On North Main Ave, in the old abandoned bank, the Black Scranton Project has taken root and made a home. Their mission is to highlight the forgotten history of Scranton’s black citizens, cultivating cultural awareness by supporting community artists for ethnic representation. For this years Black History month, they are hosting a number of events that focus on healing through the arts. One of these events was an open-mic night where members of the community could come up and do music, comedy, poetry, etc.
The event opened with one of the hosts, Glynis Johns, performing a poem about her experience as a black woman in Scranton. It was titled The Only Chocolate Chip in the Cookie Dough. In it, she expressed frustration with a lack of representation in her community, recounting the isolation she felt as those around her would gladly hold St. Patrick’s Day parades while all too willingly turning a blind eye to celebrations for Black people’s history. The other host of the evening, Silo Good, performed a mix of his original songs and poetry.
Following Silo Good was a poet and comedian named Arman, a frequent open-mic performer in the Wilkes-barre and Scranton area. He spoke on a number of different topics, such as what it’s like to try to assist the black members of his community against racial injustice and police brutality. He also spoke on global warming, ending his poem with the line, “Decay is now enshrined for this paradise for flies.”
He was followed by two performers named Devine Strong and Capital G, musicians who performed separately before collaborating together to perform unreleased music they had been working on. Topics ranged from race, mental health, community isolation, love, sex, death, and all the other things humans experience in their lifetimes.
After this, the event ended with people mingling and circulating around, appreciating the decor of the Black Scranton Project’s head quarters, filled with art by local black artists and newspaper clippings showing the history of some of the black citizens of Scranton. The events that the Black Scranton Project holds are free to the public, asking only for donations so that they could keep their community outreach continuing as long as they are able.
Black Scranton Project’s Website: https://www.blackscranton.org/
Instagrams of the Artists mentioned:
Glynis Johns: https://www.instagram.com/isthat_glynis?igsh=MjA3ejE2dzV5bzZm
Silo Good: https://www.instagram.com/silogood?igsh=bmdkaXJ1eDNwOTU5
Arman: https://www.instagram.com/armanstagram28?igsh=MWZncXNsOXE0cjQ1Mw==
SuperCapitalG: https://www.instagram.com/supercapitalg?igsh=b3VqdmJ5bHQ5MWln