Black Table Arts is a “community-driven arts cooperative located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, gathering black communities through the arts toward better black futures.” They offer workshops focused on writing and creative approaches to activism, seminars, and training. They also have a bookstore, workspace, and performance space to support Black artists and grow their voices.
Awesome Afrofuturism
Holly Olsen, Random Acts’ Regional Representative for the U.S. – Great Lakes, is an English teacher in the same neighborhood as the Black Table Arts cooperative. After watching an interview with Keno Evol, the founder of Black Table Arts, Holly felt inspired. “Black Tables Arts has been partnering with Minneapolis Public Schools on some excellent teacher trainings. I love their focus on the power of stories and words, and their focus on new stories, new literature, new poems,” she said. She decided to purchase books for the cooperative that centered on Afrofuturism. “When it came to deciding the theme of the books, I went with Afrofuturism, a genre that has been on the rise since the success of The Black Panther.”
It was important to Holly that she works with a local, independent bookstore. She found one with a great fiction selection and knowledgeable bookseller to assist. She purchased ten different titles from various authors in the Afrofuturism genre. “I adore Afrofuturism, so the idea of introducing more people to it was very exciting to me.”
Holly arranged the donation drop-off in late October. While making the donation, she connected with Donte Collins, her donation contact, and Keno Evol. “We had a great chat about books,” Holly said. “Donte Collins at Black Table Arts is awesome to talk books with. (…)Talking books with Donte was honestly the best part of this act.”
Feeling Inspired?
If you would like to know more about Black Table Arts or make a donation, you can find their website here. If you would like to connect with Random Acts, Regional Representatives would love to help you find similar opportunities in your community. As always, thank you for supporting our mission to spread kindness and compassion!
