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Africa West Festival A Great Success!

June 19th, 2008 - The Inaugural Africa West Festival was a great success. Close to 1,000 individuals attended the June 14th festival. They were treated to a wide variety of activities and events that included listening to traditional African music, local jazz and gospel performers. Those in attendance were able to see the works of 16 local artists and visit with vendors from different organizations. They also got to taste the wonderful food provided by 14 cooks competing in the Soul Food Competition.

“I am excited,” stated Capitol Chamber Chair John Hasley. “We have put in place a great foundation for an even bigger and more successful festival in 2009.”

Hasley, “When we began planning for Africa West many months ago, we had just an idea of creating an event that would celebrate the culture and history of Oklahoma’s African American community. Little did we realize that we would begin something that could become a major event in this state.”

The Festival kicked off at 8am with a 5K Run and 2K Walk that started at the Zoo and then through Lincoln Park and around Zoo Lake. “It was a beautiful morning with great weather and the run route was very scenic,” said Darius Jackson Africa West Chairman. “The run was important because we wanted something to emphasize the importance of keeping your body healthy.”

This was followed by the opening ceremony at 10 am that officially kicked off the Festival with a traditional African welcome by Rithm Company, local African Drummers. As part of the opening ceremony, everyone was asked to take time to honor those who are no longer with us and remember what they gave us. The recent passing of Rep. Opio Toure was the first to be recognized for his contribution to Northeast Oklahoma City.

This led to a fashion show of authentic African fashions. Ten models showed a variety of traditional clothing that expressed the beauty and glamour of African culture. The fashions were provided by Joana Appiah of Golden Treasures.

At Noon, the Oklahoma History Society under the guidance of Historian Bruce Fisher presented a program detailing African Americans contributions to Oklahoma’s History, highlighted by Buffalo Soldier reenactors. The afternoon was loaded with great entertainment that included the smooth jazz of Direct Smooth and Brothers Summitt, to the inspirational gospel performances of vocalist Pamela “Precious” Hoover, Minister James Willis and the Nu Praze Chorale and Sacred Image. There was also some raw blues from Mississippi Pete and the Blues Ryders.

The highlight was Sandra Campbell who gave an awe inspiring one woman performance about the life of Bessie Coleman, the first African American pilot. The performance was sponsored by the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees. Everyone was mesmerized by her tribute to Bessie Coleman called, “Follow Your Dreams,” which detailed the challenges that Bessie Coleman had to overcome to become a pilot in the 1930s.

While the entertainment was centered at the performance stage, there were tents that housed 16 local African American Artist, 12 vendors and the Soul Food Competition. The artists in attendance showcased their work that covered everything from metal sculpture, paintings, photography, quilting, braiding, pottery and jewelry. There was also an area to look at merchandise from Africa.

The Soul Food Competition provided a great treat for those who paid to taste the many traditional soul food dishes and desserts whipped up by the cooks competing for major prize money. The winners are:

Meat Category: Bernice Tharp, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Vegetable Category: Linda Goff, Okmulgee, Oklahoma

Dessert Category: Bernice Tharp, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Bread Category: Joyce Perkins, Muskogee, Oklahoma

Misc. Category: Linda Goff, Okmulgee, Oklahoma

People Choice Award: Linda Goff, Okmulgee, Ok.

Booth Decoration Award: Bernice Tharp, Tulsa, Ok.

“What a wonderful day,” stated Jackson. “I am very proud to be a part of a program that gave everyone the opportunity to celebrate the African American experience in Oklahoma. It is nice to have an event that is all about us, our culture, our history and our contributions to this state and country.”

The event was presented by the Capitol Chamber of Commerce with the help of several sponsors that include, Tinker Federal Credit Union, Wachovia Securities, Integris Health, Metro Tech, Remington Park and the Oklahoma Historical Society.

We Are Better Together Report Receives Positive Response

Calling on the need, “To finish it.” Rev. Teron Gaddis Chair of the We Are Better Together Coalition challenged those in the audience not to stop now, but to join the next phase of the effort to implement the recommendations that were presented. His appeal received a positive response as 53 of the individuals in attendance signed up to join one of the five work teams.

The Coalition founded by the Concerned Clergy for Spiritual Renewal created 5 work teams to help address issues that negatively impacted Northeast Oklahoma City. The work teams are 1) Health, 2) Education and Youth Activities, 3) Gangs, Crimes and Drug, 4) Family Focus and 5) Economic Development and Job Opportunity.

The 5 work teams have been working since July to develop possible actions that the community should pursue. These actions were presented and those in attendance where asked to provide input.

Many applauded and agreed with many of the recommendations. Some in the audience provided more suggestions for the work teams to consider. These suggestions will be presented to the work teams for review and consideration as part of

their strategies. The work teams will finalize their report and present it to the We Are Better Together Coordination Committee for one final review and approval.

The final phase will be the process of implementing the strategies with the support of identified organizations across the community. The Coordinating committee will monitor and review the process and schedule a community forum in June of 2008 to assess the success of the coalition’s efforts.

Recommendations by the work teams had a similar theme; we must focus on the family. Gary Jones with Jones Consulting Group who is providing the staff support for the project stated, “As the recommendations from the work teams were submitted they all talked about the importance of focusing on the family and helping them deal with the problems they face. If we can help them be successful, Northeast Oklahoma City will be successful.”

Details of the report are available at the Capitol Chamber Web site www.capitolchamber.org, one of the partners of the

effort is the Capitol Chamber of Commerce. You can also find times and dates for work team meetings on the web site.

Rev. Gaddis said in closing, “There is much work to be done. It will not get finished if we do not come together and get it done.” He concluded with, “Let’s not be guilty of being finished with it, before we finish with it!”

Capitol Chamber Back on Track

We are back! We have gone through major changes over the past 60 days, but thanks to the leadership of the Chamber Board of Directors we are back on track. I am excited about the next phase of the Chambers development and I think you will be too.

First, our efforts to improve the communications and operations of the chamber are now moving forward. The revised web site is now updated and will be maintained weekly to give you up to date information on important issues impacting the Northeast Oklahoma City Community. Second, we have launched our electronic newsletter, Eastside Inside which will be sent twice each month to help keep you updated on the latest and most current information about the eastside business community. While Eastside Inside is a benefit of Chamber membership, for the first two months we will be sending the electronic newsletter to everyone in our email database.

If we are going to be successful, we need your help. We need Capitol Chamber supporters to do the following:

1. If you are not a member, please join. If you are a member, please continue your membership when it is time to renew. You can go to our web site www.capitolchamber.org and join.

2. Please make an effort to attend the upcoming events we will be holding in November. The three events include the:

Minority & Women's Breakfast on November 6th
Ward 7 Candidates Forum on November 13th
Business After Hour Meet and Greet on November 15th

As you can see, there is a lot going on right now and this is only just the beginning. We have much more to come in the coming months.

Thanks for your current and past support. We are excited that we are on the right track and believe 2008 will be a great year for the Chamber and Northeast Oklahoma City.

The chamber will be unveiling more in the coming weeks of our strategy, “Working Together to Bring New Business, New Energy and New Life to Northeast Oklahoma City. We are excited and think you will be too! However, we still want to hear from you. What do you want to see, hear or say! What should the Chamber be doing that we are not doing? Tell us how to get involved. Do you want to get involved? We need you, call us! Together, we can make tremendous changes in Northeast Oklahoma City. Again, I want to thank the membership for your continued support during this time of transition.

John Hasley Chairman of the Board

Email: information@capitolchamber.org