DALLAS — Harambee Festival (https://www.harambeedallas.org) is the oldest and largest African-American cultural event in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex of Texas, with over 15,000 in attendance. The festival is a community-based educational and cultural event that was created in the early 1970s, by the founding members of the Harambee Festival Steering Committee, a group of community-minded citizens who gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center to form a safe and alternative celebration to Halloween.
Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, e.g. fundraising or development activities. Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms.
In 2022, traditional Harambee Dallas expands Harambee Dallas Interactive (or HDI for short), to continue to keep our children safe and to support our children and young adults with positive interactions — ranging from marketplace demonstrations, to talks, and entertainment on video and virtual experience. This year's theme is "Live in Yo Face!".
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, for the third consecutive year, media personality and philanthropist Shefik (https://shefik.info) of the multiple award winning, nationally syndicated radio show "Shefik presents Invocation" (https://invocation.co) is hosting the 48th Annual Harambee Festival live on video, via broadcast on the festival's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DallasHarambeeFestival. Sweet Savage of The Word of Mouth Experience is also returning as co-host, where she will once again serve as a correspondent on-the-ground in Dallas during the live broadcast, while Shefik anchors from the New York production headquarters.
Starting at 10 a.m. CT, a full day of exhibits, music performances, and more is planned. Local and surrounding families are welcome to stop by the venue location, to receive free treat bags and care packages (until supplies last). The address is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 2922 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas, Texas 75215. Radio personality Veda Loca of Majic 94.5 FM will host the performance stage on-location.
During the event, Dr. Opal Lee will be presented with a Lifetime Unity Award. Dr. Lee is an American retired teacher, counselor, and activist in the movement to make Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday. She is often described as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth". On June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed Senate Bill S. 475, making Juneteenth the eleventh federal holiday.
CR Capers of Harlem Film House (https://harlemfilmhouse.org) (a New York based, non-profit organization) is slated to provide live broadcast streaming services. Attendees are encouraged to watch the event on the festival's Facebook page, in order to capture the auxiliary experience of this year's festival.
Sponsors of Harambee Festival include Citizens' Committee to Save Our Children, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, Chase, Parrish Restaurants, Dallas City Councilman Adam Bazaldua, Sweet Marc, Tonya "ElBoogie" Hill Public Relations and Consulting, National Fire Guard, Black Republicans of Collin County, Anna's House Domestic Violence Shelter, City of Dallas Parks and Recreation, African Bandits Motorcycle Club, Allstate, Alpha Phi Alpha, Veda Loca's Smiling Faces, Exquisite Printing, Shefik presents Invocation, The Word of Mouth Experience, and Harlem Film House.
"As a former resident of Dallas, Texas, I am honored to once again be a part of such revered tradition for a third consecutive year," says Shefik.
Shefik is a Professional Member at the New York Chapter of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (New York Emmys), as well as a National Associate Member at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Primetime Emmy Awards). The organizations are dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational, and technical achievements within the television industry. They recognize excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Award.
As a multiple award winning videographer and producer, Shefik's work has been featured in television broadcasts and video productions for NBC's "3rd Hour of TODAY", TIME magazine, The Washington Center, "Unsung" (TV One), Broadway World, and a major news station in New York City. Additionally, his photography has been featured in print and online publications, such as The Independent (United Kingdom), Daily Mail (United Kingdom), Harvard Kennedy School Magazine, Playbill, and China Press, as well as around 100 television and radio outlets owned by Cox Media Group. Shefik currently serves as a Technical Lead at NBCUniversal, where he is leading the development of business critical applications and web-based technology for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan; the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China; the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar; as well as other major sporting events throughout the world for NBC Sports.
Harlem Film House is the production arm of Hip Hop Film Festival (https://hiphopfilmfestival.org), operating year round workshops, theatre productions, and live events. While also offering business consulting to filmmakers and content creators in underserved communities around the world, Harlem Film House creates an economic ecosystem, by providing filmmakers various services and resources to ensure career longevity in film, theatre, and related entrepreneurial pursuits.
Founded by filmmaker and philanthropist CR Capers, Hip Hop Film Festival features every genre from filmmakers worldwide. It is also the only film festival that shares the profits from the festival with the filmmakers selected to participate. Although the festival is titled "Hip Hop", that does not necessarily mean all films will be about hip-hop. Rather, the term is used in reference to the filmmakers who grew up in the elemental culture of hip-hop and the wide-ranging narratives they project to the screen, as a result of being incubated by such culture.
Media Contacts
Shefik
All Knight Access
+1 (914) 548-5033
shefik@allknightaccess.com
Last Updated: October 29, 2022
