2024 Africana Arts & Humanities Festival
Rootedness: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Black Literature
Saturday, March 23
All day
African American Research Library and Cultural Center
Auditorium, Dianne Bienes Seminar Room # 1, Gallery B, Michael Bienes Seminar Room #2AARLCC is holding its first annual Africana Arts & Humanities Festival “Rootedness: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture," in recognition of BCL's 50th Anniversary.
As the Broward County Libraries Division celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1974, the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) has themed its first annual Africana Arts & Humanities Festival “Rootedness: Celebrating 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture.”


This Year's Theme: "Rootedness: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Black Literature and Culture"
The 1970s represented a pivotal time for America as the nation began to grasp the full meaning of social and legal equality. The new reality was created from the convergence of the civil rights movement, school desegregation, integration of the U.S. Armed Forces, immigration from the Black diaspora, and the assassinations of Black leaders which collectively set the stage for a new wave of youthful activism. The 1970s emboldened the spirit of Black self-love, self-determination, and self-expression took form in the Black Arts and Black Power movements.
Presented in partnership with Broward Cultural Division, Broward County Parks and Recreation Division, the Urban League of Broward County, Broward County Office of Economic and Small Business Development, and Ujima Men's Collective.
Sponsored by JM Family Enterprises, Bank of America, Fort Lauderdale CRA, Holman, and Visit Lauderdale.
Festival Schedule At-A-Glance (View Digital Program Book)
(Sessions will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube)
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024
- 6:00 PM - "Race and Reading: The Evolution of the Black Library" with historian Derek Davis, Evelyn Grooms, Edith Gooden-Thompson, Tanya Simons-Oparah, and Samuel F. Morrison
- Thursday, March 21, 2024
- 10:00 AM - Opportunity Tour. Presented by the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency. Registration required.
- 10:30 AM - "Pulse of the People: How Black Media Has Shaped Cultural Conversations" with Bea Hines, moderated by Nadege Green, AARLCC.
- 12:30 PM, 1:15 PM, and 4:30 PM - Tours of AARLCC's Special Collections. Registration required.
- 2:00 PM - Screening and Talkback, "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am." Sponsored by Florida Atlantic University, FIU Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, FIU Department of African and African Diaspora Studies AARLCC.
- 7:00 PM - Jazz at The Circuit, "Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Songs of Hope and Change." Jazz at Lincoln Center presents an all-star ensemble of jazz musicians from around the country in a program of iconic music associated with Nina Simone, the Staple Singers and Cannonball Adderley. Featuring Brianna Thomas, Alphonso Horne, Aurora Nealand, Waldron Dunkley, Jim Gaisor, Corcoran Holt, Harvel Nakundi, Justin Poindexter and Jake Blasini. Tickets are available on Eventbrite. Destination Sistrunk, 1033 NW 6th Street.
- Friday, March 22, 2024
- 9:00 AM –3:00 PM - Neighborhood Revitalization Symposium, Urban League of Broward County
- 3:30 PM and 4:25 PM - Tours of AARLCC's Special Collections. Registration required.
- 6:00 PM - Conversation with Michael Harriot, AARLCC.
- “Destination Roots” (Reception) at AARLCC - 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM, AARLCC
- Saturday, March 23, 2024
- 10:00 AM - "Cornrows and Crowns: A Conversation with Camille Yarbrough and Kahran Bethencourt." Sponsored by the Friends of Broward County Library and the Friends of AARLCC.
- 10:00 AM - "Revisiting the Fiction of the 1970s" with Dr. Shawn Christian, “Prescience and Interiority in James Baldwin’s and Barry Jenkin’s If Beale Street Could Talk,” and Dr. Ayesha Hardison, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?: Black Womanhood, Nursing, and Romance”
- 12:30 PM - "West African Women, Work, and the Family: Niara Sudarkasa's Contributions to Africana Scholarship in the 1970s Perspective" with Dr. Erica Williams, Spelman College
- 12:30 PM - "From Islands to Mainland: Exploring the Legacy of Caribbean Immigration in the 1970s" with Dr. Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science, University of Florida and Calibe Thompson, Executive Director of Island SPACE Caribbean Museum.
- 1:00 PM - Threads Tour of Black Broward. Sponsored by Broward Transit. Registration required.
- 2:15 PM - Dr. Daniel Black, Author and Professor. Presented by the Ujima Men's Collective.
- 2:15 PM - "From Alex Haley to the Present: A Genealogical Perspective" with Master Genealogist Tony Burroughs
- CANCELLED: 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Destination Sistrunk Pavilion, presented by Destination Sistrunk Cultural and Community Investment, Partnership Inc., Broward County Parks and Recreation Division, and Dickey Consulting Inc., at Rev. Samuel Delevoe Park.
- 4:30 PM - Threads Tour of Black Broward. Sponsored by Broward Transit. Registration required.
- Sunday, March 24, 2024
|
|
Michael Harriot, Journalist, Author, and Cultural Critic Friday, March 22, 2024, 6:00 PM Michael Harriot is a critically acclaimed poet, journalist, and broadcaster who covers the intersection of race, politics, and social issues. He’s a senior writer for TheGrio.com, and his work is often cited by outlets and individuals from the New York Times and the Washington Post. Famously called "the King of Black Twitter," Harriot has also created a podcast called “Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History,” which combines his skills as a researcher and humorist. In his book, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America, a New York Times bestseller, is a searingly smart and bitingly hilarious retelling of American history that corrects the record and showcases the perspectives and experiences of Black Americans. |
|
|
This year's reception, "Destination Roots," will feature DJ Tillery James spinning funk, soul, and disco hits from the 1970s. Catering by Swirl Wine Bistro. Proceeds benefit the Africana Arts & Humanities Festival. Purchase tickets here. |
|
|
Cornrows and Crowns: A Conversation with Camille Yarbrough and Kahran Bethencourt Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM Join us for an intergenerational discussion about hair pride between Coretta Scott King Award-winning authors Camille Yarbrough, author of Cornrows, and Kahran Bethencourt of CreativeSoul (The Me I Choose to Be, Crowned, and Glory). The event will also feature a children’s hair show curated by Natural Trend Setters to celebrate the beauty and creativity of Black aesthetic culture. Nana Camille Yarbrough’s glorious career spans over seven decades, several continents, countless awards and accolades, and a few generations, and continues to inspire audiences today through her books, lectures, and performances. In 1979 Nana Camille’s first book, Cornrows, a work that she calls a family book (rather than a children’s book), was published by Putnam Publishers, and was heralded as “a gem” by Essence magazine even before people were used to Black people embracing their natural hair. The work was awarded the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Award in 1980 for illustration. The groundbreaking book was re-issued in 2023. Sponsored by the Friends of the Broward County Library and the Friends of AARLCC. (Session will be live-streamed on Facebook and YouTube)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Daniel Black, Author and Professor Saturday, March 23, 2024, 2:15 PM, Presented by the Ujima Men's Collective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
From Alex Haley to the Present: A Genealogical Perspective Saturday, March 23, 2024, 2:15 PM Few people were conducting genealogy before Alex Haley published Roots in 1976. Before Alex Haley most had never heard the word genealogy. Now, pollsters say genealogy is America's number one hobby. Haley never imagined the world-wide impact and the vast numbers of people he inspired to search for their ancestors. Nor did Haley envision the effect of technology on genealogy research. Genealogy research has come a long way in the last 48 years. Join Tony Burroughs, Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association (FUGA), and travel through time as we see the impact and legacy of Alex Haley and also learn how you can get started tracing your family tree. |
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Erica Williams, Professor of Anthropology, Spelman College Saturday, March 23, 2024, 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM "West African Women, Work, and the Family: Niara Sudarkasa's Contributions to Africana Scholarship in the 1970s” Erica L. Williams is Professor of Anthropology at Spelman College. She has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Anthropology and Africana Studies from New York University. She is the author of Sex Tourism in Bahia: Ambiguous Entanglements (2013). |
|
|
Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 2:00 PM Screening of "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am." Talkback with Dr. Carole Boyce Davies of Howard University, Dr. Regis Fox of Florida Atlantic University, Professor Zakiya Odoi of Broward College, and radio personality Jill Tracey. Sponsored by the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic University. |
|
|
Sunday, March 24, 2024 Esplanade Park, 32 East Las Olas Boulevard, Downtown Fort Lauderdale Join some of the most diverse and contemporary Black voices of Broward County as they perform at the third annual Rhythm by the River: A Festival Celebrating Black Voices, hosted by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 24 at Esplanade Park, 32 E. Las Olas Blvd. in downtown Fort Lauderdale. |
The 2024 Africana Arts & Humanities Festival is generously sponsored by:





AGE GROUP: | Teens | New Adults | Kids | Families | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Fair/Festival | Discussion/Lecture | Books | Arts & Cultural |
TAGS: | Library Anniversary |
African American Research Library and Cultural Center
| Mon, May 04 | 10:00AM to 8:00PM |
| Tue, May 05 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Wed, May 06 | 10:00PM to 8:00PM |
| Thu, May 07 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Fri, May 08 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sat, May 09 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sun, May 10 | Closed |









