SPOKANE, Wash. — Lively music along with colorful dresses and traditional drums helped kicked off African Diverse Heritage Day in Spokane on Saturday at Riverfront Park.
"We performed several dances from different parts of Africa, taught people how to sing, taught them how to have some language and also do some of the dances," Kevin Cope said.
Cope's a music teacher at Grant Elementary. He and his group of students jumped at the chance to perform after getting an invite to showcase their dances.
"A lot of people in Spokane don't know much about African heritage," Cope said. "They learn it from movies or whatever else, and it's so much richer than what most people understand. So hopefully we're teaching a bit about African culture."
It's that theme of teaching that also brought vendors to the event, like Kitara Johnson with community magazine and podcast.
"I'm so excited. We've never really had anything like this," Johnson said.
Johnson's non-profit shares stories from diverse people in the Spokane area. She hopes through her work, people can see we're not all that different.
Johnson said, "I hope that people will see that we have more in common than we have in our differences, and that there'll be some education around black history, which is also American history."
The event brought in more than a dozen performers and special guests.
"We're hoping to inspire, to motivate, and to share a vision for the future of those of African American descent in Spokane," Karen Boone said.
Boone organized the event. She says an event like this has been long over due.
"Many times we feel isolated there are other people who look like us in important roles, doing successful things," Boone said. "So this is for the importance of increasing visibility."
The event spanned Saturday afternoon, featuring all sorts of performances from speeches about Spokane's Black history to dance.
Even though the event is only for the day organizers encourage people to continue learning about African Heritage at places such as the MLK or Carl Maxey Center.