Tag Archives: African American History

Master Class – Before It Was JAZZ: The African Foundations Of An American Art Form

Master Class

Before It Was JAZZ: The African Foundations Of An American Art Form

Inwood Hill Park Nature Center

Facilitator: Aaron Scott | Acclaimed jazz drummer, composer, founder and artistic director of the Inwood Jazz Festival

Featuring Master Musicians:

Abdou Mboup | Senegalese master percussionist and griot, preserving the ancient heartbeat of West African rhythm.

Frank Lacy | Powerhouse trombonist and vocalist whose soulful expression spans avant-garde jazz and deep post-bop lineage.

Sharp Radway | Virtuoso pianist, composer, and author dedicated to the profound spiritual and historical roots of the music.

Alex Blake | Legendary bassist renowned for his revolutionary, percussive acoustic technique and global jazz history.

Through performance, discussion, and demonstration, these internationally acclaimed artists, explore the rich, cultural traditions that gave rise to an American indigenous art form. Together, they illuminate the enduring connection between the musical traditions of West Africa and the evolution of jazz, revealing how those traditions continue to shape and inspire.

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 19th – 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Location: Inwood Hill Park Nature Center

Admission: Free

Morris-Jumel: Declarations of Independence: Black Americans and the Building of a Nation

Join Morris-Jumel Mansion for a FREE outdoor screening of this 60-minute documentary that explores and, in many instances, uncovers the stories of Black men and women who contributed to the building of the Nation, which celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Director Stacey Holman will introduce the film, parts of which were shot inside the Morris-Jumel Mansion.

Bring a chair or a blanket and enjoy.

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum: Archiving Black Family Histories with Jhanique Lovejoy

Join us for a free digitizing workshop and community discussion about Black diasporic archival traditions with artist Jhanique Lovejoy!

Through a guided discussion with Dyckman Farmhouse Museum’s current exhibiting artist Jhanique Lovejoy, participants will explore the role of family photographs in Caribbean and Black diasporic archival traditions, oral histories, and intergenerational preservation.

Moving from discussion to practice, participants will engage directly with archival tools and methods by digitizing personal photographs, negatives, and ephemera from their own family archives with a high-resolution scanner provided at the workshop!

Participants will also browse examples of Caribbean archival history and preservation practices, gaining foundational knowledge in archival processes, digitization, and the creation of archival ephemera.

What to bring:

  • five 4×6 or 5×7 sized photos from your family archive OR
  • one 8×10 photos and two 4×6 or 5×7 photos from your family archive.
    Optional: Instead of bringing 2-5 4×6 or 5×7 photos, participants may bring 2-5 negatives, newspaper clippings, and archival documents from their family archive instead. Each participant will receive an archival-safe polysleeve to properly store their family photos and a personal USB containing their scanned photos from the workshop.

Free – RSVP Required: Register on Eventbrite! Only 15 seats available.

Dyckman Farmhouse Museum: Back Porch History 2026 – Reclaiming Pinkster with Lavada Nahon

An hour-long lecture that dissects what Pinkster was and why celebrating it expands the humanity of the enslaved and their descendants.

Learn about the historical and cultural significance of Pinkster with Lavada Nahon, the Interpreter of African American History at NYS Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Sites!

Connected to New York’s Black history is the oldest African celebration in the nation. During Pinkster celebrations, enslaved and free Africans gathered around the colony and state to rest, renew family and friendship ties, and reconnect to a European faith that had been transformed in West Central Africa. Choices made by the Black community as they moved from property to people lessened Pinkster’s importance but did not erase its historic significance.

Registration required on Eventbrite!

Lavada Nahon is the Interpreter of African American History for the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites. A position she has held since its inception in 2019. With nearly 30 years of public history experience, she focuses on New Netherland and New York, 17th through 19th centuries, specifically, the lives and cultures of Africans and their descendants, enslaved and free. As a culinary and cultural historian, she has worked for a wide variety of historic sites and organizations around the tri-state region. Her mission is to bring history to life by giving presence to the Africans and people of African descent enslaved and free, in New Netherland and New York in whatever way possible.