Umoja Village Unity Weekend to feature concert, golf tournament

Bianca Moorman, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Aug. 21—Unity, history and culture will be in the air with an upcoming festival in Aiken.

Umoja Village will hold its first Unity Weekend Oct. 21-23 at various locations in Aiken.

The three-day weekend will include Shoutfest, a movie screening and a golf tournament.

"The weekend is meant to bring us together as a community, but we can focus on the beauty of our culture and experience as a people," said Donna Moore Wesby executive director of Umoja Village.

Moore Wesby said the goal of the event is for the local members of the Black community to understand their history and how they will use the history in moving on from the past.

Shoutfest will kick off Unity Weekend. Shoutfest was originally organized by WAAW Shout 94.7 and is considered one of the largest gospel festivals in the CSRA area. This year's Shoutfest will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Beverly D. Clyburn Generations Park, 700 Mack Henry Holland Drive. The event will feature vendors, music, local churches and kids zone for children.

Moore Wesby said even though the radio station was sold this past year, it's a blessing to be able to have the Shoutfest again.

"That has been a staple event for the community," Moore Wesby said.

The second event will be a screening of the film "Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street." The documentary talks about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in North Tulsa's Greenwood District, a prosperous Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The screening will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, in the Etherredge Center on the campus of USC Aiken, 340 Scholar Loop.

Admission is $20.

The weekend will close with the Umoja Village Unity Golf Tournament on Monday, Oct. 23. The tournament will begin at 10 a.m. at the Houndslake Country Club, 901 Houndslake Drive. Registration is $90, and proceeds from the event will benefit Umoja Village's effort to implement its rebuilding the foundation crime prevention plan for Aiken County.

The plan will be aimed at youth mentorship program support, second-chance work training connection initiatives and staff at the Umoja Village Resource Center.

Moore Wesby said in the future, the Unity Weekend will be something the group plans to do annually.