The Carlisle Black Cultural Fest celebrated the borough’s Black community, bringing Black-owned businesses, community organizations, and performers together at the Stuart Community Center.
Organized by Carlisle-based non-profit Hope Station on Feb. 24, the event’s goal was to “honor and support Black businesses and bring people together across the Carlisle community,” said Karen Wronski, a Hope Station board member.
“I’m happy with the attendance,” Wronski said. “The new location is working better.”
For Destiny McFalls ’25, engagement with the Carlisle community hits close to home. She is a Carlisle native, growing up in the borough before starting at Dickinson in 2021. McFalls, an Africana Studies major, and Associate Professor and Distinguished Chair of Africana Studies Lynn Johnson set up a table to sell Black Barbies from the collection of Johnson’s late sister.
This was McFalls’ second year at the festival and she said, “I’ve met a lot of organizations and groups that I didn’t know before.” The turnout this year was smaller than last year’s, she noted, but still “pretty decent.”
When asked about the relationship between Carlisle and the College, McFalls said that events like this “have done a really good job to try to bridge that gap.”
She praised the ADCC in particular for its efforts to engage with the Carlisle community. After rebranding under the organization’s new title – previously it was known as the Black Student Union – members have doubled down on these efforts, she said.
A number of Dickinson organizations were also present. Africana Studies majors Kiersten Kahn ’26 and Ella Layton ’26 set up an information table to highlight the department and Black organizations on Dickinson’s campus. The Trout Gallery’s Curator of Education Heather Flaherty promoted the gallery’s exhibits with post-baccalaureate fellow Hadley D’Esopo ’23 and student interns Anna Radigan ’26 and Eden Sanville ’24.
The Trout Gallery table proudly advertised the upcoming show, “The Legacy of Two Centuries of Black American Art,” which Flaherty said would be the largest exhibition of Black American art in the college’s history.
“We’re hoping to get an audience in the community, particularly from Black churches and organizations like the Bridge Builders,” said Flaherty.
The upcoming exhibit is inspired by David Driskell’s famous 1976 show, “Two Centuries of Black American Art: 1750-1950,” which Flaherty said sent the message “that you couldn’t tell the story of American art without African-American art.” It will be a collaboration between the gallery and former Dickinson professor of American Studies Jerry Philogene, now associate professor of Black Studies at Middlebury College.
The show will be inaugurated with events June 19-21.
The array of Black businesses at the festival was extensive, including everything from books to baked goods. One vendor, Chris Nelson, runs a small-batch popcorn company called Gourmet Popcorn of Carlisle.
He said that after the event was absent for several years during the COVID-19 pandemic, “it’s a good showing.”
Author and poet Maria James-Thiaw set up a “book-tasting” offering passers-by the chance to read from a selection of local writers, including herself while sipping on sparkling cider, while also showing a sampling from her father’s store, African Paradise, which sells clothing, drums, jewelry and other items at the Lebanon Farmers Market in Lebanon, Pa.
James-Thiaw said of her experience at the event, “People have been super open-minded, very supportive. They’re giving a lot of feedback.”
Roe Braddy, another local author, stood nearby, distributing copies of the Harrisburg-based newspaper Black Wall Street PA, which highlights Black economic growth and power in Central Pennsylvania.
Braddy has been the editor of the publication for the last two and a half years. She said the experience has been valuable as a way to “give back to [my] community.” The Black Cultural Fest, she said, “has been a good experience.”
Several Carlisle High School students were on hand for the festivities representing the school’s Black Student Union (BSU). As sophomore Aicha Frazier explained, they were selling cookie dough to fund a trip to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
“We want to give Black students an opportunity to see their culture,” she said. Frazier noted that she “definitely” wanted to go see the Trout Gallery’s new exhibit when it opened.
Carlisle High U.S. history teacher Dana Neely, co-advisor of the BSU, reflected on attending the event with the students. “The event itself is the best way to network with people, to get advice from their community,” he said.
Dickinson students Syrhiah Jackson ’25 and Daniel Ablorh ’26 took away positive experiences from the Black Culture Fest. Jackson said, “I like it, it’s so cute. It brings out students to interact with the community.” Ablorh said, “It helps with networking and connection between the community and students.”
Maia Washington ’25 agreed. “I love it,” she said. “Everyone’s been really nice.” She added, “There’s a good variety of social stuff, books, and education, local businesses, and building community resilience.”
For website:
You can find Gourmet Popcorn of Carlisle online and at Farmers on the Square, Wednesdays 2-5PM.
Maria James-Tchiaw’s work is available anywhere you buy books, but she recommends your local bookstore or Whistlestop Bookshop in Carlisle. You can find her father’s store at the Lebanon Farmer’s Market.
Black Wall Street PA is available online or in print distributed in Harrisburg. Roe Braddy’s work is available anywhere you buy books.
