The first ASNEAA CLP x America 250th Anniversary event kicked off at none other than Fort Greene Park (FGP) in Brooklyn! As a neighborhood resident, the park is one of my favorite places to commemorate American Revolution history (honorable mention: Prospect Park). FGP is special because of the larger than life Prison Ship Martyrs monument (and crypt) onsite. CLP programming was birthed there – with the call to honor the ancestors (and humanity). As CLP programming scaled, there were many learning curves that led to the second CLP offering at FGP for Abolition / Emancipation Day in 2024.
There were multiple goals for the CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ FGP that pushed me personally and professionally. The first was to circle back with Fort Greene Park Conservancy to share CLP program adaption and offer partnership. The second was to submit a NYC Parks special events permit – as state sanctioned paperwork seems to be back in style (and any commitments to or standing on DEI is again passé). Anything dealing with government structures is going to come with a story to tell. In typical human fashion, I applied for a permit 20 days out (requirement: 21 – 30 days prior to the event) with no guarantees. Of course, the day that I submitted the permit for is forceasted to rain a week out. I have now officially become a meteorologist trying to plan CLP pop-up activations.
Without getting into the Canadian wildfires that left NYC feeling like a twilight zone, I decided to move the date up one day for CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ FGP. This is why the flyer has two dates and really we’re all moving on Mother Nature’s time (because climate change is real!) So now on the day of the event, I’m coordinating with NYC Parks staff onsite and figuring out the location in real time (as I was originally planning to coordinate set-up with the weekend farmer’s market). Finally around half past three – with the adjusted date flyers up around the park- I settled on a spot under a tree (sycamore; as a CLP participant shared) by the Prison Ship Martyrs monument (across from the Visitor’s Center):
With the new “multi-dimensional” praxis (online + in-person), ASNEAA invited CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ FGP participants to share their BIPOC heritage and explore the geotags on the website (s/o for the geotag addition in MV). We also discussed the American Revolution history at the park that most folks are unaware of; especially my favorite spot highlighting the African American heroes during the fight for independence + democracy:
Again this CLP pop-up activation didn’t get to the traditional arts as advocacy creative expression project due to all the uncertainty and event shuffling around. The art of this special CLP activation was in the capacity to adapt and honor ALL the ancestors in real time; while celebrating the nation (even during trying times). Because all that drama to execute the first CLP x America 250th Anniversay event is a small fry compared the Prison Ship Martyrs’ fight for social justice.
Depending on the success of Friday’s CLP activation, I planned to come out again on Saturday morning before the rain. When I woke up, the rain was forecasted to start an hour earlier than it stated the night before. I debated trying my luck with Mother Nature, but I was also doing double duty with compost drop-off! There was a light drizzle, so I set-up shop closer to the Visitor’s Center (in case I had to make a run for shelter). s/o the the CLP x America 250th Anniversary participants that chopped it up in the elements:
It eventually did downpour and I decided to call it a wrap! I think Nathaniel Greene was even proud of the event execution given all the strategy implementation. I may just be too much of an American Revolution enthusiast. here’s to being American and proud (not just for the boys or White people) because as we discussed at CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ FGP the issue arises when conflated with white and supreme. At ASNEAA, the baseline is human aka “WE THE PEOPLE” of ALL AGES and BACKGROUNDS.
Thank you to the CLP x America 250th Anniversary host, participants, and donors:
