By Journalist Dr. Ms. Jones
NEWBURGH – On Saturday, February 1st the newly formed Community Unity Project (C.U.P.) celebrated Black History Month with a Pan-African Flag Raising Ceremony. The flag was raised on the City Flagpole on Broadway and Colden Street. The flag was first adopted by the Universal Negro Improvement Association which was founded by Marcus Garvey. It represents the people of the African Diaspora.
“That’s the Black L iberation Flag… The red was for the blood, the black was for the people, and the green was for the land that we fought for… In the 60s that became a symbol of liberation for Black people around the world. They called it the Pan African Liberation Flag… The first of every February, I raise it officially for Black History [Month],” said City Councilman Omari Shakur who organized C.U.P. “We changed it from Black History to Black Our Story. I want us to talk about it. We don’t want people to tell our story. We tell our own story… They’re taking our History out of our schools and everything. So [doesn’t] matter. We’ve got to tell Our Story.”

After the Pan-African Flag Raising Ceremony, which featured remarks from Councilman Shakur, Mayor Torrance Harvey, and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, there was a processional to the Bank Art Gallery where the Black Our Story Community Event was held.
The program consisted of speeches, poetry, and awards presentations to community members Malcolm Burks and Ayo Ruth Wells. The community learned the origin of soul food before partaking in a delicious soul food meal. Ujima Children’s Literacy Program displayed their books. Cornerstone took blood pressure readings. Artist Michael Roopchandsingh showcased his work which went from street painting to gallery exhibitions, inspired by his struggle as a single father in Pennsylvania.
“I started looking to men… I started listening to interviews and speeches, and that’s how I really started to connect my story… [with people] like Malcolm X and what these gentlemen did… I portray these gentlemen because I like what they stood for. A lot more people need to understand what they did…Just a legacy that they leave behind,” said Roopchandsingh who displayed his paintings of Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and Basquiat whose legacies he seeks to honor in his work.

Thomas Dodd also shared his interactive artwork. Dodd created a piece call the “Hope Wall” where people could write their aspirations, words about, and advice for Newburgh. He also created the “Dream Vessel” for Black History Month to inspire community dreams and hopes. Participants were encouraged to write a dream for Newburgh, their personal dreams, or ambitions for their family or community and drop it into The Dream Vessel to be archived for future generations to read, like a time capsule. He shared his inspiration.
“When [Omari Shakur] was talking about filling our cups and how having the community sort of fills each other’s cups… This is the C.U.P. Project,” said Dodd who also had the upstairs bathroom blocked off for another project. “We’re recording little documentaries of people talking about Newburgh and their hopes for Newburgh.”
Dodd is also involved in redeveloping the Liberty Street School into a film and television center, which he and his wife own. He is also on the board of the NAACP and works with Kyle Conway, the new NAACP President. Conway gave a message to the youth.
“What if I told you that people are relying on you? What if I told you that somebody you haven’t met is depending on you? That would include your ancestors and your descendants. Your ancestors are needing you to be the Guardians of Progress. You are the new GOP… It’s up to you to make sure people respect our history. You are charged with a serious job,” said Conway who teaches 5th grade at Horizons on the Hudson.

The event included a community sing-along of “Lean on Me” led by Newburgh’s Songbird Lillie Howard. It was emceed by Newburgh Enlarged City School District Board Member Philip Howard.
“Black history is a part of American history. I’m going to stop saying Black History Month. We have a celebration of Black History and we need to do it 365 days out of the year. We need to understand and recognize that as human beings and we need to claim our history is a history of greatness and our young people need to understand that and they need to understand and learn that from us as adults,” said Howard who was excited to see such a broad representation at the event. “We have politicians. We have school district members. We have city employees. We have clergy. We have young people. We have old people. This is what the celebration of Black History Month should truly be about. I’m born and raised in this community and I haven’t seen a representation like this in a long, long time and I’m praying and hopeful that next year will be even bigger and better.”
Mayor Torrance Harvey repped the political community, the educators as a teacher at NFA, and the entertainment community. He started his speech out with some spoken word referencing the significance of Lucy, the oldest human fossil, and the contributions of archeological digs in Africa and concluded his speech with a quote from Newburgh’s own Saul Wiliams.
“Our African culture stems from a bloody untold human history that too captures the hidden colors of forever, colors of colorful rainbows. Thirteen moons divide themselves in cycles of twenty-three. Holy Father, Holy prayer, we sing praises for the Holy Trinity. So, study up Black boys and learn the journey of human history of Ghana… and kingdoms of Mali, we wrap this knowledge around our Black consciousness and dig the Black skin that we’re in,” said Mayor Harvey.
Sonya Grant shared “Newburgh’s Greats: Past, Present, and Future.” She shared how James Varick founded the AME Zion Church in 1821, how Frederick Douglass gave a speech at the old Opera House on Grand Street and marched on Washington Street, and how the Alsdorf Family were the first Black people to graduate from NFA. She also named other Newburgh firsts to keep Newburgh’s African-American leaders’ legacies alive.
Journalist Ms. Jones