UZURI Project holds graduation, highlights Black History Month

The Uzuri Project Youth Institute Emerging Leaders held a graduation celebration at The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa Ballroom on Feb. 17.

The public event highlighted Black History Month, the Fair Housing Movement and the Hot Springs Pleasant Street Historic District.

The theme, Pleasant Street Voices Speak & Now We Speak!, gave historical perspective to the progress of civil rights in the community and in the nation.

The event included the debut screening of a film depicting the heyday of the Pleasant Street Historic District, titled "Pleasant Street Voices Speak!" based on the memories documented in the book, "Conversations: William Jefferson Clinton, Hope to Harlem" by Janis F. Kearney. The presentation took a walk from Visitors' Chapel AME Church down Pleasant Street sharing the voices of those who lived in the houses and their contributions to the community, city and nation.

The film depicted an era when the sounds of jazz filled Malvern Avenue, known then as "Black Broadway," in such clubs as the Atmosphere, the Cococobana, The Phythian or Tell 'Em 'Bout Me Wilson Café. On any night one could dance to the sounds of such legends as Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton or the Reggie Cravens Trio, then stop for barbecue at Dewey's Town Talk on the way home.

TUPYI Emerging Leaders graduation theme, Now We Speak!, paid tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with music and a spoken word performance titled "Dr. King's America." Raven Turner, Class of 2016 Emerging Leader, addressed the history of King's Fair Housing Movement which resulted in passage of the Fair Housing Act, signed into law just one week after King's assassination.

The Hot Springs Dance Troupe, directed and choreographed by Amy Bramlett Turner, performed a powerful interpretation of "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. The performance culminated in the dancers' own voices in a call for tolerance and inclusion, embracing our diversity.

The audience of around 200 people included dignitaries such as Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe and his wife, Ellen, Tim Culbreth of Teen Challenge, Sallie Culbreth of Ouachita Children's Center, and Rachel Silva of Preserve Arkansas.

Sponsors for the event included the Black History Commission of Arkansas, State of Arkansas Fair Housing Commission, Entergy and Legoria's Rhythm & Rocks Jazz Bistro.

Email [email protected] or call 624-9400 for more information about The Uzuri Project Youth Institute or the film "Pleasant Street Voices Speak." Classes begin in September.