African Street Festival

The African street festival is a cultural festival in Nashville that highlights African culture, as well as African American culture. The festival provided historical information about the property the festival was hosted on, and some of the individuals that were present. It also shared African culture through music and musical demonstrations. There was also a plethora of shops and stands to buy many different types of merchandise, much of which having to do with African culture. All in all, the information and experience gained at this festival will help to answer the question of whether cultural festivals are important or not.
Before going into the festival, I was expecting to see many bright colors, and African style music being performed.
It was also mentioned that at the time that slavery was coming to an end, the rights activist and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass was invited by John Hadley to speak on the property. He was invited to speak about how to be prepared for what is to come once the freed slaves begin to live in the United States. Frederick Douglass was an important figure in the abolition of slavery, and this visit was likely one of the stops he made on his lecture tour across the United States. On this tour, Douglass passed through many parts of the Mid-Western and Eastern parts of the United States, going against the grain of society to speak out against slavery. Douglass was recognized at the festival because of the great impact that he made on the African American culture in America today. (Frederick Douglass Biography, Biography
At many stands, there were many different instruments sold. At some stands there were string and plucked instruments, as well as many types of drums. Each instrument looked custom made, with different patterns and sounds for each one. In another area of the festival, there was also an interactive drumming demonstration, where people can sit and learn beats and techniques from an instructor. It was interesting to watch, and it was enjoyable to see someone teaching another person about their culture through the music and beats. He mentioned that a drum can “speak”, as well as showed people that they can use the drum to transform their name into a beat on the drum. Drums are used often in various celebrations or rituals in Africa, such as at weddings, births, or deaths. The drums can be used to communicate, as with the Yoruba language, which is a tonal language widely spoken in Nigeria. They can even be used for praise and recognition in various ways as well (Kernan, 2000). Overall, music, and specifically drums, seemed to be an important topic for the African culture, and it was shown through parts of the