When the City of Springfield’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon was cancelled at the beginning of January because of the rise in COVID-19 cases, Dorian Hunter says it felt like a call to action to create another way to celebrate February as Black History Month.
But he wanted it to be something new. Something different. Something more.
Along with
Envelope Date’s Ashten Housemen, Hunter was able to organize a collaborative effort featuring black artists from across disciplines, which will culminate in the upcoming event
Noire: Celebrating Black Excellence.
“We’ve been chipping away at this and were able to put our heads together to put together something very impactful for the community,” says Hunter, a Springfield native who works for
Elliott Insurance Agency. “We had been talking about the
Black Art as Subject Matter II exhibit (at the Springfield Museum of Art) and mentioned that it was coming to a close soon. It felt like there had to be something that would pay tribute to this exhibit that we have right here in town, and we wanted to put a lot of different efforts toward a way of celebrating Black History Month.”
Noire will be a free event at the Springfield Museum of Art showcasing black leaders, entrepreneurs and creatives. Attendees will enjoy art, including one of the last chances to experience the Black Art as Subject Matter II exhibit – curated by Willis “Bing” Davis – before it closes at the end of February, and food from local black chefs and bakers, including
Bubby’s Chicken & Waffles,
All Seasons Restaurant and Catering,
Smokin' Inferno BBQ & Catering, and
Leerah’s Vegan Treats.
Drinks from Dayton-based
The Liquor Lab will also be available at the event, which will be emceed by Te’Jal Cartwright and
Chalk de Peace. Spoken word artists will include Springfield’s own Lindsey Ancrum, Lisa “Soul X Sighted” Dunn, and Joshua “H.I.M.” Robinson, and will be headlined by Leroy D. Bean, of Dayton.
The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, at the museum, and Hunter described it as an event where people can stay for as long or short a time as they are able.
“It’s very important to create intentional spaces where blackness isn’t limited,” Hunter says. “It’s a sense of freedom that you don’t have in too many cases – where you are fully welcomed, where your culture is welcomed, where your culture is celebrated.
“It’s not a corporate type of event. It’s laid back, where you come as you are, and you’re welcome as is. And we want to celebrate you whether you’re a black individual or an ally. We want to celebrate both, because both are instrumental in moving communities and cultures forward.”
Hunter and Springfield Museum of Art Development Officer Shelby Bobst both acknowledge that in addition to Noire, there seemed to be more of an effort by a variety of businesses and organizations throughout Springfield to celebrate Black History Month in new and inclusive ways this year.
Bobst says the museum is excited to have the opportunity to “be a fostering space” for Noire and is hopeful it will become an annual event.
“We at the museum want to be very intentional about it not coming across as ‘white people doing a cool thing for Black History Month,’” she says. “This is about being a space for the black community and allies to come celebrate their achievements of black excellence. We as the museum are partners coming along to support these efforts. We’re here to provide a physical space and have the exhibition and some logistics support.
“While every day should be a day to celebrate black history, this is an opportunity to take that intentional moment to hone-in and focus on and highlight black community members in the past and in our present and those who will come after use. It shouldn’t be only on the black community to do this.”
She added that she hopes events like this continue to become more common throughout the calendar year rather than being limited to only Black History Month.
Hunter says Noire will be an example of how important it is for the black community to have opportunities to be immersed in positive black culture.
“We’re making great strides both locally and broadly across the world. It’s important to move our mindset to the left or right just a hair,” he says. “While we’re talking about history that needs to be discussed, we can choose to not only talk about the bad stuff, but also focus on the folks doing great stuff in our community.
“We wanted to make a concentrated effort to do that. We want to talk about all the great things going on and all the individuals doing great things with hopes of fostering a future of what can be recognized as part of Black History Month.”
Having events that are focused on the black community are important to give perspective to other community members, Hunter says.
“Something I would say is to have folks understand the spaces they’re in and what they look like and feel like,” he says. “Being educated in both public and private institutions and graduating from a predominantly white institution, and now being in the corporate world, you understand how often blackness is minimized or trying to be suppressed. People in the black community experience it quite a bit.
“It’s important for our community (as a whole) to have the thought of what these spaces feel like for someone who is not white or not in the upper middle class and to evaluate the privilege they have and to use that for moving forward and making change.”
Hunter says he hopes that change in mindset will help lead to more events like Noire in the future and even bigger steps forward, like more opportunities for black business owners to become part of the fabric of the growth of Downtown Springfield.
“I say this with not the intention to divide, but the intention to make people think more intentionally – there comes a point where you have to pick a side,” Hunter says. “You have to be willing to be part of the change or part of keeping things how they are. And there’s always progress to be made.”
Noire will be made possible by funding from a variety of local businesses and organizations, including
Clark State College, the
Small Business Development Center of Springfield,
the Springfield Foundation, Elliott Insurance Agency, the
Young Black Professionals and Businesses of Springfield, the
Fudge Foundation, and
Mo Carpenter, realtor with Gallery Homes Real Estate. Sponsorships are still available, with recognition opportunities starting at $250. For more information about sponsorships, contact Hunter at
[email protected] or Bobst at
[email protected].