by Daniel Johnson
November 11, 2023
The Honeyland Pageant, a sprawling two day affair held from Nov 11-12 in Sugar Land, TX opened up on Nov 9 with an acknowledgement of the Sugar Land 95.
The Honeyland Pageant, a sprawling two-day affair held from Nov. 11-12 in Sugar Land, TX, held a particular acknowledgment of the Sugar Land 95 on Nov. 9.
The Sugar Land 95 refers to a mass grave containing the stays of 95 African People–94 males and 1 lady–present in 2018 on the location of a development challenge in Sugar Land. In keeping with the Houston Chronicle, it was essential to each the pageant organizers and Fort Bend county leaders that the historical past of town be precisely advised.
Precinct 4 Fort Bend County Commissioner Dexter McCoy advised the Chronicle, “The entire goal of this pageant is to have fun Black tradition. We will’t do this on this area with out additionally honoring the Sugar Land 95. It was crucial to ask them into the area as a result of they’re very a lot part of who we’re in Fort Bend County.”
McCoy continued, “Our ancestors have been slaves who got here right here. And we additionally know on this group, the primary Black sheriff of the nation got here from right here. The primary Black state consultant within the state of Texas got here from right here in Fort Bend County. Allow us to always remember the place we got here from.”
Sugar Land has been deeply concerned in discussions about tips on how to correctly honor the people who died because of the State of Texas’ follow of convict leasing. Convict leasing was basically slavery by one other identify, based on a 2021 article within the Nationwide Institute of Well being. Convicted criminals, who have been usually Black and targets of racist legal guidelines known as Black Codes, have been turned over or “leased out” to personal people to carry out no matter labor they desired.
Organizers of the pageant count on it to attract 1000’s, and its expansive lineup consists of Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, Chloe Bailey, and Miguel, amongst others. Central to the pageant’s attraction is its concentrate on Black tradition. Along with the music, the pageant additionally celebrates Black artwork, meals, and spirits. The Honeyland Fund, which was created to endow funds to Black creatives, has invested $1 million as a part of the pageant.
Fawn Weaver, Honeyland’s beverage curator, spoke to the Chronicle about how Black innovators within the mixology scene haven’t obtained their simply due.
Weaver stated, “Honeyland places the concentrate on our whiskey or bourbon — issues that we started — our cocktails. It’s by no means actually been celebrated because it ought to. A lot of what we drink on this nation by way of cocktails started with African-American bartenders.”
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Staci Hallmon, vice chairman of Arts and Leisure for IMG Occasions in addition to an organizer of the pageant, advised Texas Commonplace about her motivation for selecting the Houston suburb to host the pageant.
“Houston was so intentional for us in creating a vacation spot for a Honeyland,” Hallmon stated. “One, it’s one of many prime 5 culinary locations within the nation. There are a big variety of black-owned eating places and black-owned meals experiences there throughout the board. And we’re working with so lots of them.”
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Hallmon capped her remarks by complimenting the range discovered within the Houston space, saying, “So, we’re celebrating all of that as part of this expertise and actually bringing it to the middle and making it an essential a part of the narrative of how culturally wealthy and numerous this space is and why it’s the right vacation spot for us to mount our inaugural Honeyland expertise.”
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