The hottest event in town, Afr’Am Fest, lit up Norfolk for decades, celebrating Black joy, family, and culture. Donna Smith takes us back to the final moments of the festival--and how she fought fire with fire (extinguishers)!
https://www.pilotonline.com/2008/05/31/norfolk-re-examining-afram-fest-after-residents-complaints/
https://www.pilotonline.com/2010/09/01/afram-festival-organizer-closes-puts-event-in-limbo/
https://elizabethrivertrail.org/
https://www.nps.gov/locations/chesapeakebaywatershed/index.htm
https://virginiahumanities.org/
Donna Smith: It hurts just walking over here and just thinking about Afr’Am Fest, It was really a meaningful family culture showcasing not just our talents, but opportunities for those that did not have a place to sell their wares, a place to belong.
Because there were many events being held downtown. But it was not a large focus on the African Americans.
Nichole Hill: Mrs. Donna Smith is an artist and former producer of the Afr'Am Festival, a major African American cultural celebration held each Memorial Day weekend at Town Point Park in Norfolk. This event was the brainchild of the great minds at Norfolk State University, who saw a gap in visibility and acceptance for the Black community and came up with a festival as a solution.
Donna Smith: So these were like my big brothers and sisters and my colleagues, my professors, who were really coming up with an opportunity that the African American culture be showcased.
(Under the following we hear sounds of the festival)
Nichole Hill: Held in Town Point Park in downtown Norfolk, this was a three-day celebration of Blackness featuring step performances, live musical acts, and vendors selling art, clothing, and food. Because of the event’s proximity to the water, and the architecture of the buildings downtown, you could hear it before you could see it.
(Sounds of music being performed for a crowd, then it fades out)
Donna Smith: When you're looking at AFRAM, it's the African American family. That's what it was all about. You know, you didn't leave one out.
And seeing families come to downtown Norfolk, maybe some of them was the first time that they felt welcome because there were other events that they've felt that they could not come to or was not welcome to be a part of. Being denied is harmful.
Donna Smith: I attended just because I was an artist. It was probably about 120-some participants that showed up at Town Point Park. The focus at that time was just with the music and the visual arts.
(Slow electric piano music underscores the following)
Nichole Hill: This event was produced by the nonprofit Southeastern Virginia Arts Association (SEVAA), and word of its success spread across the East Coast.
The proceeds from this event fueled year-round programming. It provided the next generation of young artists from economically disadvantaged communities with what so many before them did not have: Support. And a chance to shape their future through art.
Donna Smith: The word was getting out that we had this big event that was being held.
(Sounds of the festival)
But I also wanted the people that came to the festival, to experience that you could bring in your family, your brother, your sister, or your cousin.
I became the AFRAM project director.
I felt as a, a leader, you need to have hands on.
Nichole Hill: Donna truly rolled up her sleeves. When she stepped in, she expanded the team to 15 committees and over 400 dedicated volunteers. Attendance soared from just 400 people at the first event to 300,000 by 2008.
Featured in AARP magazines and promoted as a prime travel destination, on cruise ships and in tourism guides, the Afr’Am Festival earned spots on state and national festival lists. It was such a vibe that it grabbed people right off the street.
(Sound of newscasters announcing the weekend, crossfades into sound of a razor in a barbar shop)
Anonymous Festival Goer: We happened upon it. We were driving around in the downtown area and we saw a whole bunch of Black people walking and we were--we started following them.
Where they going? Where they going? We found this big old park with a whole bunch of Negroes. So, we went over there and had a good time. I bought celebratory jewelry and stuff like that. Maybe that's why I started wearing cowries because I was able to find different types of jewelry incorporating cowrie shells.
And Afr’Am Fest made me feel like, oh, there's Black people down here doing stuff. There's Black people down here celebrating themselves unapologetically, just out in public, just being Black.
it gave me pride. It was like, well, it's, it's okay. It doesn't always have to be negative. We can celebrate ourselves.
Everybody gets to celebrate themselves at Town Point Park. You got Carib Fest, you got Cajun Festival, you got Latin Festival down there. The only ones that are left out now is us. Harborfest celebrates our arrival. I don't know that we necessarily want to celebrate our arrival here in that way, but yeah, Harborfest is for--that's the white festival.
Afr’am Festival is one of the main reasons why I came back to the Hampton Roads area because it felt like a celebration every year at Town Point Park. It made me feel like, for the first time, I could see Black people in a large space all together. Just having a good time.
(Hammering sound of setting up a stage, with slow saxophone playing under the following)
Nichole Hill: As the buzz grew, so did sponsorships, propelling the event into a major cultural phenomenon. But, with growth comes new demands, particularly in a downtown area poised for change.
In 2019, they were told just days before the event was set to take place that, despite having secured the correct permits, they could not start AfrAm Fest.
Donna was handed a guidebook , one that outlines safety regulations and fire codes. And that book? It became her only reference point in preparing for the festival. Now, at the 11th hour, she’s informed…
Donna Smith: The book was outdated. We received the wrong directions.
And so when you--you know, fire codes change, safety codes change. We were told that we could not open the festival because of the fire hazards.
(Steady bass strums keep time during the following)
Keep in mind this was on a Friday afternoon at 3:45 or 3:30 downtown Norfolk, the weekend of the festival.
I can feel the pressure from that day now. Because so many people were depending on you. I had to think quick.
So I was told by my Project Director, who was also part of this team, who said that "We have fire hazards, we do not have enough fire extinguishers, we do not have enough spacing," and I said, “What do I have to do?”
He said, “You’ve got to go to the Chief of the Fire Department of Norfolk and meet with them. And to tell them what the plan would be.”
So I walked from the Sheraton Hotel to the chief of the fire department on Granby Street.
In my walk, I had to think.
(Sound of footsteps on a busy street, and deep breaths)
So when I got there and I simply said to the Fire Marshal, “You provided me with a log. You provided me with the book. You're giving me the outline of what the Festival should look like, the field, especially for safety. But the book you've given me is outdated. So this is the one I'm following."
"I'm your rental. Now what I'm asking of you--we can do this together. So help me, what do I need to do?” I says, “Because people were dependent on us. We can make it happen, you just need to tell me. So the plan was, I had to go back and purchase fire extinguishers. Keep in mind this time of the evening, we only had Lowe's. I don't think it was a Home Depot. It might've been one, but so far away. So everybody had to go get fire extinguishers. Everyone we knew downtown, because their offices were closing, if they had fire extinguishers, they were bringing them.
Whether it was right or wrong, we had fire extinguishers.
But more importantly, that event had to happen. Because people were already lined up. Vendors were lined up to come in. They had purchased their food. They had purchased their wares. They were looking to have this big day. And we weren't ready. But we got ready. The Fire Marshal and the Captains, whoever, we became friends within less than an hour. Cause we all went back out there to try to fix it.
All I know, we did have a good time and the festival went on.
(Sounds of the Festival in full swing)
Donna Smith: The African heritage in our culture was becoming so loud in presence. The site development became home, like, for other people. It was no longer an open space. It became another community surrounding the, the location.
The event ended with many struggles, financial struggles, because of the past event, changes of the festival dates. Town Point had outgrown us.
Nichole Hill: She is being polite. The truth, stitched between old headlines and quiet revisions, is clear: The date changed (said underbreath: by the city), and more importantly, so did the people living downtown. To quote one council-member, "If a type of music is not tasteful to you, it might seem to be annoying. If it was Jimmy Buffett, they would probably embrace it.”
(Sound of “Home in Dat Rock” starts softly under the following and swells at the end)
Donna Smith: Biblically, I've always been taught, build your house, build it on solid ground.
So, why would you want to build it around a, a location that has been noted for events if you don't wish to be a part of them? You know, you, you got to be willing to accept what comes along with the package.
Nichole Hill: But accept it they did not.
Donna Smith: The event closed down with lots of, problems that I felt that could have been avoided.
Do you go back and look at the values? What did this event bring to your community? What did it do to the vendors, the outside merchants? Did it attract people into your stores? Were you afraid of those people? Did they boost your restaurant dollars? Did it give them opportunities?
But just think, Arts have a way of bringing people together. Arts have a way to give opportunities for jobs.
Art can do anything. Art can break down boundaries. It builds communities.
(Sounds from the festival fading out/into the sounds of a ship horn)
Nichole Hill: Visit our website Truthbetoldcommunity.com to find out ways to get involved, and share this episode with friends.
This series was written by Jackie Glass and Hannah Sobol, edited and hosted by me, Nichole Hill, Sound Design by Trendel Lightburn, and our work has been supported by the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation through a National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways Grant. Follow our work by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. We couldn’t do this without people brave enough to share their experiences, so thank you (anonymous festival goer) and Mrs. Donna Smith!