EAST PALO ALTO’s BLACK DIASPORA

- collective memory and freedom dreams - 

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featuring MoAD Artists, East Palo Alto Residents, and Local Legacy Holders 

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East Palo Alto’s Black Diaspora: Collective Memory & Freedom Dreams invites East Palo Alto residents of the past and present to gather for an evening of healing through storytelling and the arts. 

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Join us for a celebration of the Black Diaspora through the lens of East Palo Alto! In the spirit of Little Nairobi, we will celebrate Black life and culture across multiple generations and migrations. We will honor the legacy of ancestors, hold space for collective grief, and center visions of hope for the future. Come share your migration stories, childhood memories, and freedom dreams, while witnessing the creative expression of local and global artists from across the African diaspora. 

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We will begin with a Congolese drumming performance by Kiazi Malonga, a world-renowned artist of Redtone Records and son of the late Malonga Casquelourd. We will then transition into an interactive community conversation featuring beloved community elder Mama Keisha Evans, owner of East Palo Alto’s Pan African City Alive, and moderated by Osceola Ward, a third-generation East Palo Alto native and current Professor of African American Studies at San José City College. Our conversation will be documented by Darius Riley, founder of Hour Voyses and Bloomhouse EPA Artist-in-Residence.  (We encourage you to bring photos and memorabilia from your life in East Palo Alto to guide our discussion!)

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This gathering also features a pop-up installation of blackwomxnhealing’s Homegirl Healin’ Exhibit - an East Palo Alto based exhibition that celebrates local and global stories of community healing through the arts. Homegirl Healin’  features 2024 MoAD Artist-in-Residence Jessica Monette as its East Palo Alto Artist Ambassador, and is curated by 2024 MoAD Poet-in-Residence ReeLaviolette Botts-Ward. 

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*to witness the full Homegirl Healin’ Exhibition Experience, register here for opening night - May 30th @ Bloomhouse EPA. 

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We hope you will come through, bring your folks, and spread the word! May 24th. 4:30PM. 321 Bell Street, Home of Redtone Records and the East Palo Alto Community Archive. Light refreshments will be served.  

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-- Citations + Additional Resources -- 

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East Palo Alto Black Arts & Culture 

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Kalamu Chachè, East Palo Alto Poet Laureate

linked here and here

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East Palo Alto’s Hidden Beauty, by Darius Riley

linked here

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Zu Dia Ngoma, by Kiazi Malonga

linked here

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Keepers of Home: Muisi-kongo & Kiazi Malonga

linked here

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Kyra Brown, Displaced Lane

linked here and here

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The Nairobi Movement in East Palo Alto, SMCL

linked here

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Little Nairobi: the Story of East Palo Alto, by The Hood Squad + Justice 4Tyranny 

linked here

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EPA Artist Ayodele Kinchen

linked here

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EPA Artist BTMI.Sed

linked here and here 

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EPA Artist Tyanna “Child of Nines” Braswell

linked here 

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EPA Artist Randy McPhly

linked here and here

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EPA Artist Humble Hart

linked here 

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Kameelah Rasheed, East Palo Alto Artist

linked here and here

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Tahira Rasheed, East Palo Alto Artist

linked here and here

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East Palo Alto Community Businesses & Resources 

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Redtone Records, East Palo Alto

linked here 

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Live in Peace, East Palo Alto

linked here

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Street Code Academy, East Palo Alto

linked here 

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Daphne Gardens, by Stephanie from EPA 

linked here

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‍Additional Citations & Reading 

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Freedom Dreams, by Robin DG Kelley

linked here

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Homeplace Poems, by ReeLaviolette Botts-Ward

linked here

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