Macajah Brown, organizer of the event
Through the decades of constructions and demolitions, new generations and stories, Harrisburg native Macajah Brown said the city’s black history has been lost in the mix.
With the hope of reviving that pulse in the community, Brown created the African American Black History Expo. For the second year in a row, the Expo, which takes place tomorrow, will showcase the history of Harrisburg, Middletown and Steelton through church representatives.
“We wanted the church to come and share their history, come and present their history,” Brown said. “I felt the communication of people behind the booth, sharing their history with someone would be pretty awesome.”
Members from select churches will give a presentation on their history dating back as far as the 1800s.
From his connections in and outside the region, Brown enlisted artists, musicians, dance groups and poets to perform between speakers.
Demonstrations in wrestling, boxing and karate will be available for younger guests, Brown’s target audience.
“The main history goes to our young people,” Brown said. “We need to educate our young people about our history.”
Vendors will set up shop selling jewelry and clothing, as well as others selling dinners and desserts. Brown is also in the works of adding domestic violence and other health services to the expo.
“There are [health services] that I think we should always stay on top of,” he said. “[We need to] educate people about the sources around us so they can know how to get help.”
The event was inspired by the African Festival at Reservoir Park, which ended more than a decade ago. Brown said he saw a different attitude among the black community after the end of the festival.
“[The African Festival] brought a closer relationship among our race. I think everything got lost after they stopped, in the sense of being proud of who you are,” he said. “The biggest thing about doing [the expo] is bring that pride back and understanding and emphasizing the education of history.”
After pulling in people all across Harrisburg, from Hall Manor to Uptown and Allison Hill, Brown estimated the number of guests will reach 3,000. People who bring in an event flyer will be entered in a raffle to win one of the 80 prizes, including restaurant coupons and Susquehanna Art Museum tickets.
“We want everybody to be there to build a better bridge among races,” Brown said. “Understanding each other’s culture and having everyone attend. It’s a learning experience. Learning someone’s culture and understanding them a lot more than we hear and actually get the real facts.”
The African American Black History Expo will take place Saturday, June 16, noon to 6 p.m., in the HACC Midtown parking lot located near the corner of Reily and N. 3rd streets, Harrisburg.
