Black Bottom | Black Legacy Festival
Saturday, August 15th & Sunday, August 16th | 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
This event is Free and Open to the Public.
Black Bottom | Black Legacy Festival is a celebration of Black Detroit's past, present, and future.
Rooted in the legacy of Black Bottom, the inaugural festival honors the people, stories, and cultural traditions that continue to shape our communities. Presented by Black Bottom Archives, the festival showcases the work of the Preserving Black Legacy Fellowship while bringing together storytelling, art, performances, workshops, and interactive experiences that celebrate Black memory and creativity.
Guided by the theme "Preserve the Past. Document the Now. Create the Future," the festival invites visitors to reflect on history, celebrate the present, and imagine the future together.
Your participation and support help sustain community-driven archives, oral histories, cultural programming, and the preservation of Black Detroit's living legacy.
From the Bottom, Up.
Through workshops, presentations, art activations, and performances, the festival brings together community members, artists, archivists, and storytellers to celebrate Black Detroit’s past, present, and future.
Festival activities include:
- Fellows present their archival projects, each rooted in a Detroit neighborhood
- Community workshops on oral history, archiving, and storytelling
- In-person/virtual panel discussions centered on Black storytelling traditions with fellows, storytellers, archivists, and community leaders
- Indoor/outdoor performances featuring Detroit musicians, poets, and dancers
- Dedicated family-friendly gathering spaces