Black History Month Celebration

Awon Ohun Omnira (Voices of Freedom) will participate in the Black History Month celebration at McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkley with a two-part offering of ancestral reverence. Led by AOO's musical/artistic director, Tobaji Stewart, the 9-member crew will sing “Oro Egun,” ancient chants for the ancestors drawn from the Yoruba tradition of Africa/Cuba, accompanied by sacred Bata drums.  Oro Egun will be followed by a demonstration of the Ring Shout, an African American cultural expression that was common throughout the South until the 1950s. Awon Ohun Omnira’s presentation of the Ring Shout is modeled on the McIntosh County Shouters, who currently reside near Savannah, Ga., and have upheld the cultural/spiritual practice since the 1800s.