Malcolm X Park Drum Circle Rack Card

By the 1970s, a drumming circle at DC's Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park had formed and immediately became integrated in Black political protest. One example was the African Liberation Day (ALD) Festivals which began in 1972. At this inaugural festival, people congregated in the park. They then marched throughout Northwest Washington, stopping in front of the Portuguese and South African Embassies. Later, they made their way to the Rhodesian Information Center. All the while, they protested apartheid in South Africa. They also expressed support for the independence struggles of Portuguese colonies like Guinea-Bissau. In total, there were anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 participants.

Doc Powell, a drum circle regular, remembers his role as a drummer at these events. “We would be drumming on a flatbed truck and then the truck would let us off in the park. Then we would be participating, doing some drumming for the event." In order to help tell similar stories about the drum circle, I commissioned these 5x7 inch informative rack cards. Whenever I attend the drum circle, I hand them out to curious onlookers, who often number in the dozens.