Afribembe Festival Returns To In-Person Setting In East Harlem

HARLEM, NY — A year after being held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic, the third annual Afribembe Festival returns to an in-person environment in East Harlem as attendees commemorate Black August and specifically, the killing of activist George Jackson, who was killed 50 years ago during an apparent prison break.

The festival, which is being sponsored by the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, will be held from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday at the Harlem Art Park, which is located on East 120th Street between Lexington and Third avenues. Admission to the event is free.

Coined in the 1970s after Jackson, a member of the Black Panthers and an activist who was assassinated at a California prison, CCCADI commemorates Black August through the annual festival and other programs, festival organizers said. The organization honors the contributions of Black people across the globe who have historically punctuated this month with resistance and movements of liberation.

The Afribembe Festival: Black Solidarity=Black Freedom is being held in partnership with the Friends of Art Park Alliance. The event will offer performances and DJs including Tabou Combo, Afro Dominicano, DJ Reborn, Durieux, Rue Brown, Boricua Legends, DJ Sabine and Nkumu Katalay and The Life Long Project Band.

In addition to various musical acts celebrating African and Diasporic cultures such as Haitian, American, Puerto Rican and Congolese, several Diasporic dishes will be offered at the Soulfull Food Plaza throughout the day, organizers said.

The festival will also include a children’s village, where families can enjoy arts projects and other activities as well as Afribembe merchandise, arts and crafts from local vendors and a panel discussion on Black solidarity.

“Afribembe is more than just a day out for our families. It’s a celebration of the Black genius of emerging and renowned African descendant creatives with roots throughout all the Diaspora,” Melody Capote, executive director of CCCADI, said in a news release. "It’s a day to honor our strides in self-determination and resistance against systemic racism around the world made by our ancestors and revolutionaries. It is a day to encourage the new generation of activists to further this legacy of unity.”

Capacity is limited and all attendees will be required to wear masks and have their temperature checked before entering. Guaranteed entry will be offered to registrants between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and all other access will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration can be completed at the festival’s website.