A variety of Black businesses, nonprofits, artists, entrepreneurs, designers and performers will gather Oct. 7 for the Black History, Art & Beauty Expo at THEARC’s Black Box in southeast D.C.
The event, themed “Celebrating Black History All Year Round,” aims to educate youth about Black history and culture, as well as provide a networking opportunity for businesses and individuals to engage with and invest in the community to help improve the Black economy.
“The youth are the future and a people with no knowledge of their history and culture cannot thrive,” said expo co-founder Rick Washington.
Washington and partner Royal Height, who launched the first Black History Month of 2017 at The Arc, said the expo’s theme addresses why Blacks should fully embrace and appreciate their culture and establish strong relations in the community.
“Originally, I wanted to do the project in December as a gift drive to give back to those less fortunate during the holiday season, but we missed the window, and then I thought about February, Black History Month,” Washington said.
However, after the first event, Washington and Height revamped the idea and decided that the expo should be celebrating black culture year-round. They decided to have their second event June 2017 at The Arc, and the third expo was held at The Arc in July.
“As long as I am Black, every day a new page of Black history is written,” said Height, who is also a member of the 1948 band The Legendary Orioles. “The plan is to have an expo every six to eight months to get the build-up and networking circulating and operating.”
