The African World Festival is an exciting celebration of African culture, music, and art.
Hosted annually in Detroit, this festival attracts visitors from all over the world with its vibrant energy and cultural offerings. From live performances to authentic African cuisine and handmade crafts, there's something for everyone to enjoy.
Each year, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History celebrates the African World Festival®. For three days, over 20,000 people from all walks of life gather on historic Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit to celebrate the beauty, strength, and spirit of the African Diaspora.
With performances, vendors, food, clothing, health products, visual arts, live demonstrations, community resources and information, and more, there's something for everyone at AWF.
A Milestone Celebration
The African World Festival (AWF®) returns to Hart Plaza for a powerful three-day celebration of culture, history, and community, honoring the LEGACY of the African Diaspora.
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This year's festival holds special significance as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the museum - six decades of preserving, educating, and celebrating Black history and culture.
From July 18 to 20, festivalgoers will experience an immersive journey through music, dance, art, storytelling, food, and meaningful conversations that highlight our shared heritage's strength, resilience, and beauty.
“This year's festival is not just a celebration-it's a homecoming, a cultural reunion, and a tribute to the generations who paved the way,” said Neil A. Barclay, President and CEO of The Charles H. Wright Museum.
“As we mark our 60th anniversary, we invite everyone to reflect, rejoice, and build together for the future.”
Festival Highlights
- Opening Night Celebration (Friday, July 18): A powerful evening of live performances, spoken word, and cultural showcases reflecting the global Black experience.
- World-Class Entertainment: Music, dance, and performance art from top local, national, and international artists of the African Diaspora.
- African Marketplace: A bustling vendor space featuring handcrafted goods, fashion, art, and home items from Black-owned businesses.
- Children's Village: Family-friendly activities, storytelling, and crafts that encourage cultural pride and creativity.
- The Food Pavilion: A flavorful journey through African, Caribbean, and soul food traditions that nourish body and spirit.
- Cultural Conversations & Panels: Engaging dialogues led by scholars, creatives, and community leaders on heritage, identity, and social progress.
1983 African World Festival
Historical Roots and Evolution
Forty years ago, civil rights activist Edith Lee-Payne of Detroit attended the 1983 festival. Twenty years before, she was present during the June 1963 Detroit “Walk to Freedom” march and rally and the August 1963 “March on Washington” where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
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While Detroit already had an Afro-American Festival, city officials reached out in the early 1980s to museum founder Charles H.
Longtime museum employee Kevin Davidson has been involved in the festival planning and presentation since 1983. He assisted Carl Owens in the development of the poster art.
The museum was founded in 1965 by Charles H. Wright, a Black physician.
“You had Dr. Wright’s vision to see this museum grow and become monumental in the city of Detroit and could raise the funds and maintain what we had on the Boulevard [the museum’s first site],” Davidson said.
Shahida Mausi, a cultural and entertainment leader in Detroit, played an important part in solidifying the support of Detroit’s first African American mayor, Coleman A. Young.
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The first African World Festival theme was “The African World is One” and was celebrated at Detroit’s Hart Plaza.
Gregory Hicks, who had previously worked as a Detroit City Council staffer, served as the first festival manager and helped to ensure that the effort stayed on time and on task.
Davidson’s favorite poster is one that he created for the first African World Festival. Artist Carl Owens created the piece, which depicts a man with two halves.
One half features him in an African hairstyle and necklace.
“I remember (King) Sunny Ade and the performance was so powerful,” Davidson said.
“It was very spiritual, it was an introduction to African highlife.
For the third festival in 1985, Zenani Mandela Dlamini, the daughter of South African civil rights activists Nelson and Winnie Mandela,made an appearance to accept an award on behalf of her mother, reported the Detroit Free Press.
She also delivered a speech, calling for the United States to ostracize South Africa, as it was still under apartheid.
“That was major for us,” Davidson said.
“His (Nelson’s) daughter was right here in a city that was 80% African American and then there was the connection between Detroit and South Africa fighting apartheid.
At the 1989 festival, a local and significant player in the American civil rights movement would be honored-Rosa Parks.
“She was the mother of the civil rights movement for us here,” he said.
“That was magical because she had not only come to the festival but had made several visits to the museum.
Davidson said during the 1990s, the African World Festival became more of an educational experience, featuring more lectures about the continent and bringing in more African artists.
“It’s been our No. 1 public event throughout the years and so, we’ve made sure to invest in it,” he said.
“We’ve never relented.
To celebrate the festival’s milestone, the Wright Museum created a 40th anniversary exhibit, which will be located at Lincoln Garden.
Davidson said the exhibit will feature 40 festival posters and 200 to 300 photographs from the festival throughout the years.
The festival will also feature the Watoto Village with kids’ activities like games, arts and crafts and short films.
“I believe our young people need to see how African American people celebrate the culture and arts,” he said.
The Wright Museum and Its Role
“For over half a century, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History has dedicated itself to exploring and celebrating the rich cultural legacy of African Americans,” said Wright Museum President and CEO Neil Barclay.
Through a partnership with the city of Detroit, the museum constructed new buildings in 1985 and 1997.
“We want to provide some uniquely Black experiences for the community - Black, white, red, yellow, you name it,” Smith, the Afro-American Museum of Detroit’s executive director, told the Detroit Free Press in 1983.
“But in terms of taking that leap building a brand new facility, [Dr.
Wright Museum of African American History The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History was founded in 1965 and is in the heart of Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center.
The Wright Museum’s mission is to open minds and change lives through the exploration and celebration of African American history and culture.
And Still We Rise: Our Journey Through African American History and Culture - the museum’s 22,000 square foot, immersive core exhibit - is one of the largest, single exhibitions surveying the history of African Americans.
The Wright Museum houses over 35,000 artifacts and archival materials and offers more than 300 public programs and events annually.
Experiencing the Festival
The African World Fest is at one end of Woodward Ave. - with Blacks and a relative handful of Whites; and the suburban Dream Cruise, an iconic car show on steroids, is at the other end - overwhelmingly White, with a relative handful of Blacks.
The cool green grass on the museum grounds makes for a great play space for kids - some of whom never get a chance to roll down a grassy hill - and it’s a relaxing concert venue.
Having the fest at the museum allows many in the community - who might never visit - to come in, cool off, and explore the exhibits for free.
The African World Festival takes us back to the time of public demonstrations of The Village, the collective watching of children, the respect for our myriad ways of being, for our different religions - Gospel music plays on stage, while Muslims line up to pray.
I always give a social media shout-out, inviting white friends to the African Fest; for many may not know if they are welcome at such an expressly Black event.
The African World Festival is one of the greatest events of the year, always on the third weekend of August, and we revel in all of our colors, at our very Detroit best.
The AWF is a treasure trove of jewelry and garments, not all African inspired, and you can find something from 5 bucks to hundreds of dollars.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | Hart Plaza, Downtown Detroit |
| Dates | July 18-20, 2025 |
| Attendance | Over 20,000 people |
| Admission | Free for Wright Museum Members, tickets available online |
Planning Your Visit
AWF 2025 is located on Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit.
