African American Heritage Festival
As the African American Heritage Festival Foundation embarked
on the journey of producing an event that captured the rich history of
African Americans, the checklist of what was required was enormous.
That daunting list included support from the state, city and corporate
community; volunteers, vendors and a planning committee. More
daunting was the fact that the festival formerly known as AFRAM
had lost its luster—with attendance hitting an all time low of 10,000
in 2000.
The first note of thanks goes to our chairman, Kweisi Mfume, who
took on the challenge of building an event that would ultimately capture
the history and pride of African Americans. The second note of thanks
goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley, Mayor Sheila Dixon, City Council
President Stephanie Rawlings Blake, and Secretary Jeanne Hitchcock,
Fertile Ground
who have all unconditionally supported the
vision and mission of the festival. The third
note of thanks goes to the corporate com-
munity who have stepped up and insured the
life and vibrancy of the festival with their
continued support. That sponsor list includes
1988
Baltimore City, the State of Maryland,
Hennessy, Moet & Chandon, Chevrolet,
Moved In.
Citigroup, Soft Sheen Products, Budweiser,
BACVA, 1st Mariner Arena, BOPA, M&T
Bank, Sensodyne, Dew Sports, MTA, Radio
One, WEAA, Comcast, BET, the Baltimore
1990
AFRO, and the Baltimore Times. The fourth
note of thanks goes to the more than 100
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retail and food vendors that capture the
African-American experience. A special fifth
note of thanks goes to the planning commit-
1994
tee who have volunteered many hours and put
forth a tremendous effort to produce the larg-
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est ethnic festival on the east coast: Barbara
Blount Armstrong, Shelia Goodwin, LaNae
Keene, Jaki Raphael, Sgt. Milton Corbett,
1998
Erica Dickerson, Dave Geller, Raquel Whiting,
Darlene McCain, Mary Wright, Odessa Irvin,
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Chantel Clea, Alexis Brown, Chuck Harrison,
Pamela Williams, and Richard Burton. The
sixth note of thanks goes to the more than
500,000 attendees who have made the African
2007
American Heritage Festival their destination
to celebrate the history, culture, art, and music
Doctor confirms Anthony suffers from lead poisoning. of African Americans. This is truly a family
event—attendees range from the ages infant
to 80 all together in peace and fellowship. My
final note of thanks goes to my talented and
dedicated staff at Visionary Marketing Group,
who accepted the challenge of producing the
festival with pride, integrity and vision. It is
critical that the festival provides attendees
with tangible programming around health and
wellness, financial literacy, technology, jobs
and careers and community involvement.
SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
The effort required to put on this tre-
mendous festival takes an entire village who
believes in its mission and vision. As chair and
producer, I am forever grateful for the support,
and I personally commit that the festival will
continue to provide unprecedented program-
ming, vendors, and entertainment that proudly
represent the African American community.
See you July 6-8 at Camden Yards!
Warm Regards,
LaRian Finney, chair and producer
30 Trends A publication of the Afro-American Newspapers
TTrends Summer 2007.indd 30rends Summer 2007.indd 30 55/29/07 12:25:57 PM/29/07 12:25:57 PM
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