This year, from Aug. 29-30, more than 20,000 people gathered in Durham Central Park to celebrate Black joy and learn about the issues impacting Black people in history and today.

This was the 11th celebration of Black August in the Park, started in 2015 by Derek Beasley, Joshua Gunn, Janelle Henry, Moses Ochola, and Crystal Taylor to provide Black people with safety, community, and a respite from the world.

Joshua Gunn, one of the founders, said, “It felt like a space that Black people desperately needed to heal and come together collectively and love on each other.”

It has grown since 2015, when it saw 3,000-4,000 attendees, and now attracts people from across the nation. 

To reflect its growing scale, the event was ticketed this year to ensure its continued existence. Ticket costs varied, with options to pay it forward or get a free ticket in order to keep the event accessible for all. 

Black August in the Park is connected to, but distinct from, the broader tradition of Black August, described by Gunn as “a tradition that was started by liberation and freedom fighters after the death of George Lester Jackson and prison in the Bay Area of California.”

“It resulted in a commemoration of freedom fighters worldwide, in which Black folks across the diaspora fast during the month of August, train during the month of August, and engage in social justice movements,” Gunn said. 

Unlike the monthlong practice of Black August, Black August in the Park occurs in Durham Central Park in only the last few days of the month, though the community hosts events and activities in the week leading up to it.

Omisade Burney-Scott, an early supporter of Black August in the Park and social justice activist with Sister Song, Spirit House and Black Girl’s Guide to Surviving Menopause, said, “It’s not just about that day or that weekend. There’s programming leading up to that, and there’s education around Black August leading up to that as well.”

Burney-Scott said that this year, prior to the event, the Revolutionary Baddies podcast and Grits and Eggs podcast partnered with Black August in the Park. The Hayti Heritage Center hosted a screening of BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions, a film that reflects on Black history and imagines a Black future, as well as a moderated discussion afterwards with the film’s writer and director, Khalil Brown. 

“Sometimes, it’s things like just a mixer or social event at Grandma’s House, which is a space on Paris Street. Other times, it’s that podcast format,” said Gunn. “Could be politics, could be relationships, could be just sort of any topic that’s relevant to Black folks in America.”

He said that some events are family friendly, and other evening events are adult-oriented with cocktails, music, and dancing.

During Black August in the Park itself, Gunn emceed, playing Black music from across the diaspora, including reggae, reggaeton, soca, blues, jazz, hip hop, and more. 

This year’s Black August in the Park event featured a display by InheritaNCe, which detailed Black history in America through a variety of lenses, such as labor, prison abolition, and education. The display was styled after a vintage living room, said Burney-Scott, with couches and carpeting, “like if you were going to your favorite auntie’s house or your grandmother’s house.” 

In previous years, Sister Song has tabled at the event, presenting information on shackling practices in North Carolina, or the restraining of incarcerated pregnant women during medical procedures. In part because of the understanding and awareness developed at this event, Sister Song was able to make administrative, and eventually legislative, change within the state.

Burney-Scott said, “Our work is focused primarily on what is the current narrative? What is the culture? How do we disrupt that? And also, how do we elevate other narratives that have been marginalized?” 

Along with organizations focused on community-building and narrative-sharing, The NC Black Alliance also tabled at the event, raising awareness about ongoing policy issues and encouraging attendees to vote. 

“I think it’s relevant that each generation is invited to own their liberation,” said Burney-Scott. 

All in all, Black August in the Park is an opportunity for Black people of different experiences and generations to come together, relax, and learn. 

“I feel good. I feel warm. I feel happy,” said Burney-Scott. “I just think that they, based on their study, based on their aesthetic, based on their love of the Bull City, have made something that will have a lasting legacy for many, many, many generations to come.” 

Gunn said, “It’s just really an honor to be a part of it.”