Despite record high temperatures, people came out to enjoy food, vendors, and live performances at the 2024 AFRAM festival.

AFRAM 2024

Taking place June 22 and June 23, AFRAM is one of the largest African American cultural arts festivals on the East Coast hosted in Baltimore City’s Druid Hill Park.

A community event put together by Baltimore City’s Parks and Recreation, the free festival highlights local business owners and organizations, Baltimore artists and creators along with the biggest names in entertainment.

Performances

This year’s AFRAM featured iconic headliners, such as rapper Busta Rhymes, gospel singer Karen Clark Sheard, Morris Day and The Time, Big Daddy Kane, Mya, Alex Isley, and October London.

This was Unheard Voices first experience at AFRAM and it was nothing short of amazing. We thank the City of Baltimore Recreation Department for allowing us to capture this epic event.

Check out some highlights of AFRAM 2024:

Morris Day

Mya

October London

Busta Rhymes

BLK Dating App, the world’s largest dating and lifestyle app for the Black community, is celebrating Pride Month 2024 with its new campaign, “It’s Giving Space: Celebrating Queer Event Curators.”

BLK Dating App Pride Month 2024 campaign

The campaign, created in partnership with author, podcast host, and BLK Advocacy Council member, Sesali Bowen, focuses on Black event curators in cities across the country.

By integrating engaging content, social media, in-real-life (IRL) events, with this initiative, BLK strives to inspire and honor the authentic, diverse expressions of being Black, Proud, and Queer.

Featured collective

The initiative spotlights the compelling stories of three LGBTQ+ party collectives:

• Party Noire (Chicago): Celebrates Black femmes, Queer Women of Color, and Black womanhood through events and community activities.
• Global Warming (Brooklyn): Focuses on uplifting Black and Brown queer and trans folks, providing safe and joyful spaces.
• Lesbians in Houston (Houston): Creates safe spaces for queer women in a conservative state, hosting vibrant nightlife events.

The campaign will not only highlight their contributions but also address the cultural challenges that contribute to the underrepresentation of Black queer spaces.

For more information, visit www.theplugbyblk.com.

Check out the trailer below:

Alexandria, Virginia, a town with a rich history of Black changemakers and just minutes from Washington, D.C., has announced its Juneteenth celebrations.

About Alexandria

Alexandria has bore the first self-taught mathematician who mapped out the nation’s capital to abolitionist sisters who partnered with Frederick Douglass to the first Black athlete to play in the NBA.

With postcard-perfect cobblestone streets and an ever-evolving waterfront, the city offers plenty of new and exciting experiences to honor Juneteenth.

Top Alexandria Juneteenth Events

See below highlights of Alexandria’s Black history and cultural experiences, including Juneteenth celebrations, museum experiences, Black-owned businesses to support and more.

June 15-16, 2024:
Manumission Tour Company will offer a Juneteenth African American History Bus Tour. Visit historic sites that tell the story of African Americans in early Alexandria, including several historic African American churches in the city.

June 19, 2024:

Carlyle House, a historic house museum and park, is hosting its annual Juneteenth celebration in collaboration with The Athenaeum, a regional arts organization. Discover the history of Juneteenth through hands-on activities, art, history and poetry readings.

The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices’ lively, interactive concert featuring traditional music, dance, and spoken word anchors the Juneteenth Holiday at Market Square festivities.

June 19 to 22, 2024:

During Freedom Before Emancipation: Family Days for Juneteenth, visitors to George Washington’s Mount Vernon can learn about Ona Judge, Christopher Sheels and more enslaved people who resisted enslavement and sought freedom before the Emancipation Proclamation.

Find more Juneteenth events here.

Historic Museums

• Alexandria Black History Museum (Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 19): The Alexandria Black History Museum showcases exhibitions including Preserving their Names: The Black Lives Remembered Collection, featuring digital images and artifacts donated from the community in the D.C. region following the murder of George Floyd. A children’s area offers thought-provoking and age-appropriate activities for young visitors. Plus, look for the upcoming summer opening of the Moss Kendrix Collection, spotlighting the D.C.-based marketing pioneer who revolutionized how African Americans were depicted in the media in the mid-20^th century.
• Freedom House Museum (Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 19): This national historic landmark features three exhibitions showcasing Alexandria’s Black history and the Black experience in America. Learn about the experiences of the enslaved and free Black people who lived in—and were trafficked through—Alexandria, plus stories from the Civil Rights Movement and more.

Black-Owned Businesses

Photo Credit: Adedayo Kosoko

• Hen Quarter: Gather a group at Hen Quarter for a mouthwatering family-style brunch and Southern fare in the heart of Old Town.
• PIES Fitness Yoga Studio: Take a restorative yoga or dance class at this inclusive, trauma–informed studio just steps from Alexandria’s key Black history sites.
• Harambee Books & Artworks: Browse a unique selection of books and hard-to-find classic literature by and about people of African descent, plus exclusive artworks and fashionable apparels at Northern Virginia’s first Black-owned bookstore.
• Explore more Black-owned businesses here.