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'Faith!'
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Now, it is our time to leave a legacy! Our communities and its people are suffering. It is time for us to take our faith, our skills and education, our hopes and dreams, our culture and heritage; and put them to work Rebuilding the Walls in our historic communities.
'We’, as a people, are people of faith. Our faith has sustained us through the most trying of circumstances. Now it is time for us to come together and ‘Rebuild Our Communities’. Faith sustained and guided our ancestors through slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow. They brought their culture, their heritage, their skills and most importantly, their faith. They built families, communities, churches, schools, businesses and gave us our culture and heritage. The rest is history.
Faith sustained our leaders: Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. George Washington Carver, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, and all our great ancestors. Faith also sustained them through the trials. Faith is the immeasurable ingredient that made this country great, and faith will help us face the challenges of our generation and those of the future.
'We’, as a people, are people of faith. Our faith has sustained us through the most trying of circumstances. Now it is time for us to come together and ‘Rebuild Our Communities’. Faith sustained and guided our ancestors through slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow. They brought their culture, their heritage, their skills and most importantly, their faith. They built families, communities, churches, schools, businesses and gave us our culture and heritage. The rest is history.
Faith sustained our leaders: Dr. Booker T. Washington and Dr. George Washington Carver, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, and all our great ancestors. Faith also sustained them through the trials. Faith is the immeasurable ingredient that made this country great, and faith will help us face the challenges of our generation and those of the future.
'Rebuilding the Walls in Forgotten Communities'
Rebuilding God's People
2 Corinthian 5:17-21
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Culture and Heritage of Faith
We are the Community!
‘We’ are the greatest generations our ancestors have ever produced. It is time for us to revisit our roots and reclaim the faith and visions of our past. We have the skills and knowledge base to claim the opportunities America has in store, by coming together as a community and focus on rebuilding our own forty acres. If a service or product is needed, ‘we’ can provide it; ‘we’ have the skills, talents and the knowledge to complete this great task. Partnering with people of faith, using biblical principles will ensure ‘our’ success. Remember, our ancestors paid a heavy price to ensure we would have the life we now enjoy. ‘We’ now must do our part! Rebuild the Walls in Your Community.
Forgotten Communities Program
The Forgotten Communities Program is a ‘call to all artists’, particularly those of African descent, to begin painting their visions and memories of their culturally significant and historic communities. The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center was created to allow those images to be shared with the world and rekindle an interest in these forgotten communities. The knowledge required to sustain the community and help it grow is provided by the research and teaching of the fellows and members of the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute.
The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, and Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute are poised to share their knowledge and resources to assist in developing and promoting artistic images and performances that are accurate and tell of story from a cultural and historic perspective. The “Forgotten Communities Program’ supports talented painters and performing artists to re-capture the spirituality and dignity of "Ordinary People" who once, and now, inhabit cultural and historic communities that are neglected by mainstream society. Only through the arts, can the spiritual moment and importance of a culture be recreated and conveyed to another culture. The Forgotten Communities Program is a call to all artists, particularly those of African descent, to begin painting their visions and memories of their culturally historic communities and share them with their people and the world.
Culture, heritage and the arts have long appealed to tourist and contributed to their selections of tourism destinations. In recent years ‘culture’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract travelers with special interests in culture, heritage and the arts.
Cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. There is a trend and need for travelers to enrich their lives with new cultural experiences. This is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek their heritage, cultural - related experiences and adventures. Cultural Arts and Crafts, Music and Food Festivals are critical activities that can be organized by Forgotten Communities to create tourism traffic and business development.
Community Asset Development
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‘WORKING BY FAITH’
George Washington Carver - viewed faith as a means of destroying both barriers of racial disharmony and social stratification. He compiled a list of eight cardinal virtues for his students to strive toward: *Neither look up to the rich nor down on the poor. *Lose, if need be, without squealing. *Be clean both inside and out. *Win without bragging. *Always be considerate of women, children, and older people. *Be too brave to lie. *Be too generous to cheat. *Take your share of the world and let others take theirs. |
Throughout the southern United States, the National Asset Building Coalition (NABC) works with organizations to enhance the economic vitality and competitiveness of the region's Forgotten Communities. The NABC team works with historic African American communities to help them recognize, promote and capitalize upon their existing assets, through its asset mapping process and by coordinating the efforts of local chambers, business and community organizations. A community’s assets may include culture and historical its natural resources, recreational sites, local eateries, or historical buildings and monuments. Once assets are identified, the team recommends strategies to community leaders that will promote and develop the assets to further strengthen the local community and economy. Working in collaboration with the National Black Business Support Corporation and the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute's partners, the National Asset Building Coalition offers a variety of programs and services designed to create more vibrant neighborhoods and communities and enriching the lives of the citizens that call them home.
Sharing “Our Cultural Knowledge and Experiences” in the areas of Commerce, Culture, Community, Education, Influence, Knowledge, and Faith; via established business, educational, social and tourism networks. The ultimate goal being to “Rebuild and Connect” the global people of PAN AFRICA, via the technology platforms of the internet and to use proven Cultural Economics and Heritage Tourism programs to develop Forgotten Communities, foster prosperity through business growth and job creation; and to facilitate cultural exchanges and services with other members of the African Diaspora, in partnership with the Pan African Cultural Heritage Alliance.
The Cultural Market Place
Access to Capital and Marketing are the weakness of all micro-enterprise and cultural businesses. The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place (The Market Place) is designed to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of Pan Africa and to connect businesses and perspective clients. The Pan African American Market Place is the cornerstone of the ‘Pan African Cultural Heritage Initiative’, whose ultimate goal is to rebuild Pan African communities and villages and create wealth and jobs, through the promotion of our businesses, culture and heritage to the Global Market Place.
The clustering of cultural businesses is our tradition. Our ancestors and all cultures created the Market Place by clustering businesses to serve the cultural and communal needs of the people in the region. Clustering also produce other business opportunities. Most importantly, it creates wealth and jobs. The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place and serves the cultural needs of a global people, Pan Africans.
The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Market Place is a cultural business cluster, not unlike a China Town. The Market Place will consistently strive to become the NEW WORLD MARKET PLACE; to showcase the products and services of our affiliate members, and increase the business opportunities for our members, by marketing their products and service to the African Diaspora across the globe. Our network of partners includes our Chambers of Commerce, the National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, and Pan African entrepreneurs and Sponsors.
Our desire will always be to educate, connect national and global communities, and to create jobs and opportunities for our members and international affiliates. The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Initiative Partners and Sponsors are: the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute, Inc., the National Black Business Support Corporation, Black Chambers of Commerce, National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center, Inc., and others.
Faith in Business
George C. Fraser is Chairman & CEO of FraserNet, Inc. He is considered by many to be the new voice for African Americans and one of the foremost authorities on networking and building effective relationships.
Mr. Fraser is the author of two books: Success Runs In Our Race; The Complete Guide to Effective Networking in the African American Community (a critically acclaimed bestseller) and Race For Success; The Ten Best Business Opportunities for Blacks In America (selected as one of ten best business books of the year by Booklist). Both were published by the William Morrow Company.
Mr. Fraser is also the publisher of the award-winning Success Guide Worldwide: The Networking Guide to Black Resources. He is the founder of the annual Power Networking Conference, the largest gathering of Black professionals, business owners and community leaders. A popular speaker and author, George C. Fraser’s inspiring talks on success principles, effective networking, wealth creation, business ethics, and valuing diversity, are as popular among corporate professionals as they are among college students. His views have been solicited by CNN and the Wall Street Journal. Over the past decade, the prestigious publication, Vital Speeches of the Day, has selected, reprinted and distributed worldwide, four of Mr. Fraser’s speeches; a first for any professional speaker in America.
Giving Back
Faith - Culture - Community - Education
American Educator and Cultural Economist Booker T. Washington once stated: “If we just build our businesses and only do business with each other, we not only will survive but prosper.”
Commerce, Culture, Community and Education are all very important, but they must be used collectively to achieve the cultures utmost goal in our society. That goal being the development of………..Influence and Knowledge.
No progress can be made without the establishment of an institution that will house, as a repository, the critical knowledge elements and collective learned works of the elite and practical thinkers in a culture. The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute will serve the roles as a Think Tank, a School, and a Repository for the shared ideas of culture for the African Diaspora, dedicated to advancing the goals and aspirations of those who seek a place of equal opportunity all societies across the globe, thus contributing to the growth and development of the Pan African Community, as a whole. Collaborating and forming equally beneficial partnerships. Seeking resolutions of common problems… Locally, Statewide, Nationally, and Internationally!
The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute
'Educating the Community'
The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute celebrates the culture and connectivity of the people of the African Diaspora. The African Diaspora being defined as people of African descent who live as cultural and national communities in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, and North America.
Mission: To serve as the “Think Tank” for The Pan African American Cultural Alliance. The Institute will also serve as a research center, in support of chambers, state and local governments, community and economic development groups. Its role will be to perform unbiased research and provide white papers and opinions on cultural commerce issues that affect all cultures, particularly African Americans. The ultimate goal being: to provide research documentation of the problem areas; show opportunities for improvements in those areas, and implementation by local communities to alleviate those disparities.
The Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute was created in honor of the life of the first person of African descent to set foot on North American soil. Estevanico was born in Azamor, Morocco. When he was a teenager, during the drought of 1520-21, the Portuguese sold many Moroccans into slavery. Estevanico was sold to Andres de Dorantes, and the two joined an expedition to the lands of Florida. It was to be a tragic expedition: Although they reached Florida in 1528, many on the expedition died of illness, injuries and attacks. Many fled by boat, reaching the Texas coast, where they were enslaved. By 1534, only four were alive: Estevanico, Dorantes, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso del Castillo Maldonado.
The saga of Estevanico is symbolic and recognizable to all people in the African Diaspora. His courage under duress, his intelligence and survival skills are culturally evident. But most importantly, Estevanico was a product of his faith teachings and his culture. His heritage gave him the pride and stamina to endure and to serve as a humanitarian to those less fortunate. Gifted, he used those gifts in relationships with other cultures for the benefit of the whole. Although enslaved, Estevanico became a leader, an explorer, an educators, a healer and a spiritual ambassador for every culture he represented. And the Pan African Cultural Heritage Institute was created as a way on celebrating his life and many others, and to connect the African Diaspora by showcasing our culture and economic prowess.
Let us celebrate! Village by Village! The Pan African Village! We are One! One Culture, One Heritage! Africa, Europe, Caribbean, South America, Central America, South America, North America. One Village!
Our Focus
The Pan African American Cultural Heritage Initiative
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"Culture is one of the most important levers to pull in order to rehabilitate and relaunch an economy; It also provides direction.”
Aminata Traorẻ Sharing “Our Cultural Knowledge and Experiences” in the areas of Commerce, Culture, Community, Education, Influence, Knowledge, and Faith; via established business, educational, social and tourism networks. The ultimate goal being to “Rebuild and Connect” the global people of PAN AFRICA, via the technology platforms of the internet and to use proven Cultural Economics and Heritage Tourism programs to develop Forgotten Communities, foster prosperity through business growth and job creation; and to facilitate cultural exchanges and services with other members of the African Diaspora, in partnership with the Pan African Cultural Heritage Alliance.
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Our Faith-Based Initiative
FAITH, CULTURE and HERITAGE
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We celebrate all cultural and historic churches over one hundred years old. African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement! Although African American neighborhoods may suffer from civic disinvestment with lower quality schools, less effective policing, and fire protection, there are institutions such as churches and museums and political organizations that help to improve the physical and social capital of African American neighborhoods. In African American neighborhoods the churches may be important sources of social cohesion. For some African Americans the kind spirituality learned through these churches works as a protective factor against the corrosive forces of racism. Museums devoted to African American History are also found in many African American neighborhoods, and are often located in historical churches.
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Faith and Community Based Tourism
The National Cultural Tourism Center, Inc.
"The Traveler"
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The National Cultural Heritage Tourism Center was created to market and promote cultural heritage and tourism destinations of interest to people of African Descent. The Center markets, advertises, and promotes historical communities, major attractions, tourism related businesses, and cultural arts and entertainment venues. In honor of "The Green Book", information is also provided to serve the unique cultural needs of the Diaspora. The National Cultural Heritage Society and its local community based affiliates serves as cultural heritage tourism ambassadors, preservationist and educational advocates. The ultimate goal being the preservation of our past and the education of future generations concerning our culture, our heritage, and our traditions, by celebrating via the arts!! |
Our Cultural Inspiration
The Pan African and National Cultural Heritage Tourism & Travel Project
"Continuing the ‘works’ of the Green-Book!"
"Continuing the ‘works’ of the Green-Book!"
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"The Negro traveler's inconveniences are many and they are increasing because today so many more are traveling, individually and in groups." -Wendell P. Alston |
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'Honoring The Green Book'
Victor Hugo Green (November 9, 1892 - aft. 1964? ) was a Harlem, New York, postal employee and civic leader. He was the creator of an African American travel guide known as The Green Book. It was first published as The Negro Motorist Green Book and later as The Negro Travelers' Green Book. The books were published from 1936 to 1964. He reviewed hotels and restaurants that did business with African Americans during the time of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation in the United States. Green used postal workers as guides to tell him: Well, here's a good place here, a good place there. And, of course, as you travel, people picked up things and told him things.
He printed 15,000 copies each year. The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide” by a Harlem postal employee and civic leader named Victor H. Green and presented by the Esso Standard Oil Company. Originally provided to serve Metropolitan New York, the book received such an alarming response, it was spread throughout the country within one year. The catch phrase was “Now we can travel without embarrassment.”
The Green Book often provided information on local tourist homes, which were private residences owned by blacks and open to travelers. It was especially helpful to blacks that traveled through sunset towns or towns that publicly stated that blacks had to leave the town by sundown or it would be cause for arrest. Also listed were hotels, barbershops, beauty salons, restaurants, garages, liquor stores, ball parks and taverns. It also provided a listing of the white-owned, black-friendly locations for accommodations and food.
The publication was free, with a 10-cent cost of shipping. As interest grew, the Green Book solicited salespersons nationwide to build its ad sales. Inside the pages of the Green Book were action photos of the various locations, along with historical and background information for the readers’ review. Although Victor Green’s initial edition only encompassed metropolitan New York, the “Green Book” soon expanded to Bermuda (white dinner jackets were recommended for gentlemen), Mexico and Canada. The 15,000 copies Green eventually printed each year were sold as a marketing tool not just to black-owned businesses but to the white marketplace, implying that it made good economic sense to take advantage of the growing affluence and mobility of African Americans. Esso stations, unusual in franchising to African Americans, were a popular place to pick one up.
Within the pages of the introduction, the guide states: “There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States .”
He printed 15,000 copies each year. The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide” by a Harlem postal employee and civic leader named Victor H. Green and presented by the Esso Standard Oil Company. Originally provided to serve Metropolitan New York, the book received such an alarming response, it was spread throughout the country within one year. The catch phrase was “Now we can travel without embarrassment.”
The Green Book often provided information on local tourist homes, which were private residences owned by blacks and open to travelers. It was especially helpful to blacks that traveled through sunset towns or towns that publicly stated that blacks had to leave the town by sundown or it would be cause for arrest. Also listed were hotels, barbershops, beauty salons, restaurants, garages, liquor stores, ball parks and taverns. It also provided a listing of the white-owned, black-friendly locations for accommodations and food.
The publication was free, with a 10-cent cost of shipping. As interest grew, the Green Book solicited salespersons nationwide to build its ad sales. Inside the pages of the Green Book were action photos of the various locations, along with historical and background information for the readers’ review. Although Victor Green’s initial edition only encompassed metropolitan New York, the “Green Book” soon expanded to Bermuda (white dinner jackets were recommended for gentlemen), Mexico and Canada. The 15,000 copies Green eventually printed each year were sold as a marketing tool not just to black-owned businesses but to the white marketplace, implying that it made good economic sense to take advantage of the growing affluence and mobility of African Americans. Esso stations, unusual in franchising to African Americans, were a popular place to pick one up.
Within the pages of the introduction, the guide states: “There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States .”
The Art of Faith Network
Our “Faith is who we are, it sustains us, rebuilds us, and our communities”. Art and Faith are our major tools!
The work of Sonja Evans
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Theola Bright - Singer
The ‘Art of Faith’ Network focuses on the faith and spiritual culture and history of people of African Descent, with and emphasis traditional stories being depicted in paint, music, song and dance. The program has proved itself as very successful and has allowed community re-developers to take hold and renew interest in historic disadvantaged communities, with the support of talented painters and performing artists. The Art of Faith Program is not Black Art, it is a spiritual movement, to showcase a people of dignity and neighborhoods that are a part of us. Only through the arts, can the spiritual moment and importance of a culture be recreated and conveyed to another culture. The Faith Communities Arts Program members share their knowledge and resources to assist in ultimate goal, being, to create artistic images and performances that will cause a nation to think and consider redeveloping Forgotten Communities and support the People of Faith and the cultural treasures for future generations. Wake up Choir
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Celebrating our Faith and Ancestors
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