Ward 7 and 8 Women and Families Celebrate Juneteenth

with a free Sisterhood Supper - Serving Self Care

On June 19, 2021, from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at Oxon Run Park in Ward 8

EVENT UPDATE:

Due to a 60% chance of rain, we have shifted to a Juneteenth virtual celebration to honor and have a soul healing conversation on food freedom with DC's food sheroes who have made an impact in our communities with special performances. So the show must go on in the name of the ancestors. We are donating the Sisterhood Supper, flowers, and self-care bags to the Harriet Tubman Women's Homeless Shelter in Ward 7 because we are the food sheroes that our communities need. RSVP via Zoom: iamwanda.org/sisterhoodsupper.

WASHINGTON, DC (June 1, 2021) --In celebration of Juneteenth, a group of Ward 7 and 8 organizations and residents are gathering for a Sisterhood Supper. In addition to the main dish of self-care and healthy side portions of fun, food, and fellowship, the community of women will kick-off a #SisterhoodSupper challenge to share recipes for collective action and policy change to improve nutrition security and food justice.

COVID-19 has exposed the need to center self-care for the Black community, especially among women juggling motherhood, work, and personal health. “One of the most important parts of our community's liberation is achieving health equity; particularly in communities that lack the social determinants of health that enable a community to heal itself,” says Mary Blackford, owner of Market 7, an upcoming food hall in Ward 7.

“Women are the nurturers and this event celebrates our freedom to be and to heal ourselves,” declared Angela Chester-Johnson, owner of Plum Good LLC and Ward 8 resident.

That’s why self-care is centered for this Juneteenth which represents freedom, family, faith, and food -- red foods, in particular, to celebrate the resilient spirit of African Americans in this country.

“The Sisterhood Supper creates space to break bread while watering our roots at the Well, which is rooted in wellness,” says Jaren Hill Lockridge, manager of the Well. “At the Well, we recognize the direct connection between food access and wellness.”

Featuring a local DJ, drumming and local artists like Canadian-Nigerian singer Tolu Mide, a community supper representing African diaspora flavors with fresh fruits, alkaline water and herbal teas. Attendees are encouraged to wear African prints to celebrate their culture and bring their stories and photos to capture during the storytelling session.

“We are collecting stories and recipes from women for the Sisterhood Community Cookbook to capture the meals, memories, and moments of this historic time we are living,” says Tambra Raye Stevenson, Ward 8 resident and founder of WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture. “We are also recognizing everyday women who are making a difference in our community through the power of food too.”

Attendees who pledge online and social media using #sisterhoodsupperchallenge to join the Sisterhood Supper challenge will have a chance to win raffle prizes such as cookbooks and food gift cards. Resources for healthy food access will be available. Attendees can use the hashtag: #sisterhoodsupper2021. If you are not able to attend, you can still submit your stories and recipes at Sisterhood Community Cookbook.

“Our community has been a food desert, and it will take bold steps to change that, but it all starts with building and fostering a real community” says ANC Commissioner Jamila White. “I really believe fellowship, collective action, and good food can be important ingredients in sparking change.”

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ABOUT WANDA

Featured in Forbes and Voice of America, WANDA: Women Advancing Nutrition Dietetics and Agriculture is a Black women-led 501c3 nonprofit organization that is creating pipelines and platforms to cultivate and amplify a new generation of intergenerational leaders from farm to health with a supportive, safe sisterhood of self-care and service. In achieving this goal we launched educational and advocacy initiatives such as the #IamWANDA campaign, WANDA Academy, WANDA Fellowship, and the bilingual children’s book series. To learn more, visit iamwanda.org and follow on social media @iamwandaorg on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram (@_iamwandaorg).

About ANC Commissioner Jamila White

Jamila White is a native Washingtonian and an ANC Commissioner of District 8A05 in Ward 8. Jamila White (she/her) is a racial equity and justice disruptor, global community development expert and advocate. She is also the founder of blakQuity, which tackles wealth and equity gaps in Black and Brown communities by bringing funding, investment, partnership and developmental resources together in sustainable ways.