Black August Weekend - Recap
Black August is a month-long commemoration honoring Black freedom fighters, political prisoners, and the ongoing struggle for liberation, rooted in the Black Prison Movement of 1970s California and the memory of George Jackson and the organizers around him. It's a solemn practice, traditionally marked by study, fasting, physical training, sobriety, and sacrifice, in solidarity with those still incarcerated. As we aim to move with purpose and intention, Army of Dreamers (AOD) gathered a select group of peers in the room to reflect on what Black August means. The alignment was key, as AOD moves forward as a Black-led platform.
We've put together some history behind Black August in the slide deck linked below.
Hosted by Army of Dreamers
Army of Dreamers Media Group started in 2015 as a place to document journeys. What began as a platform for podcast interviews, music showcases, and creative content was built on a simple belief: pursuing your dreams is a true fight, one that takes courage, resilience, and a little "delusion" when the destination feels out of reach.
Nearly a decade later, that same belief brought a room full of strangers and familiar faces together for this event, reminding us that documenting the dream is only a part of the mission. Building the relationships around the documentation, is instrumental.
The Room
This event was facilitated over two days, Saturday, August 1st and Sunday, August 2nd. The event was intentionally small, casual, and private. The space co-facilitated by Chanda Davis and Fabrice Juin, and built around individuals who embody the Dreamer spirit in their own way. There was no single "type" of person in the room, and that was the point.
Behavioral health professionals sat alongside third-generation family business owners. Educators traded stories with community organizers and activists. Creatives and entrepreneurs, some still building their first ventures, rounded out the room. Some were familiar with AOD. Others were meeting the platform for the first time. By the end of the night, the distance between "familiar" and "new" had mostly disappeared.
The whole idea behind this type of event is that AOD has never wanted to be a platform that talks at people. From the beginning, it was meant to be a place where people doing the work could find one another.
Where This Is Headed
We're not just storytellers anymore. We're becoming active record-keepers and amplifiers of stories, of information, of moments like this one. And we know we're just one platform among many doing this work. If this event is any indication of what happens when the right people are in the same room, then the next chapter for AOD is less about broadcasting to an audience and more about building a community that builds with each other.
The reminder and takeaway from our first Black August gathering: the dream was never meant to be pursued alone.
Army of Dreamers Media Group's Inaugural Black August Event — Co-facilitated by Chanda Davis and Fabrice Juin was shot and captured by Nathan Davis of SoulGems Productions.