Sunday, June 21st at 11:30 AM 

Black Arts & Ideas: Community Engagement presents our 5th Annual Black Dads Matter Father’s Day Brunch at 

Community Haven, 815 N Hickory Street, Chattanooga, TN 37404 in East Chattanooga. 
A special Father’s Day gathering honoring Black fathers, families, children, legacy, and community.

2:00 PM 

Special Guest Speaker: Dr. Gina Paige, Co-Founder of African Ancestry
Presented as part of Black Arts & Ideas: Community Engagement: Scratching Your Roots: Black Genealogy Society
This powerful program will explore why identity matters, why knowing our ancestral roots matters, and why reconnecting Black families to their history is essential for the future of our children. The event will also feature an Ancestry Reveal of Local 3 News’ Latrice Curry.
 

The 2:00 Event is FREE and open to the public, but you must register to reserve your seat even if you purchased and attended the brunch. This will ensure everyone has a seat. 
 

Juneteenth belongs to all of us, but it must be led, shaped, and remembered through the voices of Black people and the Black community.

This is why we gather.
This is why we remember.
This is why we celebrate.
This is why United We Stand.
Join us for United We Stand: Chattanooga’s Juneteenth Celebration. Bring your family, invite your church, share with your neighbors, and be part of this historic citywide celebration.

Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series is a year-round celebration of Black creativity, culture, history, and community power in Chattanooga. Produced by the Chattanooga Festivals of Black Arts & Ideas, the Festival Series uplifts the voices, stories, artistry, and intellectual traditions of Black people across multiple disciplines, including theatre, music, dance, film, literature, visual art, entrepreneurship, genealogy, health, wellness, and civic conversation.

More than a collection of events, Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series is a cultural movement rooted in the belief that Black people must have space to tell our own stories, honor our ancestors, celebrate our present, and shape our future. Through performances, festivals, workshops, community gatherings, youth programming, artist showcases, and public conversations, the Series creates platforms for Black artists, educators, entrepreneurs, elders, students, and community leaders to connect, create, and lead.

The Festival Series is designed to strengthen Chattanooga’s Black cultural ecosystem by supporting local artists, building intergenerational community, preserving history, and expanding access to the arts. Each festival stands on its own while also contributing to a larger vision: a unified, visible, and economically empowered Black creative community.

Festival Series Calendar

August — James Baldwin Festival of Words

A literary and spoken-word festival honoring the legacy of James Baldwin and the power of Black writers, thinkers, poets, storytellers, and truth-tellers.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Author talks and literary conversations
• Spoken word and poetry performances
• Community writing workshops
• Student writing and public speaking opportunities
• Book discussions centered on Black identity, justice, and liberation

October — Legacy Music Festival

A music-centered celebration honoring the legacy, influence, and innovation of Black music across generations.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Live concerts and music showcases
• Artist talks and music history conversations
• Youth music engagement opportunities
• Community performances featuring emerging and established artists
• Partnerships with musicians, schools, churches, and cultural organizations

December — Oscar Micheaux Black Film Festival

A Black film festival honoring the pioneering legacy of Oscar Micheaux while showcasing Black filmmakers, documentaries, short films, and community-centered cinema.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Film screenings
• Talkbacks with filmmakers, scholars, and community leaders
• Screenings connected to history, justice, identity, and cultural memory
• Youth and student film engagement
• Community conversations around the power of Black visual storytelling

February — August Wilson Playmakers Festival

A theatre festival honoring the legacy of August Wilson and celebrating Black dramatic literature, performance, and storytelling.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Stage productions and staged readings
• Student theatre performances
• Acting, playwriting, and technical theatre workshops
• Community conversations about Black life, family, history, and identity
• Development of Mizizi Black Repertory Theatre Company as a platform for Black theatre artists

April — Elizabeth Catlett Visual Arts Festival

A visual arts festival honoring Elizabeth Catlett’s legacy of art, activism, and Black representation.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Visual art exhibitions
• Artist talks and gallery conversations
• Community art-making activities
• Student visual arts opportunities
• Public art and cultural memory projects

June — Katherine Dunham Juba Dance Festival (INACTIVE)

A dance festival honoring Katherine Dunham’s legacy and the African diasporic movement traditions that continue to shape Black dance, culture, and identity.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Dance performances
• Master classes and community dance workshops
• Youth dance engagement
• Cultural dance education
• Development of the Juba Dance Ensemble as a community-based Black dance platform

June — United We Stand: Chattanooga’s Juneteenth Celebration

The culminating festival of the Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series, United We Stand brings together community partners, families, artists, organizations, and civic leaders to honor Juneteenth as a celebration of freedom, ancestry, identity, unity, and Black self-determination.

Community Engagement Activities:

• Juneteenth Parade
• Community ceremony and theatrical reenactment of the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation
• Juneteenth Freedom Run/Walk
• Film screenings, including historically and socially relevant films
• Juniorteenth youth programming
• Black Dads Matter Father’s Day Brunch
• African ancestry and genealogy programming through Scratching Your Roots Black Genealogy Society
• Community food, music, vendors, and family-centered events
• Partner events with organizations such as LAUNCH, Urban League, Unity Group, Tennessee Democracy Network, Fannie Mae Crumsey Foundation, Chattanooga Business Elite, All Star Foundation, Community Haven, and others

Year-Round Community Engagement Platforms

In addition to the seven festivals, Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series includes ongoing programs and community-building initiatives that extend the work beyond the festival calendar.

B.A.N.D. — Black Artists Network & Directory

A year-round platform designed to connect, showcase, and support Black artists in Chattanooga and the surrounding region.

Activities include:

• Searchable artist directory
• Artist networking events
• Professional development workshops
• Artist showcases
• Connections to paid opportunities, festivals, institutions, and community partners

INDABA: Black Arts Conference

A convening space for artists, educators, organizers, entrepreneurs, cultural workers, and community leaders to gather around Black creativity, Black futures, and collective responsibility.

Activities include:

• Panels and public conversations
• Workshops and professional development sessions
• Film, performance, and visual art programming
• Youth engagement through Juniorteenth
• Cross-sector conversations about arts, economics, education, history, and civic life

Scratching Your Roots Black Genealogy Society

A community-centered genealogy initiative helping Black families explore ancestry, identity, history, and heritage.

Activities include:

• Genealogy workshops
• DNA ancestry education
• Family history conversations
• Ancestry reveal events
• Intergenerational storytelling and heritage preservation

Black Wall Street Society of Chattanooga

A membership and support initiative designed to build economic power, community investment, and long-term sustainability for Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series.

Activities include:

• Membership engagement
• Donor and supporter recognition
• Special events
• Community investment opportunities
• Support for Black-led cultural infrastructure

Mizizi Black Repertory Theatre Company

A developing theatre platform rooted in Black storytelling, performance, and dramatic literature.

Activities include:

• Stage productions
• Staged readings
• Actor development
• Play development
• Community-based Black theatre programming

Juba Dance Ensemble

A developing dance platform connected to the Katherine Dunham Juba Dance Festival and rooted in African diasporic movement traditions.

Activities include:

• Dance performances
• Community classes
• Cultural movement workshops
• Youth dance opportunities
• Intergenerational dance programming

Closing Description

At its heart, Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series & Community Engagement is about celebration, education, self-determination, and legacy. It honors where we come from, speaks boldly to where we are, and imagines what is possible when Black creativity is fully seen, fully supported, and fully valued.

Through seven annual festivals and a growing network of year-round community engagement programs, Black Arts & Ideas: Festival Series is building more than events. It is building cultural infrastructure, economic opportunity, artistic visibility, and a stronger, more unified Black community in Chattanooga.