Revisiting the Revolution: The Ninth Annual Black Arts Festival

“Black Art has been an essential component to the formation of all American art. And if art can generally be said to speak that which a people cannot express about themselves, then to understand American art is crucial to America’s self-understanding" (from “Notes from the Margin: Broadcasting the Revolution,” by Phillip Atiba Goff ’99).

In spring of 1998, the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College hosted the first annual Black Arts Festival (BAF), a weekend of original theater, panel discussions, and performances. That inaugural festival brought together students, alumni, and faculty in a celebration of black art, culture, and history. Nine years later, the Black Arts Festival has become a Kuumba tradition, and its underlying goal remains the same: to entertain and enlighten the Harvard community about the Black experience, while promoting an understanding of the importance and diversity of Black Art in a variety of contexts.

But amid the entertainment and enlightenment that it promises, is there also a measure of alienation about the Black Arts Festival? How can one event mediate between the many dynamic and conflicting conceptions of blackness, and allow each to be expressed? Nine years ago, the Black Arts Festival was seen as a revolutionary step forward in the exploration of black culture and identity at Harvard. What has the revolution accomplished since that time, and what is left to be done?

Diversity & Distinction sat down to speak with Ofole Mgbako ’08, Festival and Forum Chair of the Ninth Annual Black Arts Festival, about his experience with the festival and his vision for the future of black expression at Harvard.

D&D: In your opinion, what is black art? How did the board and planners define ‘black art’ and ‘blackness’ itself in planning the program?

OM: Black art refers to the creative cultural production that comes from individuals or communities participating within the black tradition. However, one must define “black” if one accepts this definition. The beauty of the term “black” is that it confounds explanation because of its amazing diversity. Black people worldwide live completely differently and experience blackness in such diverse contexts. Yet I believe what connects black people worldwide is a common struggle and a global connectedness that has grown out of that struggle. This is my personal approach. As a board, we didn’t think it was important to define “black art” or “blackness.” Rather, we chose to apply the most general definitions so that members of the Harvard community can wrestle with notions of blackness.

D&D: How did you originally become involved with the Black Arts Festival? What did you hope to gain from the experience?

OM: I got involved in BAF because of my love for the Kuumba Singers of Harvard College. The Black Arts Festival was started by Kuumba and strives to achieve the same goals as the choir, which is reflected in the greater Harvard black community. I hoped to help fulfill the mission of Kuumba of leaving a space (in this case, the Harvard campus) better than when you found it, and learn and express my own vision of and appreciation for black art.

D&D: What is the mission of the BAF, and has it changed over the last nine years? Have subsequent boards—and yours in particular—felt the need to change the format of the festival?

OM: The mission of BAF has remained the same throughout the years—in general terms, mobilize the campus, bring in talented students at Harvard and artists from Boston and around the nation, and try to engage a comprehensive notion of blackness. The performing arts showcase is the staple every year.

D&D: Why isn’t the BAF held as a part of Arts First [the weeklong annual arts festival held in May]?

OM: No specific reason exists why BAF doesn’t exist within ARTS First, but the founders most likely felt they needed the freedom to create something original and wonderful outside of the restrictions of being within one bigger festival. A possible reason could have been that the Black Arts Festival truly speaks to so many diverse issues that having it under ARTS First may saturate that weekend, rather than allowing both to be explored equally.

D&D: Personally, what do you see as the purpose or mission of activities like the BAF? What is the relationship between black art and American identity? What can blacks at Harvard learn from black art that they have not already learned in a core class on slavery?

OM: BAF serves to showcase and celebrate the talents of artists within the black tradition, to educate our community about the history of black art, and to encourage individuals to find the art within themselves. The relationship between black art and the American community is interesting. Part of the expression of black art in BAF is the assertion of an authentic American tradition, rather than a “black” tradition that is marginalized from the American experience. Black art tradition is not owned by anyone. For example, if we take jazz, we see a musical phenomenon of hybridity, born out of both European and African elements. For both black people and non-black people, black art should serve as a unifying ground, where we acknowledge that the “black” tradition speaks to all of us, as a human community.

D&D: What would you say to the claim that black art, defined and presented as something uniquely black and largely unattainable for whites, alienates blacks and black culture from the mainstream?

OM: That debate came up in our panel for BAF entitled, “Redemption Songs: Black Art and Activism in the 21st Century.” We discussed who is a black artist, and what claiming a uniquely black art does to the goal of interracial understanding. Perhaps the greatest response to that dealt with the idea that while non-blacks understand that the cultural production labeled as black art excludes them at some level, it should encourage imaginative ways to think of a world without racial barriers. Also, non-blacks should understand that there is an experience, specific to black people, in which they cannot fully participate; however, this does not mean they do not search for ways to connect to the art, the culture, the community. This search is actually essential to discovering the connections that exist between communities.