Nastassja Swift: Parade Project

How do we bring joy to our spaces? “blue/Black/baby smiles, singin’ to an old river- we hear you coming.” unfolds as a youth led parade and performance that answers that question. A celebration of self, our woven communities, and the presence of joy and paradise within us. The use of masks, indigo, movement, and poetry, speak to spirituality, water, migration, and the Blues - remnants of our Blackness. These things go together.

The collaborative parade navigates spaces of Black life, both past and present, while confronting the removal of life and space. A statement of triumph and power. We parade for each other. We must.

Parade Details

When: Saturday, August 28, 2021, 6:00PM

Where: Meet at Saint John Episcopal Church (2600, Church Ave W 26th St, Cleveland, OH 44113)

The parade route is set to begin at Saint Johns Epispocal Church, also known as “Station Hope”, one of the final stops on the Underground Railroad. And end at Whiskey Island, the site where enslaved Africans set sail to Canada in search of their freedom. With an interest in navigating spaces of Black life, both past and present, the parade will also move through and involve youth living in Lakeview Terrace, one of the oldest Public Housing Projects in the United States.