to support Baltimore youth in their education all year around. The organization gives out scholarships to Baltimore County students. Madame Speaker said, “Any scholarships given is a positive thing for students.”
Vendors and Events
The festival hosts many events and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Each tent of the festival is labeled “villages” or “zones.” I visited the History Village where the Buffalo Soldiers and an actress dressed as Harriet Tubman took pictures with visitors and taught them about the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and the Negro Baseball League.
There were lots of black businesses on display. I visited kid scientist Ava N. Simmons – an entrepreneur, S.T.E.M. ambassador, Author, and CEO of her own brand: Team Genius Squad. Ava, with the help of her mother and grandmother, hosted an interactive booth with experiments for visitors to try. Ava started Team Genius Squad to overcome her academic challenges with dyslexia. Her mission is to promote S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) awareness and encourage others to not let their academic challenges define their bright futures.
I bought a shirt from FLY NERD apparel, a black owned business in Baltimore. I briefly spoke with the designer and founder, Andrea, who shared that she “wanted to empower nerds of color to be themselves. Somebody calling you ‘nerd’ and making fun of you … own it. I was a nerdy kid, but when I got older, I found that I didn’t have to change who I was and just be myself.” As a black nerd myself, I had to buy a shirt!
At the last hour of the festival, local Baltimore musician Aaron Hills opened for headliner, Musiq Soulchild. The crowd enjoyed the music so much, they cheered for an encore. A great time was had by all, and you should definitely plan to attend next year. It’s the third Saturday in September–you won’t be disappointed.
All article images courtesy of @bcaacfest on Instagram.