AVANCE - Houston
Presents

Respecting Diversity 

The African and African American Cultures Exhibit was displayed during February and March 2007 at the Dacoma I, Conference Room.

The African and African American cultures committee members are:

 Alfreda Anele, Drew
 Menkin Bostic, Golden Forest
Sandra Cooper, Oakwood
 Jacqueline Dunn, Team captain, Dacoma I
Latrice Horhn, Mt. Houston
 Sylvia Martinez, Dacoma II
Inger Potts, Dacoma I

Purpose
The main focus was to share with the agency the different types of customs that are in the African American and African cultures. The display consist of authentic wedding apparel, Kenya Cloth, figurines, an article of the process of selling slaves, books by African American authors, and there was live entertainment, a local artist came and played the drums and even had the audience to participate.

Acknowledgements
Special Thanks to Christiana Bekie (Dacoma I), Cassandra Hollie (Mt. Houston) and Tolenia Yarbrough (Dacoma I) for assisting with this project and to Menkin Bostic, Sandra Cooper and Inger Potts for allowing some of their personal items to remain on display in the large conference room.

From our Executive Director

 "Bethany Stansell and her committee organized the Black History Celebration in the Dacoma I building, which featured a display of African Art and historical memorabilia and a demonstration of African Drumming and Story Telling by Baba Ifalade of DRUM.  

We want to thank the volunteers who put together such an excellent display. Bethany is taking the lead role and chairing a Respecting Diversity Committee who will sponsor celebrations of various cultures at AVANCE throughout the year. The committee is off to a good start in developing a program that makes AVANCE a meaningful place to work."                                                                    Jose Villarreal

AVANCE-Houston staff awaiting the arrival of the featured artists.

Photo of our special guest drummers and storyteller as the AVANCE-Houston chapter, Executive Director, José Villarreal watches.

Literature by African American authors including books about famous African Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Owens.

AVANCE-Houston staff enjoyed the storytelling and drumming talents of local Houston artists, Joseph Craft (an AVANCE parent (on the right) and the storyteller (on the left), Baba Ifalade (Alafia).

In the background is a display of many blacks who contributed to American history. This display was a portion of a class project done by an AVANCE-Houston teacher, which also featured a local sailor lost in the Iraq war who is a relative of the teacher.

This drummer and storyteller, Baba Ifalade (Alafia), of Houston based D.R.U.M., engages the audience with his musical talent and descriptive storytelling abilities.

D.R.U.M. website: http://www.drumusic.com/welcome.html 
D.R.U.M. uniquely combines continental African and African Diasporic rhythms with a healthy dose of jazz, funk, R&B and Latin influences to create a rich, earthy (and immediately accessible) sound. 


AVANCE-Houston staff share thoughts as they peruse the extensive display.

Examples of African attire

The gold ensemble is a traditional dress and head piece that is worn by women of African descent during wedding.

The black outfit can be worn as part of a traditional Cultural Celebration for Black History Month.

Cultural display including a dress made with Authentic African fabric, a framed picture of Kwanzaa, which is a Pan-African tradition honoring African American heritage, an authentic kinte cloth, the African-American flag, African art, books and more.

Cultural display including a dress made with Authentic African fabric, a framed picture of Kwanzaa, which is a Pan-African tradition honoring African American heritage, an authentic cloth, the African-American flag, African art, books and more.

A picture of the exhibit.

Cultural artifact
 acquired from the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian in Washington,. D.C. by one of our staff.

Picture of African-American figurines and books featuring history of blacks in America.

This drummer, Joseph Craft of Tropic Blue, a Houston based group of musicians, is a parent of one AVANCE-Houston student.

Photo of drum artists as they perform for the AVANCE-Houston staff.

Photo of drumming artists as AVANCE-Houston staff watch.

Photo of audience during the presentation and the display 
honoring Black History Month, which include album cover, ahot comb, 45s and a family bible.

Photo of audience during the presentation.
These artists have shared their cultural drumming talents and African storytelling ability with many students enrolled in several AVANCE- Houston Head Start centers across the northwest portion of Houston and in Spring.