Hello to all of our friends, family, followers, and supporters– and we hereby dub you #HALOfam!!! Wow, what a year this has been and we know it’s not over. Since the outpouring of support for our upcoming Race and #RealTalk series, HALO has been hard at work creating virtual presentation materials, gathering and organizing program content, and connecting with organizations across the country (and the Atlantic…) for the work that remains to be done. We thank you again for the continued donations and support from everyone that has allowed us to continue this journey of building community and dismantling the structures of racism that keep us apart.
What keeps us apart? This is the question we posed for the theme of our first quarter of the series, Race and #RealTalk: Sharing Spaces. From the earliest and continued practices of segregation to the barriers that break down connection in even some of our closest relationships, we’ve used HALO’s unique barbershop metaphor of embracing the tension of our different perspectives to effectively sing the truth so that we can find ways to move forward and work to break these barriers down. There have been some really magical moments– where we not only could see these barriers between us and others that racism perpetuates, but also those within ourselves as individuals. And there have been some difficult ones– where the constructs that shape how we experience our identities and how the world perceives them seem impenetrable, and therefore certain connections all but impossible. Still we continue to work through that tension as a new community and look forward to this event where we’ll be able to share this process with you, inviting you for a ride on this journey with us.
We especially look forward to presenting a variety of music that represents this journey of discussions, including selections by HALO quartet, Race and #RealTalk group members, and the North Carolina Central University Choir. We are delighted to have collaborated with this community of an HBCU institution— both to share perspective as part of our dialogue process and to showcase the wonderful talent of their students. Viewers are in for an uplifting and enlightening treat in the program we are preparing for this free Facebook Live event! Donations will be invited at the conclusion of the concert.
Following the free concert event, HALO will also host our very first official Race and #RealTalk Afterglow! Join us in this safe space for celebration and discussion of the music and reflections shared in the concert. Half of all donations and proceeds for this event will be shared with North Carolina Central University for the Music Department’s Scholarship Fund. Register at Eventbrite.
See you there, #HALOfam!