Black Philanthropy Month is always one of our halfway-through-the-year markers. It is an annual August reminder for us in the Black community to look behind and to also look ahead. 2024 is a monumental year in many ways, politically, socially, and always culturally because African American culture is where we never let go of the dreams of our ancestors.
Art. Music. Dance. Theatre. Poetry.
These are the places where we hold on and take flight.
I dare say we need to be extremely two-headed in our looking and in our doing in 2024, perhaps in the ways our grandmothers and grandfathers were two-headed. I’m forever grateful that I knew my grand-people and that they had a hand in my raising and my rearing. Their many lessons could not be found in any one book. Both paternal and maternal grandparents were connected to the land they farmed and committed to the communities they lived in, communities they also helped raise and rear.
They taught me that it was just fine to focus on my own dreams as long as I also donated time, attention, and money to the community in which I lived, worked, and dreamed, making sure it too prospered. They would never have used this image or metaphor of two-headedness but nevertheless they were two-headed and proud.
The Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center is kicking off a $2 million capital campaign this month. We hope you enjoy our new website. Take some time with it. There’s a lot to take in. Let us know what you think! Talk back to us here on site.
On August 15th we will be hosting an Open House at The Finney Center for our community. We will gather and greet and grow longer arms. More info about the event will be posted soon.
We want to share with you more about what’s been going on at The Finney Center in 2024 and what’s ahead for 2025 and beyond. Look for us on Instagram and X this week and when you get to the end of this beautiful new website you will find a secure form where you may show just one of the ways you believe in what we are doing.
Nikky Finney
Poet & Director
Comments