Experience
“My job as a poet is being a translator between the human emotion and the lived experience. ”
Listen & Watch
About The Wonder | The Answer - Belmar 2020
This poem is to honor and commemorate the history of the African American residents and business owners of the Belmar neighborhood from c. 1900 - 1950s. the community was destroyed to make way for what is now the Civic Auditorium campus in the city of Santa monica, California.
Belmar History + Art is a civic commemoration project Led by Artist: April Banks and Historian: Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson. Belmar was significant to development in the Ocean Park district, creating a distinct African American business, church, leisure and beach culture from c. 1900 - 1950s. It was destroyed to make way for what is now the Civic Auditorium campus. A team has been gathered to develop art and interpretive elements and an educational program centered at the new Civic Center Multipurpose Field, which is set to open in summer 2020. A permanent art piece will be the placed around the field. learn more about this project here and displacement here
