The furniture was part of the Exhale Lounge installation, an experience we co-curated with DJs Pee Dot Scott and TheBrandon, as well as The Neighborhood Plant Dealer, Hella Creative and Air Maxine — a group that regularly hosts a series of game nights called Bones, Books & Bingo.
We represented one of over a dozen installations and pop-ups at the event, which included a bunch of food vendors, a kids area and a location for collective mediation. There was a video game truck on one side and a skate park on the other, plus cowboys on horseback, anime action figures, a cigar lounge and more.
As the day started, streets were blocked off for the parade route, and artists took to the stage for soundcheck. From our lot we could hear the warming vocals of R&B royalty Mya, the event’s headlining artist.
Black Joy Parade founder Elisha Greenwell Dargan, executive producer Paige Nichols and other members of the organization moved about, tirelessly working to ensure a successful day.
Everything that goes into creating and sustaining a gathering of this magnitude can’t be understated. One volunteer told me she started her shift at 6 a.m. And I know for a fact the planning for this celebration started many months prior.
We worked on our installation for a few weeks but still had to run errands the night before the parade. Our goal was to create a backyard kickback in the middle of downtown, complete with games, plants, comfortable chairs and a fire pit. And of course, if you have a fire pit you need to have the ingredients for making s’mores.
Black joy not only requires elbow grease and sweat equity, but financial capital and liquid assets.
Black Joy costs
The parade itself ran from 14th Street down Broadway, all the way to West Grand. The festival portion of the celebration was concentrated to a few blocks in uptown. It’s mind-boggling to even begin wrapping my mind around the total cost of permits for an event of this size, as well as security and the clean-up effort afterwards.
During the celebration, everywhere I turned people were making money. Folks sold fine art and photos, clothing and headwear. There was an area dedicated to Black wines, a beer garden and a Hennessy bar. Topicals, medicines and crystals were sold in one place. At another, a chef was dishing out servings of gumbo next to a stand where a person was selling cannabis.
People made investments before even pulling up to the event— it showed in their fashion. Folks wore high-end designers, custom-made coats and rare fly kicks. Some were in shiny jewelry and bedazzled bags; others rocked fresh haircuts and hairdos.
There wasn’t just money invested: People put in time and energy as well.
The buck for Black joy didn’t stop there. People gambled, risking parking tickets or towed cars as they left their automobiles parked in red zones to attend the celebration.
Some folks missed money as they took the day off from work; others decided to show up late for their jobs. People traveled from across the state, and some came from out of state to be a part of one of the biggest annual African American parades on the West Coast.
