At African Soul International, a 36-foot stage sits in the heart of Black Central Los Angeles on Crenshaw Boulevard. Here, local youth spend their summer mornings beating rhythmic patterns on dundun drums, writing in daily journals, and stepping through traditional African choreography.
The City of Long Beach and Office of Ninth District Councilmember Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie presented the 15th Annual Uptown Jazz Festival. The celebration was held on Saturday, August 1, 2026, from 2- 7 PM at Houghton Park (6301 Myrtle Ave., Long Beach, 90805).
Hours before Grammy-nominated singer and actor Tyrese Gibson took the stage, thousands of concertgoers filled Burton Chace Park for the Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series, a free annual program presented by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.
The all-women Afro-Brazilian percussion ensemble Bloco Obini—composed of local educators, nurses, activists, and healers—brought their drums into the center of the venue. Carrying the spirit of Ayan Agalu, the Yoruba spiritual archetype symbolizing the drum’s power to bring strength and unity, their polyrhythmic drumming drew attendees from across the grounds into an expansive dance circle.
Belonging to the Entire Universe: Leslie Barlow’s New Mural Reimagines Community and Cosmos
In Los Angeles, visitors attending a Juneteenth weekend event at the A.C. Bilbrew Library were welcomed by a museum exhibit featuring a wall of faces — filmmakers and freedom fighters, Olympians and lawmakers — honoring Black women’s achievement and leadership.
Music filled the air as families danced through the crowd, children gathered around activity stations, and community members explored wellness resources from local organizations. Black-owned businesses lined the streets while people stopped for chair massages, conversations, and moments of connection inside the wellness suite.
For 25 years, Uptown Music Theatre (UMT) has helped young people across New Orleans discover their talents, build confidence, and develop a love for the performing arts. This summer, the organization will once again open its doors to aspiring performers through its Annual Summer Camp Program.
Music, especially Black music, has the power to bring people together and provide a strong sense of community. It has positive effects on people’s moods, helping us to balance the ups and downs of daily life, and keeping us moving.
Standing before an Amy Sherald painting is an exercise in aspiration. Her canvases, saturated with soft pastels and bold chromatic contrasts, construct an American landscape where Black subjects exist not at the margins of the imagination, but squarely at its center.
The AMVCA, Africa’s premier film and television awards ceremony, held on May 9, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria, has long been a spectacle for those on the African continent and those who know of it; some dubbed it “The Africa Met Gala.” But this year, it generated wider global attention.
By Patricia McDougall | Special to the AFRO On May 2 the 19th annual Around the World Embassy Tour was held in Washington, D.C., with
Eight Kern County high school students were honored for leadership, academic achievement and community service during the 2026 Miss Fashionetta and Gents Program in Bakersfield, where Madisynn Brown and Abdur Clark were crowned this year’s top honorees. The longstanding initiative continues to invest in youth through mentorship, scholarships and personal development.
faThis popular event, the Spring Event, Earth Day, and Service Provider Fair, was a fun-filled day for families in the “City of Good Neighbors.” Today’s community gathering of people from all walks of life produced priceless smiles of kids playing and the sounds of laughter that reverberated throughout the park.
It’s that time of the year again! Days are longer, and the weather is cooler. Don’t try to explain this to Mother Nature. No one could ever imagine ushering in spring with sizzling weather.
In her latest book, “Living the California Dream – African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era,” author Alison Rose Jefferson provides new insights into how the great migration of Blacks beginning in 1910 from the American South to the urban North, Midwest, and West challenged the prevailing narratives that exclude African Americans and shows their active role in shaping regional identity.
“Today is not just a reveal. Today is a restoration of stories and names of impact that deserve to be seen, honored, and remembered in a way that lives beyond this moment.”
-Dr. Arleana Waller, Founder & CEO, ShePower Leadership Academy
As we bring Black History Month to a close here’s a look at some historic Birmingham milestones since the city’s founding.
Forty-three years after “Thriller” hit the world like a lightning bolt, its anniversary still behaves like a global holiday. This weekend the celebration stretched from one continent to the next. In London, a Brixton record stall blasted the bassline of “Billie Jean” as shoppers argued over vintage vinyl. In Paris, a street musician near Châtelet blended Jackson’s melodies into a Metro platform performance. In Tokyo, clusters of teens practiced the zombie routine in Yoyogi Park, laughing when someone forgot a step. In Los Angeles, where the album was born in the studio, the track drifted from convertibles rolling down Sunset.
It was just after dawn in Paris when the sirens began to wail through the narrow streets surrounding the Louvre. Soldiers with rifles guarded the courtyard, tourists were turned away, and the great glass pyramid stood silent under a gray sky. Inside, the world’s most visited museum had been stripped of eight priceless jewels once belonging to Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie.
