African American festival returns as summer starts in Warren

WARREN — As Kimberly Williams held a colorful yellow, orange and brown dress against her daughter’s body to figure out if it would look good on the smiling 13-year-old Kyisha, the elder woman smiled with a hint of pride as she continued a tradition that began with her own father.

“We’ve always attempted to make at least one of the three days of this festival ever since I was my daughter’s age,” Williams said. “My mom and dad used to bring all of us here.”

Kimberly and her husband, Calvin, have made the annual pilgrimage back to Trumbull County so they can attend the festival and see other family members.

“It’s a tradition we hope we will be able to keep,” she said. “It’s not what it once was, but it helps us maintain bonds.”

This is the 36th year for Warren’s African American Achievers Festival. It was not held the last two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We want to keep it going,” Warren Councilman Ronald White, D-7th Ward, said. “It traditionally has been the first summer festival of the year. It has allowed people to blow off some steam from the long winter and spring in ways that are fun.”

Many area vendors sell African clothing, T-shirts, shea butters, creams and ointment, as well as home decorations, rugs and woven containers.

Brandon Jarrett, 22, and his friend, Devin Chambers, also 22, began their clothing business, Realigion. Wxrldwide, about two years ago and made their public premiere this weekend at the festival.

“We make street ware,” Jarrett said. “We hand draw every design, get them printed and put them on shirts and hats. Once we get really good at this, we’ll do jeans and anything to do with fashion.”

Chambers said they started in a basement.

“We were making clothes.” Chambers said. “We were splashing stuff with paint and bleaching stuff. It came together with cool designs for people our age and older.”

The two are exited about the response they’ve received so far from those attending the festival.

“People have been coming up and looking at what we’ve done,” Chambers said. “People who are much older, middle age, our age and sometimes younger.

“We’re very appreciative,” he said.

Helen Youngblood, the publisher of YW magazine, was at the festival allowing people to see and buy the publication. It is a one-issue magazine published in 2019 that profiles and highlights the accomplishments of some African Americans who lived in the Youngstown and Warren areas.

“In 2019, I decided to do something to commemorate the 400 years when the first African-American slave landed in the United States.

“We decided to do a magazine,” she said. “When we began, I thought it would be 15 to 20 pages long. I did not realize the number of African Americans that did so much in this area, so it turned out to be much larger and more in depth.”

Youngblood estimates 150 to 200 people were highlighted in the magazine by the time it was completed.

“Many slaves were brought here in Warren dating back to 1836,” she said.

Youngstown City Schools CEO Justin Jennings gave each of the graduating students a copy of the magazine so they can learn the history of the area.

Those interested in purchasing the magazine can get one by going to American Family Insurance, 7006 Market St., Youngstown.

Youngblood hopes someone will take the opportunity to do a second edition of the magazine.

“I will not,” she admitted. “I did not know how much work it took to put together a quality magazine that looks like Ebony.”

The final day of the festival is today and will feature a gospel fest starting at 2 p.m.