A Space for Peace
A Space for Peace
Laura Pavicevic-Johnston, NPN Service Learner
Uncle Lionel’s token wristwatch glistens from the top of his hand as he keeps beat with the Blind Boys of Alabama at St. Augustines. Hours later, white, red, yellow and black flash in blurs of buoyant color as the dancers of the Kombuka African Drum and Dance Company spin to a mad drum beat.
Such was the scene at the Congo Square Rhythm Festival held on Sunday, September 30th. The festival brought together musicians, dance collectives, poets, chiefs, storytellers and people in a whirl of positive energy.
“When you hear music and perform it transforms you. It’s seemingly magical, but science proves it too. Something changes in you,” says Ausettua Amor Amenkum, a performer with the Kombuka Collective who has organized the event in the past. Get to know Ausettua and you will be moved by her grace, her knowledge, and the power behind what she says. Her hair, if let out, would likely root her to Mother Earth. She speaks with some gravel in her voice, “When you perform, that space has been made better.”
In the early days of New Orleans, Congo Square exemplified transition. Previously swamp lands on the fringe of town, it was a place where African slaves were allowed to come one day a week—largely unsupervised—to make music, dance and trade. Ausettua explains “Through all that exchange, Congo Square was significant to New Orleans as a space for peace.” This year, the festival kicked off at St. Augustine’s Cathedral with a special guest appearance from the Grammy award-winning Blind Boys of Alabama. It was my first time in the cathedral, and as I listened to the Priest, I was also elevated by the sight before me: white people in fancy suits, black people in fancy suits, black people in African prints, white people in African prints, punks covered with neck tattoos, babies and a few people so old they probably couldn’t see any of it. Then again, seeing wasn’t really necessary, because the energy and the sound were everywhere.
Amenkum sees significance in that cultural exchange as well. “Back in the 17-1800’s, when Louisiana was forming, you know it was so harsh. It was rough on the Europeans, rough on the Africans, and rough on the Native Americans. If it hadn’t been for all those people coming together they wouldn’t have survived,” she says. “There was institutionalized racism, yeah, but daily life dictated that you got along.”
During the sermon, as the Priest lamented the woes of New Orleans, I wondered if and how this vibrant energy could be used as a tool. “Music and art help you to tolerate those problems without being hopeless,” says Ausettua Amenkum. “It is the culture that shows you there’s still a way.” As she speaks, she radiates that same powerful energy that can be seen in her dance. “Through that unity, through respect for cultures and preservation, through dancing, and good food, we can pull New Orleans to a better place than it was before.”
Her conviction leaves me doubtless that the soul of our city can comfort the world. And if not, Sunday at the Square elevated me and left me with a deeper understanding of where this unique spirit comes from. Events like this can’t explain the ever growing problems of our city, but they can explain why we all stay, and show us how we can thrive.
Thanks to organizations like the Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Congo Square Foundation and countless other preservation, dance and music associations throughout our city—not to mention independent artists—New Orleans culture is guarded, preserved, and most importantly, made accessible. Life here isn’t about watching a show- it’s about feeling that show and giving some energy, zest and dance back to that performer. I think we do it here better than anyone.
A fortune teller on Jackson Square once told me that people who drink the water in New Orleans can’t leave because Marie Laveau put something in the river. Perhaps, but I think it’s even deeper than that. There is a soul here that is older than all of us and makes itself known through music and dance; that positive expression has the power to change a space and those in it. That power makes this place better.
