Pote Day and the #CarefreeBlackGirl Cookout celebrate Savannah's culture

This week's edition of The 912 highlights Pote Day and the #CarefreeBlackGirl cookout, two social events created by Savannah natives Pote Baby and Quanna Bolden respectively. 

I'm coming off a Labor Day weekend trip to New York City where my main goal was to attend an Everyday People event, which is essentially a live music experience and popular daytime dance party that celebrates Black diversity. It lived up to my every expectation and created an atmosphere where people were allowed to express themselves freely and celebrate music. That is why I'm excited for this weekend where I hope to see that feeling replicated.

Pote Day is a three-day celebration in Savannah thrown by Savannah rapper Pote Baby. Its third annual celebration is approaching with a lineup that includes his first live show at Victory North on Friday, workshops on Saturday and a Starland Yard block party with giveaways and music on Sunday.

This will be my first time attending Pote Day, and I'm counting down the days. From my first conversation with Pote Baby for The 912, to consequently following one another on social media, I've seen how much he loves Savannah and is dedicated to curating experiences that bring forth the magic of his hometown and celebrates the culture and future of Savannah’s business and arts ecosystem.

For more information and to RSVP for events, visit pote.day.

— Laura Nwogu, quality of life reporter at the Savannah Morning News

Follow me on Twitter at @lauranwogu_ or email me at LNwogu@gannett.com

Pulse of the 912

Summer is winding down, but Savannah native Quanna Bolden has a few more things in store for Savannah. Creator of the lifestyle brand Carefree Black Girl, Quanna is hosting the cookout of cookouts on Sept. 10, aimed at creating space for Black women in tech, art and entrepreneurial spaces. I chat with Bolden about what attendees can expect and what it really means to be a carefree Black girl.

Laura Nwogu: What inspired you to start the lifestyle brand Carefree Black Girl?

Quanna Bolden: “Well, when I first graduated from college, I decided to pursue a career as an artist. Some of my friends who work in marketing and PR were like, ‘you need to give your persona a name.’ So I started calling myself a carefree Black girl around 2010. Long story short, I was using the hashtag on social media like Facebook, Tumblr, other things. People got wind of it. Someone tweeted the hashtag on Twitter, and it went viral around this time. Since I was younger, I always did events whether it was like a skate party or just a birthday party. When I got to college, I used to do a lot of back-to-school drives with different people from Savannah.

“As the term went viral, I decided to not just have it as like something that people say one line; I wanted to create something that we could do in person. So, I started to make efforts to trademark around 2016 because we were already doing different events. Outside of people just saying here's the hashtag, we decided to create a lifestyle brand that represented all types of feminine, Black beings in different sectors. Ideally, we started at social media doing events, and now we have like a whole movement where we do a lot of showing up for Black women. Our motto is, ‘It's not about where you come from, but where you’re going,’ so we try to position ourselves as a lifestyle brand and platform that basically builds space for Black women.”

LN: I love that. And you had cookout events this year in Philly, Brooklyn, LA, Charlotte, and now your hometown Savannah is coming up. How important is it for you to create this space of Black empowerment for women in different areas and different aspects of their life?

QB: “It's very important to me, especially since I'm a Black woman who comes from small town Savannah. When people hear about Savannah, they think of Paula Deen. They don’t think about all the vibrant Black people that come from here. I'm a college graduate, but I’m also in the ballroom community, which is the LGBTQ-focused community, and have been a dominatrix. So, it's important for me to create space for all types of Black people, not just the Black people who we feel fit the mold of what it means to be Black, because we're not a monolith, right? We're all different.

“My dad did 25 years in prison. My mom had me at 16. And when I tell people our story, they're like, ‘wow, you're so amazing.’ But it's like yeah, those are parts of my story too. So with the Carefree Black Girl brand, it's important for us to go to different communities and find the Black women who are doing things from all sides. I firmly believe that f we don't sit together, we're not going to really get to the next level that we see for Black people, especially in the U.S.

LN: I like hearing how being from Savannah has reflected in everything you do. Would you say there were spaces like this for you that you kind of hope to emulate or is this is a gap that you're trying to bridge?

QB: “Growing up, I lived in Fred Wessel projects, and I had this older woman who used to come and take us to do community activities. We had a lot of community-based organizations that helped me thrive. When people say it takes a village, it truly does take a village. And that's something that I always kept with me in college, in New York and my travels throughout the world. You always have to be the olive branch. Go back and give somebody else a signal, a sign or an opportunity.

"When it comes to Carefree Black Girl cookout, it’s like my one-stop shop to do all those things. My goal for Savannah is just to always be that little beacon of light no matter if it's big or small. I definitely think that my upbringing, and especially my grandma with her always just doing what she could for the community inspired me to always extend an olive branch. Savannah is the future. We have so much that we can do; we just have to see past what we've done."

LN: And like you said, Carefree Black Girl goes beyond the cookout. Can you tell me what else you all have cooking — no pun intended — with Carefree Black Girl?

QB: “It's something super cool that just happened. We recently became a part of Revolt’s podcast network. P.Diddy has his own Black media network that essentially covers all Black media. Carefree Black Girl is one of the 20 shows that the network premiered. Our show has been running for about five years, so we aren’t a new show, but we do have a new host this season. She's super dope. The show is based in Atlanta. And essentially it's the voice of the brand. We discuss all things carefree, Black and girl.

“Aside from that, we've been invited to Afrotech in November. So, the cookout is our big event, but we do have smaller events that we throw like mixers, vision board parties, panels and things like that. We just finished a tour, getting ready to help with the New Georgia Project with this next election. We want everybody to get out and vote and let our voices be heard.  We don't care who you vote for, we just want people to do it.”

LN: Big things! I'm excited for you guys. What does it mean for you to be a carefree Black girl?

QB: “Being unapologetic in all that you do. We are going to make mistakes. Every day is not gonna be flower crowns and tiaras, but I think that the beauty of being carefree and unapologetic about who you are is just knowing that, at some point, you're going to be able to breathe again. At some point, you're going to be able to get through whatever you're going through. And when you look up and you see like, damn, today I'm definitely 10 steps farther ahead than I was five years ago. That's beauty. That's being hopeful. That's being unapologetic. I think being carefree, for me, is about literally striving in spite of obstacles.”

LN: And when you look at where Carefree Black Girl is at now, what are you most proud of? What are you most excited for?

QB: “I'm most proud of, right now, being able to have something that is going to outlast me as an individual. I'm most proud of being one of the leaders of this brand, and I look forward to seeing what the next generations do to the brand because this is more than a brand; It's a lifestyle. It's a way of thought. It’s that idea that we can have hope in a world that's so focused on trauma. I'm most proud of being able to create something that gives people hope.”

LN: Why do you love the 912?

QB: “Oh, because I’m from the S-A-V-A-N-N-A-H! (laughs) But no for real, I love Savannah because it's authentic. When you really want to see Black people in America and their foundation, their plight, that’s Savannah. The Black people are doing their thing. My people in Savannah are going hard. I already went into the world with work ethic because I'm from Savannah; I went in into the world with knowledge of my Blackness. When people say, ‘what does it mean to be from the South?’ Savannah is that.”

This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

Art of The 912

The 912 newsletter will highlight a local Black artist every two months as the header image for the weekly issue. This month's artist is Patrice Jackson.

Follow Jackson on her website and Instagram:

Website: patricejacksonart.wordpress.com

Instagram: @rooted_art.by_patrice

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: The 912: Pote Day and the #CarefreeBlackGirl Cookout celebrate Savannah's culture