Flourish Alabama Hosting Black Business Market, Film Fest, Green Book Project

 

Birmingham, Ala. – The Flourish Alabama, a nonprofit organization dedicated to planting seeds that allow young people’s talents to bloom, is hosting a free Black Business Market in Birmingham this Sunday, May 22. The Flourish Alabama was founded by Birmingham Public Library’s Bards & Brews poets Jahman Hill (co-host) and Eric Marable. 

 It kicks off a week of free activities, including the first Flourish Fest Film Showcase May 26 at the Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema, 1821 2nd Avenue North downtown, and the Green Book Project at the Birmingham Museum of Art May 22 through May 27, a collaboration between Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative, Bush Hills STEAM Academy and Jefferson County Memorial Project.

Earlier this year, BPL hosted Flourish Alabama’s Word Up Festival poetry slam featuring young poets from all 7 Birmingham public high schools.

 Jahman Hill, a poet, playwright and adjunct professor in the University of Alabama’s Department of Gender and Race Studies, said these events are Flourish Alabama’s way of giving back to the next generation of Black leaders.

 “The Flourish is so excited to partner with so many community organizations like Sidewalk, JCMP, and Arts Collab to showcase these students,” Hill said. “We want to show students that their voices are powerful, necessary, and valued.” 

Here is a synopsis of the Flourish Alabama upcoming events:

 • Black Business Market/High Tea – Sunday, May 22, 11:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. (business market) and tea 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Little London Kitchen, 162 Oxmoor Road in Birmingham 

This event is a celebration and uplifting of the metro Birmingham Black community. The Black Business Market is free for black business entrepreneurs. It features a Lex Soul Photography meet up at 4:00 p.m. Registration for businesses is closed. The High Tea ($20) is a twist on NPR’s Tiny Desk, featuring three Birmingham are Black artists - Derrick Lily, Goddess Musicq and Tania De’Shawn. Get tickets here: www.theflourishal.com/hightea 

 • Flourish Fest Film Showcase- Thursday, May 26, 5:00 p.m., Sidewalk Film Center and Cinema, 1821 2nd Ave N 

This event will showcase films created by Birmingham City Schools students through Flourish Alabama’s Cell Phone Cinema and Reframe projects, as well as a short documentary on the Jefferson County Memorial Project (JCMP) & Arts Collab Green Book Project, which features 6th Graders from Bush Hills STEAM Academy. The event is free. 

 • Green Book Project at Birmingham Museum or Art- Sunday through Thursday, May 22-27

In collaboration with the Flourish's Flourish Fest, JCMP and the Arts Collab, this event in the Birmingham Museum of Art's Education Gallery will showcase original art made by Green Book Project sixth-graders from Birmingham's Bush Hills STEAM Academy. 

Between 1936 and 1966, The Negro  Motorist Green Book was used by African-American travelers as a guide to safe establishments  Blacks could use while on the road during the Jim Crow era. It was the topic of "Green Book," a 2019 Academy Award-winning film available for checkout at BPL. With the help of Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative (GBAEC) teaching artist Jahman Hill, students created book covers and poems while focusing on tenets of advocacy, empathy and self-advocacy.