3rd Annual Gala
Join us as we celebrate a Night of Black Excellence with our 3rd Annual Gala!
When: October 1st, 2022
Time: 6pm - 10pm
Where: Rivermill at Dover Landing in Dover, New Hampshire 03820
Black Lives Matter Seacoast on October 1st, 2022, 6pm - 10pm, at the Rivermill at Dover Landing in Dover, New Hampshire, will be having its 3rd Annual Black Excellence Gala! The purpose of the Gala is celebrate Black Excellence with Black performances, Black Food, Black music, Black Art; a space to love and appreciate Blackness in the most purest and unapologetic form.
The proceeds of our event go to our Mutual Aid Fund. This invaluable fund has helped our Black community by giving back over $50,000 for needs such as rent, utilities, and basic family needs. The Mutual Aid Fund is our radical act of caring for each other, while simultaneously working to change our communities.
The Keynote Speaker for the night is the incredible and award winning book writer and physicist., Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein! The featured performers are Adrienne Mack-Davis and Anthony Bounphakhom with the The Block Collaborative!
The Dinner will be made by Chris Viaud, the renowed chef and owner of Greenleaf & Ansanm with various desserts will be provided by Chris Viaud and Southern Girls Bakery!
Learn more about our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, our performers, host and Chef Viaud below!
We will be hosting a silent art auction at the event. The art will be made by various local Black artists and attendees will be able to bid on the art throughout the night with the highest bidders being notified at the end of the event! SeacoastOnline Article about the Art Auction can be found here!
Decor of the Gala is provided by Jewel Reid Decor Company!
Photography and Videography is done by Boston based Black owned film company, Together Forever Films!
A ticket to the event will also include access to free coffee & tea, access to a bar with specialized wine and beer, appetizers, dinner and desserts. Formal attire is required at the event.
In-kind Donations From:
Sassy Biscuit
7North Coffee Co.
Mallory Portraits
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
“Black freedom dreams are Black excellence.”
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women’s and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Her research in theoretical physics focuses on cosmology, neutron stars, and dark matter. She additionally does research in Black feminist science, technology, and society studies. Dr. Prescod-Weinstein is also a columnist for New Scientist and Physics World. Nature recognized her as one of 10 people who shaped science in 2020, and Essence magazine has recognized her as one of “15 Black Women Who Are Paving the Way in STEM and Breaking Barriers.” A co-founder of Particles for Justice, she received the 2017 LGBT+ Physicists Acknowledgement of Excellence Award for her contributions to improving conditions for marginalized people in physics and the 2021 American Physical Society Edward A. Bouchet Award for her contributions to particle cosmology. Her first book The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the science and technology category and was named a Best Book of 2021 by Publishers Weekly, Smithsonian Magazine, and Kirkus. It has been a finalist for multiple awards including the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. The Disordered Cosmos was also longlisted for the OCM Bocas Prize in Caribbean Literature. Originally from East L.A., she divides her time between the New Hampshire Seacoast and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Host
Najee Ayman Brown
“Black excellence means achieving success and being able to make an impact in communities backed by continuous action. Black excellence is rising above all prejudice and hate to fight for equality.”
NAJEE A. BROWN can be described as nothing else than a young entrepreneur. After starting his media company, Mindlezz Thoughtz, in 2011 he has helped provide numerous resources to aspiring artists. In addition to running his own media and arts company, Najee Brown also produced his own music and has danced on every stage from the Apollo to Carnegie Hall. Most recently, Najee wrote and produced his play The Bus Stop, which sold out six times in New York City, and recently featured at the Seacoast Rep last summer. He co-wrote and directed the musical Glimmerings Of Hope, which premiered in New York City and toured Michigan in the spring of 2019. He also directed and choreographed the award-winning musical Henry Box Brown A Musical Journey, in Edinburgh Scotland in the summer or 2019. Brown oversees the “Sol,” series at Seacoast Repertory Theatre, which will focus on presenting Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) narratives. Stokley and Martin and Nevaeh’s Brother, are his newest plays to premier at Seacoast Repertory Theatre. Most recently Najee founded his own theater company called Theater For The People. Theater For The People is a BIPOC produced, touring theater company based in New England. Through curating thought-provoking plays accompanied by dialogue spaces, he seeks to build community through the pursuit of oneness and diversity.
Featured Performer
Adrienne Mack Davis
"To me Black excellence means to persevere and overcome no matter what life throws your way, it means forgiveness in the face of adversity, it means pulling greatness from any circumstance or tribulation, it’s the nurturing of our youth so that they know they are fully capable of anything they put their minds to through hard work, dedication and self discipline, it’s striving for what is possible beyond what others might think may be probable, it is to accept oneself and others despite the very real hate in the world, Black Excellence is Love. "
Adrienne Mack-Davis is a classically trained singer/songwriter originally from Rochester, NY. For over a decade she has traveled the world performing over 1200 live shows both nationally and internationally opening and collaborating with the likes of Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Rhakim, Red Man, Pharoah Monch, Hannibal Burress, Homeboy Sandman, Swiss Beats and KRS One to name a few.
In addition to being a feature artist on major national festivals [SXSW and A3C], she has also been featured on the So Far Sounds Live series and has the experience of being able to play a spectrum of different performance spaces, venues and platforms, from small coffee shops and family gatherings to the American Embassy in Vietnam to live radio and TV studio recordings.
She has participated in dozens of service workshops in over 9 countries on such topics as anti-human trafficking, entrepreneurship and women’s empowerment. Having lived overseas she’s had the privilege of being able to experience different cultures abroad allowing space for deeper self reflection, development and maturity in her sound.
Hard hitting soul and RnB melodies fused with infectious Hip Hop and Dance instrumentals she emanates positivity and self love to inspire compassion and self confidence in people from all walks of life. Currently based between New Hampshire and Maine you can catch her either performing with The Bulkheads, a live soul, hip hop, funk band, alongside Nate Winter her accompaniment on guitar for acoustic stripped back sets and solo hitting stages with big instrumentals and even bigger vocals.
Dance Performer
Anthony Bounphakhom &
The Block Collaborative
“What Black Excellence means to us is life, because of black culture our lifestyle has been impacted. From the way we dress to the way we live, without that impact our world would not be open to love and to acknowledge the excellence in Black is the least we can do. We are grateful.”
Anthony is known for healing artistry, the love he expresses through his craft and founder/owner of The Block Collaborative. He started dancing at age 13 and since then has been training with various teams, workshops, conventions, mentors, etc. Anthony’s passion in teaching people to “push love”. Teaching dance is something Anthony loves to do. but his passion is helping people to feel the love for themselves through art.
The Block Collaborative is an art and dance studio located in Portsmouth, NH. The Block is here to support all artists of all ages. The Block believes that everyone can harness creativity to create towards loving their craft and most importantly loving themselves.
Food Caterer
Chris Viaud
of Ansanm
“Black excellence means achieving success and being able to make an impact in communities backed by continuous action. Black excellence is rising above all the prejudice and hate to fight for equality.”
Chris Viaud, a James Beard Award semifinalist & most recently known for competing on Season 18 of Top Chef, is the chef and owner of Greenleaf and Ansanm, both located in Milford New Hampshire. Chef Viaud’s food is rustic in its approach, yet refined, by classic techniques. Focusing primarily on seasonal products, most of which grown locally, helps to fuel his passion when creating menus. He plans and executes a balanced meal that incorporates different flavors and textures that entertain the palate which allows for a unique dining experience each time.
Upon graduating from Johnson and Wales University, he moved to Boston where he spent three of his most formative years at Forbes Four-Star rated restaurant Deuxave in the back bay, where he worked his way to Sous Chef. Since his time in Boston he has been an essential part of multiple restaurant openings in the Greater Boston and New Hampshire area.
Chef Viaud has recently begun focusing a lot more of his time and energy into the exploration of his Haitian Heritage, including finding new ways to introduce and educate communities around the beauty of Haitian cuisine and culture. He continues to challenge himself by pushing the boundaries and constantly taking himself out of his comfort by exploring new ideas, styles, trends and concepts to keep fueling his passion and believes that everyday there is the opportunity to learn something new.