Vallejo takes to downtown for Black History Month block party

VALLEJO - Vallejoans celebrated the 100th anniversary of Black History Month with a block party Saturday on Georgia Street. 

The event featured many Black artists and vendors, with jazz, soul, gospel and hip-hop performances, including from former Vallejo Poet Laureate Jacalyn Eyvonne. 

Community leaders including Solano County Supervisor Cassandra James, Vallejo City Councilmember Tonia Lediju and NAACP Vallejo President Patricia Hunter attended the party, which also featured a youth and kid zone and live painting and displays from local artists.

The event was coordinated at the same time as the regular Vallejo Farmers’ Market in the downtown area, according to Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Manager Benjamin Worsham. He said the events were kept separate, but the market helped spread the word about the block party.

“It’s a good weather day, and I’d guess we’d see about 2,000 folks today, compared to normally about 1,500,” Worsham said.

Music performances began around noon downtown, with a libations ceremony from Terence Elliott, a professor of Black history studies. Elliott told the crowd that Black History Month began as Negro History Week, started in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, “the second Black man to get a PhD from Harvard.” 

Elliott began libations by pouring out water into a plant for his parents, and accepted honors from the crowd shouting out the names of many historic Black figures including W. E. B. Du Bois, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Booker T. Washington.

“We give libations for all the people who aren’t here anymore,” Elliott told the crowd. He and a children’s ensemble Children of the Drum then performed African chants and songs, following a grounding ceremony led by Fatima Hainef.

Food vendors such as Ricky’s Chicken and Fish, known for their fried chicken and fresh lemonade, said business had been good that morning. Employee Jackie McCrary said she expected things to pick up later that afternoon.

Meyers BBQ employee Tata Gordon said she enjoys working and cooking dishes at these events because “You meet and get to know a lot of people. We’re trying to converse with people and build relationships with them.” The business has been local to Vallejo and Concord cooking BBQ and teriyaki dishes for 30 years this summer, according to the owner’s daughter, Yasmin Sy.

Resident Leoncio White said it was his first time celebrating Black History Month in Vallejo, although he’s lived in the city seven years.

“It’s good for Vallejo to have these community activities,” White said. “It does make it special, because I’m looking at the different colors and races of people out here, all out to celebrate today.”

Resident Jerrold Hatchett said he agreed that the event is important to spotlight Black history, including the history for past generations in the local area. He said he remembered living in project housing in the 1970s amid housing segregation in the Bay Area. 

“I think it’s good, because it brings awareness, like of people getting pushed out,” Hatchett said.

However, another resident Robert Graham said he didn’t think the community event was enough to address what Vallejo residents need.

“I think there should be more Black vendors, people that we know,” Graham said. “In some areas it’s definitely not recognized, and a lot of people don’t really know what Black History Month is about. I grew up here in Vallejo, and especially the younger generation among Black people, they got to learn to stop the violence and learn to get along with one another.”

Resident Gerard Robinson agreed, saying that he wishes there were more opportunities for adolescents and young adults to celebrate throughout the year.

“I think in Vallejo, there could be more for younger Black generations,” Robinson said. “Now today, it’s like nobody cares. I think this should be every day because people come together. It shouldn’t just be like this downtown, it should be like this everywhere.”

The Vallejo Museum also on Saturday evening hosted The Real Truth About the Black Cowboy, with featured speaker Albert R. Harris sharing historical insight about the Black cowboy legacy and its impact on American history. The museum included Julie Brand Latin Jazz and other musicians and poets to celebrate  Black creativity, artistry, and heritage. 

The Vallejo NAACP earlier this month honored six people who have made extraordinary and lasting contributions to the city through their work as teachers, council members, and veteran advocates, at an event held at the museum.