What the Afropunk Festival Means in the Age of Black Lives Matter

Elias Williams for the Village Voice

Elias Williams for the Village Voice

For one weekend every year, Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, transforms itself from a normal municipal park into a sanctuary for openness and expression as host to the Afropunk festival. For too many years, the very occasion of Black people in America occupying ordinary spaces has been viewed as a threat, a reality captured by cellphones and disseminated on social media in the era of Black Lives Matter as African Americans are confronted by law enforcement after a white person puts a call in to the police. Since Afropunk’s debut in 2005, Commodore Barry Park has provided a space for people of color to be who they choose and find enjoyment in a variety of attractions. For this year’s festival, I was interested in asking attendees what it means for them to be in a space like Afropunk.