remember.

date. 2022

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location. Akron, Oh.

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Description. REMEMBER is a visual love letter created to honor Howard Street in Akron, Oh. This visual personifies the street and imagines what was.

 

Brief History: The center of African-American culture in Akron during the mid-20th century, Howard Street was home to many of the city's black-owned business and entertainment establishments, and provided an atmosphere in which minority-owned businesses could thrive. The 1930-1950 era saw the heyday of Howard Street as a vibrant cultural center. The Mathews Hotel was a regular stop for black entertainers such as Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie when they performed in Akron. Local music clubs included the Green Turtle, the Cosmopolitan, the High Hat, and Benny Rivers'. The Howard Street district declined in the 1960s and much of it was razed for "urban renewal" in the 1970s and 1980s. "Urban Renewal equals Negro Removal" - James Baldwin

 

Music Featured: "Overcomer" Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and "They Who Must Die" by Shabaka and the Ancestors This work was created through Akron Soul Train residency funding.

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Performers. Lennon Stone, Terah McGrew, Vonn Mao, Jonathan Stone, Miah Wilson