JOIN
DONATE

Q House Dances Out Black History Month

Neha Middela | March 6th, 2023

Q House Dances Out Black History Month

Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School  |  Black History Month  |  Dance  |  Dixwell  |  Education & Youth  |  LEAP  |  Arts & Culture  |  Arts & Anti-racism  |  Dixwell Community Q House

QHouseBlackHistory1

Neha Middela Photos.

Eleven middle schoolers dressed in all black stood in two parallel lines in the Dixwell Avenue Community Q House gymnasium. As they faced an audience of children and adults, the first notes of Trey Songz' “2020 Riots: How Many Times” coasted over the space, and they snapped into motion. Audience members watched, following each movement. The performance culminated in the dancers raising their fists or holding up signs that read “Black Lives Matter,” “Peace,” and “I can’t breathe.”

The performance was one of four at the Q House’s Black History Month celebration on a recent Saturday, held to commemorate Black history in a place where it is literally evolving. The program for the day consisted of five workshops, of which participants could attend three sessions, followed by a series of musical and dance performances. 

In the morning, attendees participated in a variety of workshops such as Black History Jeopardy, a poetry workshop, a cooking workshop, a dance workshop featuring choreography from the African diaspora, and an art workshop. Drawing from the 2023 Black History Month theme, designated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, many aspects of the event centered around the theme of “Black resistance.” 

“We really wanted the event to be a time where we can come together as a community, celebrate Black culture, and just be proud,”  said Yakeita Robinson, chief of staff for LEAP New Haven. “We have a beautiful space and we wanted to be creative and intentional about how we utilized it.”

QHouseBHM2

Participants in the art workshop painted canvases outlined with the phrases “I am Black history” and “Rooted in Black history,” while watching the 2017 PBS documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The documentary chronicles the history and significance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, including how one was almost built in New Haven.

In the cooking workshop, held in the Q House’s kitchen, participants made black bean fritters and Brussel sprouts, among other dishes from cuisines of the African diaspora.

"We have a culinary class—“Making something out of nothing”—where we’re talking about Black resistance," said Nikilia Reid, deputy director of the Q House. One of the ways to do that was to find ways to survive in a place that you weren’t always welcome or didn’t always have the resources."

After the workshops ended, attendees gathered in the Q House gym for dance performances by students from Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School and a performance by musicians from New Haven’s Breed Academy, a New Haven-based training school with classes focusing on musical performance and production. The students from Betsy Ross Magnet School danced to songs including “Freedom” by Beyoncé and “Would Anyone Care” by Citizen Soldier. 

QHouseBlackHistory2

As the dancers and musicians were setting up for their performances, Reid led the audience in several rounds of Black history trivia, asking members of the audience to identify notable Black inventors. There was Louis Latimer, the inventor of carbon filaments in light bulbs, George Crum, the inventor of the potato chip, and New Haven's own Sarah Boone, the inventor of the ironing board.

She further explained the mission of the Q House, stating that the organization aims to be a place of “sanctuary and safety for our community.”

The program was a culmination of a series of Black History Month programs held at the Q House in the Dixwell neighborhood. Throughout February, the center held six movie screenings with films centering Black narratives, a conversation about Black history with Probate Judge Clifton Graves, an event with Black-owned businesses, and bingo and line dancing classes. 

According to Reid and Robinson, the process of organizing the event involved extensive brainstorming and visioning, thinking about the interests of potential attendees, and reaching out to facilitators. Robinson noted that she saw several attendees of the Q House’s regular afternoon programming at Saturday’s event, with their friends and families.

 The participation of students and local schools was also a key factor in planning this event and an important consideration for future Q House programming. Robinson noted that the walls of the Q House feature artwork from Highville Charter School, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School, Booker T. Washington Academy, and New Haven Academy and that the “goal is to eventually get more art” into the Q House. 

Tina Sapiente, LEAP New Haven Deputy Chief of Staff, concurred with Reid and Robinson, stating that the Q House hopes to expand upon its existing programming in the future, through connecting with Dixwell residents as well as residents of other New Haven neighborhoods, allowing for more “Black voices to be heard.”