THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409140115
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
The meaning of Umoja sometimes seems to escape those working on the annual festival to celebrate African-American culture and unity of people.
Sunday's letter to the Currents from Tracy Brown, owner of The Art Atrium on High Street, raised some questions we need to answer.
Brown said he had submitted a proposal months ago to the Umoja committee, requesting to be part of the festival.
``Then I never heard from them,'' Brown said.
Portsmouth's Leisure Services Director Lydia P. Patton said she never heard of any proposal.
``I'm chairman of the Umoja committee and I never received a proposal or talked to Mr. Brown,'' Patton said Monday. But, she added, she had heard from a member of her staff that a letter had been received from Brown.
``Apparently, they lost the paperwork,'' Brown said. ``I was told by someone on the committee that he received my letter.''
Brown said he also was told that the committee had voted down his request to be included in festival events.
``The committee didn't accept or deny anything,'' Patton said.
Whatever the difference, Brown and Patton have come to a last-minute compromise. A flier about the West African exhibit at the Art Atrium will be distributed at the festival.
But, whatever the compromise, the larger issue still must be addressed.
As Brown pointed out, the Art Atrium is one of the larger black history centers on the East Coast. It seems like a natural place to be involved in the Umoja Festival activities. In fact, Brown seems like an obvious choice for the festival committee. He's never been asked, he said.
An exhibit of African artifacts, especially if it opened on the weekend of the festival, would enable the festival to expand down High Street. Presumably, one of the main reasons the city spends thousands of dollars on any festival is to bring people to the city and especially to downtown. By including an art exhibit in the 600 block of High Street, the festival would encourage visitors to the city to explore and spend money with merchants in the entire Olde Towne business district.
More important, however, is the need to involve the total community in any event that is staged here, especially those directly under the aegis of the city.
Since Tracy Brown and his colleagues at the Art Atrium spend 365 days a year dealing with African artifacts and black artists, who more than they should be involved with a festival that concentrates on their specialty?
``I frankly don't see why they overlooked us,'' Brown said. ``We have a mailing list of more than 1,000 people in the region and who would be more interested in Umoja? I would think they would benefit from using us.''
Brown said he doesn't see how the committee failed to include the Art Atrium in its plans as time went on.
``They've been bringing fliers in here for a month and a half asking us to promote the festival,'' he said. ``I just don't see how they could forget.''
The incident is a near perfect example of why bureaucracy frequently fails.
City employees seldom are charged with the responsibility of getting people involved. In fact, in most cases, they seem to prefer to leave the public out.
Unfortunately, without ideas coming from outside the limited horizons of City Hall, it's easy to settle into dreary routine. The routine soon becomes boring to the public and events begin to deteriorate.
This year, we can thank Voncile Gilbreath of the Convention and Tourist Bureau for the addition of a trolley tour to highlight the city's African-American history. That is a nice expansion and an event in keeping with the long-term goals building on Portsmouth's interesting historical heritage.
Gilbreath, who wants to include more black history in the city's regular activities such as the Olde Towne trolley tour, did her own follow-up and got the tour going in time for the Umoja Festival.
It's this sort of constant expansion that will increase local support and interest in the festival. Brown and the Art Atrium also can help the festival expand beyond the usual events.
The city needs to use every citizen it can find with ideas and expertise in specific areas. By involving people, the city makes activities and events more important. MEMO: The Umoja Festival begins at noon Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For
information, call 393-8432.
by CNB