Crocker Art Museum hosts Family Festival to celebrate Black History Month

Family festival included art, music and food

Erick Salgado

Buffalo Soldier exhibition host Bill Terrell explained the importance of history of the Buffalo Soldiers at the Crocker Art Museum’s Black History Month Family Festival on Feb. 16, 2020. The museum hosted Black artists and culture.

Erick Salgado
February 16, 2020

The Crocker Art Museum hosted its annual Black History Month Family Festival  Sunday in an effort to promote knowledge around Black History Month. 

Akinsanya Kambon, a former Black Panther member and Sacramento native attended the festival where he showcased his ceramic sculptures. 

Kambon also provided art lessons to those in attendance. 

 

The history of the Black community in the United States was discussed by Bill Terrell, who led an exhibition on the Buffalo Soldiers. “The Buffalo Soldiers have a rich contribution to the American west,” Terrell said. “They guarded the railroads, they guarded the wagon trains as the United States was migrating west.”

 

Local vendors were in attendance selling merchandise and authentic Black cuisine was sold at the Crocker Art Museum’s Cafe.

Traditional Black food was also showcased throughout the day with local restaurants “Fixins” and “Queen Sheba” giving live demonstrations on how to cook iconic foods in the Black community. “Fixins” showed how to make shrimp and grits from Soul Food cuisine and “Queen Sheba” showed how to make an Ethiopian style dish.  

Additionally, there were a variety of live shows at the festival. At the auditorium, there was a live Sankofa music show, which emphasized activism through art, as well as a steel-drum performance from Shawn Thwaites and a Black Power music jam by Hayez. 

 

Children were also able to join in the festival’s activities. There was a magic show performed by “The Magic Forest,” storytelling for kids of old African-American tales told by Kirk Walker and family portraits taken by Debra Ledsinger.