By Michelle RichardsonSpecial to the AFRO
The AFRAM Competition returned to Baltimore June 21- 22, with a few of the largest stars within the music enterprise gracing the principle stage. The annual competition, which celebrates African-American tradition, supplied attendees a few of the metropolis’s finest delicacies whereas showcasing Black excellence by way of artwork, vogue and tradition.
AFRAM started in 1976 as a part of Baltimore’s Showcase of Nations and now serves as the town’s official Juneteenth celebration. The free competition was held in Druid Hill Park, with over 150,000 individuals attending day one of many competition. Competition attendees unfold blankets on the garden, and pitched tents to beat the warmth whereas they waited for worldwide artists like Amerie, Patti LaBelle, Juvenile and Teedra Moses to hit the principle stage.
“We all know what AFRAM is: it’s a celebration of the whole lot that’s Black excellence,” mentioned Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “It’s one of many largest festivals on the East Coast devoted to Black historical past and tradition.”
Scott mentioned “due to the state of the world” the competition returned “loud and even Blacker this yr to remind all people that–irrespective of how laborious they attempt to erase us from the historical past books–they will’t erase us.”
