Eric Peters takes part in an aerial rope act during the Virtual Wise Fool Teen Circus Performance. Wise Fool New Mexico received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for
Raashan Ahmad, a founding member of Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, was the project’s producer.
“There are more stories out there than I got when growing up,” he said. “We wanted to tell more history of Black folks. We have a history here and everywhere that’s real beautiful.”
Grants and donations from local businesses helped pay for the project.
Each approximately 5-minute video features a different African American speaker who is an expert in the field they are presenting.
The segment by Nikesha Breeze, a STEM teacher in Taos who specializes in African American history, discusses important Black figures in New Mexico history. Writer, poet and performer Oriana Lee talks about the origins and rise of Hip Hop.