This married filmmaker duo celebrates Fort Greene Park’s legendary outdoor party, which ascended to become a global destination for house heads and a safe haven for Black queer expression.
— Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa, Essence
In this unrelenting year of Black pain and loss, we’ve been thinking a lot about Black joy. Where can Black people be safe? Where can we be free? Where can we be celebrated?
Since 2018, we’ve been documenting exactly these types of Black spaces through our digital publication and Instagram account, Black-Owned Brooklyn. We’ve covered cultural contributions such as the Crown Heights Panamanian Day Parade, the largest celebration of Panamanian independence and folklore outside the Central American nation; the Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, who have organized for decades to boost Black home ownership (and stop developers from pushing Black families out of historic brownstones); and Brooklyn Recess, a group dedicated to reviving the Black Girl Magic of double-dutch across Brooklyn. Today we’re releasing our first short film, Soul Summit: Doin’ It in the Park, which tells the story of Soul Summit — Fort Greene Park’s legendary house music party.
— Credits
Featured Image, Tayo Giwa and Cynthia Gordy Giwa | Photo credit: Curt Sanders
Full article @ Essence
— Related
Black Girl Magic (#BlackGirlMagic) is a movement that was popularized by CaShawn Thompson in 2013. The concept was born as a way to “celebrate the beauty, power and resilience of Black women,” as described by Julee Wilson from HuffPost, and to congratulate Black women on their accomplishments. Referring to a speech made by Michelle Obama at the Black Girls Rock Awards, Thompson explains that Black women around the world who were persevering, despite adversity, inspired her to spread the concept of “Black Girl Magic”. With these women in mind, Thompson created the social media hashtag, clothing campaign and rallying cry “Black Girl Magic,” in hopes of counteracting negativity society places on Black women.
Though born online, the movement has inspired many organizations across the world to host events using the title. The movement has also seen celebrity support, as singers Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamila Woods, Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles have invoked the concept, and ballerina Misty Copeland and President Barack Obama discussed the idea in an interview with Maya Rhodan for Time and Essence magazines.
Source – Black Girl Magic (Updated: 5 August 2020) Wikipedia. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Girl_Magic, (Accessed: 11 October 2020)