Black History Month: James Brown’s cultural pride

A great way to celebrate a distinctive culture and an inspired musician, Say It Loud, I’m Black & I’m Proud is all things James Brown in one lively event.

February 24, 2015; 8:58 AM • by Susan Howson

Cultural Libations understands that James Brown deserves to be analyzed, appreciated, and generally made much of in order to understand how music and culture has progressed in his wake. Say It Loud, I’m Black & I’m Proud: The Soul & Spirit of James Brown entertainment symposium is quite a mouthful to say, but will be worth it to attend.

If the Godfather of Soul just calls to mind celebrations of the musical kind, think again. There will certainly be performances of that sort–namely, QuintEssential Jazz featuring James Brown impersonator Joseph Bagby.

But Cultural Libations founders Yemaja Jubilee and L.Roi Boyd, III have bigger plans for the genre of event they’ve invented, which they define as “a fusion between a ‘happening’ (a performance, event, or situation meant to be considered art) and an academic conference.”

“Happenings” to include:

Brown’s biography, as told by Elijah Coles, playing an African griot
African drum presentation connecting Afro Caribbean rhythms and Brown’s funk rhythms, given by Ram Bhagat of VUU
Panel to discuss Brown’s spirituality and how it influenced his music, moderated by Belinda Todd of VSU
Hosting duties performed by Renee Charlow of Bowie State University

A portion of the event’s proceeds will benefit the brand-new Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.

This event is free, but donations are encouraged. Generous ones. Come out on Friday, February 27th to Unity of Richmond, 800 Blanton Avenue. For more information, call (757) 285-2117 or (434) 808-2472 or visit the Cultural Libations page and the event page on Facebook.