{"id":179949,"date":"2026-02-25T17:56:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/179949\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T17:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T17:56:49","slug":"celebrate-black-atx-2026-marks-100-years-of-black-history-in-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/179949\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Black ATX 2026 Marks 100 Years of Black History in Austin"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 This weekend, Austin is celebrating a major milestone: 100 years of Black history in the city. Celebrate Black ATX 2026<\/a> is a free, community-wide event honoring the legacy, culture, and joy that have shaped East Austin and the greater Austin area.<\/p>\n

Co-founders Jane Obi and Bryan Edwards recently sat down with Sierra Waggoner and Trevor Scott to share what this historic celebration means for the community!<\/p>\n

\"{p}Co-founders<\/p>\n

Co-founders Jane Obi and Bryan Edwards recently sat down with Sierra Waggoner and Trevor Scott to share what this historic celebration means for the community.<\/p>\n

Obi explained the vision behind the movement. \u201cThird Spaces is a local creative community organization founded by Bryan and me. We are basically event producers, and we produce large-scale festivals and events right here in the city. It\u2019s really a space centered on the Black lived experience, but open to the whole community. We wanted to create a space where people feel seen, heard, and empowered because there\u2019s not a lot of us in Austin, but we are here. We want people to know there are people who look like you, celebrating you, listening to your music, and eating the food you want to eat right here in Austin.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme reflects a larger historical milestone. Edwards said, \u201cWe are walking toward a bigger way of celebrating 100 years of Black history. We touch a lot of different churches and landmarks within East Austin that amplify that history. A lot of those places are slowly being eroded over time due to transition in East Austin. So we really want to highlight the places that are still there, that are still standing, that people can unite around while we can. It\u2019s a great opportunity to see what the history looks like and how people are still celebrating it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

That celebration begins with history tours designed to connect attendees to the past, followed by a lively block party.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrate<\/p>\n

Celebrate Black ATX 2026 Marks 100 Years of Black History in Austin<\/p>\n

Obi shared, \u201cAfter the history tours, we\u2019re going to have a block party from 1 to 6. We\u2019ll have the legendary jazz collective performing \u2014 they are incredible \u2014 along with a couple of DJs, visual artists with exhibitions, and of course a local Black market where you can support and shop Black-owned businesses. It\u2019s family-friendly. And the best part, which is always my favorite, is the food. We have The Historic Victory Grill doing a cookout menu for us, and they\u2019re even including a crawfish boil this year. It\u2019s going to be outside, the weather\u2019s looking beautiful \u2014 think of it like a huge backyard party that\u2019s fun for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year also marks the final block party at Kenny Dorham\u2019s Backyard, a space that has become central to the event\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

Edwards reflected on the significance of the location. \u201cThis will be our fifth year hosting it at Kenny Dorham\u2019s Backyard. It has been really supportive of us and the community at large. It\u2019s transitioning due to the Block 16 and 18 project and will be redeveloped into a new space that\u2019s community-focused but also commercial. We hope it stays rooted in community like it always has been. Kenny Dorham\u2019s has been a great place for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Celebrate<\/p>\n

Celebrate Black ATX 2026 Marks 100 Years of Black History in Austin<\/p>\n

Celebrate Black ATX takes place Saturday, February 28. The history tours begin at 11 a.m., followed by the block party at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Obi added, \u201cWhatever you need, we\u2019ll have it for you \u2014 whether it\u2019s food, music, or art. We\u2019ll have everything you need to have a really good time. You can find us at celebratespaces.com or on Instagram at spaces_recreate, where you can RSVP to the event. It\u2019s free, but we just ask that you RSVP so we can prepare for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizers say the goal is simple: honor the past, celebrate the present, and create space for the future \u2014 together!<\/p>\n

More details on how to attend, celebrate, and get invloved at celebratespaces.com!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"{p}More<\/p>\n

More details on how to attend at celebratespaces.com!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 This weekend, Austin is celebrating a major milestone: 100 years of Black history in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-179949","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-austin","9":"tag-austin-headlines","10":"tag-austin-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}