The Kansas City Black Hat Society celebrated their 24th Annual Marcus Garvey Day event Aug. 28, with a motorcade and community awards recognition.
Participants came together at 3302 Prospect to decorate their cars with red, black and green balloons and streamers, the colors of the Black Liberation Flag. The flag was conceived by Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) in 1914.
The UNIA was dedicated to racial pride, economic self-sufficiency and the formation of an independent Black nation in Africa.
The vehicles lined up and set off to the Leon M. Jordan Park where they released their balloons.
GG Owens, organizer of the annual event, honored community members with awards for their work including Marvin Robinson who has worked for years on preservation of the Quindaro Ruins, and Bonita Gooch, editor-in-chief of The Community Voice.
“Everyone here is doing something wonderful in the community,” Owens said. “It’s not all about us, it’s about what we’re doing.”