commUniversity
CommUniversity honors the assets of our community as valuable and necessary. We value the idea that everyone learns, and everyone teaches and all that we need, we already have.
Join Our Community Read & Lead Project with the final work,
"Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community" by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
2022
Marcus Garvey Back to School Readiness Project 2021
Over the past decade, Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo has organized and executed an annual celebration of the life and legacy of the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey during the last 2 weeks of August. As we honor our Ancestors, we pick up their work, and in this case, we have picked up the work of educating our community around the Arts & Sciences.
At its inception, Communiversity was born out of the Marcus Garvey Arts & Sciences Tent (which is a staple in our annual festival) spearheaded by Juneteenth Festival, Inc. Board of Directors Vice President Jomo Akono and Ancestors Mama Sekile (Crystal Austin) and Mama Lemme Brown. Ase
CommUniversity is All Age Learning and Uplifts the Assets that live in our own community. We are lifelong learners and practice Ujima (collective work & responsibility).
Boat Building
Project
During the spring of 2021, Juneteenth Festival Communiversity partnered with the Maritime Center and initiated a 6-hour boat building activity that took place at the Juneteenth Headquarters and at the Maritime Center at Canalside Buffalo.
This project empowered members of the community both young and old, with a practical skill set in learning how to build a boat, practicing teamwork and inspiring a spirit of "yes we can". The boat build served an even deeper purpose: A first step toward HEALING. The collective past of Black Africans in America whose Ancestors survived a horrific journey (MAAFA) through the middle passage are stepping back into the water and facing our trauma, healing our trauma. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to test the boat in the same waters that our Ancestors crossed on their quest for freedom. Join our CommUniversity and let us continue the work of our Ancestors together.
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