One of Miami’s biggest issues is the lack of unity among members of the African Diaspora, said Chris Norwood, co-founder of Hampton Art Lovers gallery inside the Historic Ward Rooming House who hosted an AFROPUNK-themed exhibit in 2020. “I can’t think of a single space where African Americans, Jamaicans, Afro-Venezuelans, Afro-Cubans, Afro-Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians get together.”
Attracting all members of the African Diaspora played a key role in choosing performers. Unlike most AFROPUNK lineups, the Miami iteration skews more towards the sounds of the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa. Haiti is represented (Michaël Brun) as is Jamaica (Skillibeng, Walshy Fire and Mavado), the Dominican Republic (Yendry), Colombia (ChocQuib Town) and Nigeria (Rema and Pretty Boy D-O).
“Showcasing us in the light of musicality, uniqueness, unapologetically yourself, individualism — all that stuff is rooted in the AFROPUNK brand and that’s not something — at least from the outside looking in — you get as a fan of Black music in a market like Miami,” said Henny Yegezu, a talent buyer for AFROPUNK who helps create the brand’s music strategy.
Two festival attendees pose for the camera at AFROPUNK Brooklyn. Sango Amoda AFROPUNK
Partnering with locals
Overtown was a perfect fit for a festival like AFROPUNK. Known as the “Harlem of the South” during its heyday in the mid-20th century, Overtown was the epicenter of Black Miami when Jim Crow ruled the land. The neighborhood had everything: Black doctors, Black shoe cobblers, Black clubs, Black hotels — that is, until Interstate 95 was built right through the heart of the community. Overtown’s population of 40,000 at its height was reduced to less than 10,000, according to the book “
Black Miami in the Twentieth Century,” by Marvin Dunn. Since then, Overtown has undergone
a face-lift of sorts, with developers now seeing the potential in the community located just blocks away from FTX Arena.
“We know it’s being gentrified at the moment, and people are coming in and bringing in businesses but a lot of them are Black businesses so it feels like it has the potential for it to be the old Overtown,” said LaCinna Robinson, AFROPUNK account director.
Despite gentrification already running rampant in Overtown, Black strongholds — both new and hold — do exist. There’s The Urban, a Black-owned event space where the festival will be held. There’s
Red Rooster, a Black-owned restaurant that will host panels on topics ranging from art to the Black experience to tech. And then there’s the Historic Ward Rooming House, which will be displaying an exhibit entitled “The Legacy of Afropunk: the People” that showcases the festival’s diverse crowds.
“If we don’t partner with those locals, it’s just going to feel inauthentic which is really not what we want at all,” added Williams.
That’s also where Agnew comes in. Although based in nearby Liberty City, Roots Collective partnered with AFROPUNK to host a trash cleanup in Overtown. Showcasing Miami’s “real people, real communities that need help” is a job Agnew doesn’t take lightly, he says.
“A lot of individuals look at Miami as a paradise city without really identifying that there’s actual real problems in our backyards,” said Agnew. “This creates an opportunity to say to [AFROPUNK], ‘Yes, we want you all here. We love that you all are considering coming to Miami long term but also there are long-term issues that we have to address.’ ”
As visitors and locals come together to celebrate AFROPUNK, there’s hope that Black Miami can grow a little closer in the process.
“That’s really what AFROPUNK does as an event: bring people together,” Norwood said.
PLANET AFROFUNK
When: May 20-22
Where: The Urban (1000 NW Second Ave., Miami, FL 33136)
Tickets: Buy Tickets to Planet AFROPUNK Live: Miami in Miami on May 20, 2022 - May 22,2022
C. Isaiah Smalls II
