BLACK FUTURES BALL
AUGUST 3, 2024
5-9pm
Bishop Museum
Mahalo to Wakeful State for capturing our evening together!
ABOUT THE BALL
August 3, 2024 was our third Black Futures Ball, an evening of ‘ono food, music, art, and avant-garde African diaspora culture that’s always right on time. Together, we’ll honor a group of dynamic individuals who are invested in preparing a just and healthy world for those yet to come, rooted in love and respect for this ‘āina & its people.
2024’s theme, WE ROAM THE COSMOS, was inspired by avant garde musician and artist Sun Ra who insisted that space is the place as he created an Afro-futuristic universe of possibility though sound and image in his genre-bending oeuvre that melded ancient African spirituality with an-out-of-this-world expansive imagination.
Touching down in Hawai’i, we took up Sun Ra’s invitation to “roam the cosmos” together and connect to intersecting histories of celestial navigation, community, creativity and resistance in the African diaspora and the Pacific.
Just as our ancestors looked to the skies and beyond, to the vast blackness of possibility, we invited our community explore, imagine and create together as we celebrate Black futures.
VENUE
BERNICE PAUAHI BISHOP MUSEUM 1525 Bernice St, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96817
The Bishop Museum is Hawai‘i’s preeminent scientific and cultural institution. A place to discover Hawai‘i’s history and living culture, the Bishop Museum is a place to learn about Hawai‘i, from Polynesian wayfinding to experiencing the thrill of an erupting volcano. The museum houses the largest collection of Hawaiian and Pacific cultural artifacts and natural history specimens in the world.
MENU
Our creative menu of heavy pūpū with omnivore and vegetarian options reflects African diaspora cuisine and Local flavors. Designed and provided by Tailor Made Custom Catering.
Libations courtesy of Sip and Flow including signature cocktail the “Melanin” and signature mocktail the “Sun Ra.”
2024 HONOREES
Each Black Futures Ball lifts up members of our Black community who contribute to the future of Hawai’i.
Aleeka Kay Morgan
Aleeka Kay Morgan is the founder of Nurturing Wāhine Fund, a feminist fund in Hawai'i that provides wellness grants to women and girls across the state with a specific focus on Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation, and maternal healthcare. She is a former adjunct professor of Business & Communications at Chaminade University. She is originally from Guyana, South America and holds an Economics degree from Brown University. Aleeka is currently a Vital Voices Fellow.
Charles Asselbaye
Charles Asselbaye, born in Toulouse, France and raised in Chad, first made his way to Hawaiʻi more than 20 years ago. After working as an environmental scientist at a local engineering company for a number of years, Asselbaye followed his passion and opened Local Joe Coffee Roasters in 2015 in downtown Honolulu.
Francoise Culley-Trotman
Francoise Culley-Trotman, CEO of AlohaCare, is a seasoned healthcare leader who has nearly two decades of healthcare operations and compliance experience. She joined AlohaCare in 2017 and served as Chief Compliance Office prior to taking on the role of interim chief executive officer and now chief executive officer.
Ana Leʻa Mathis
Ana Leʻa Mathis is a dynamic educator, seasoned food activist, and farmer with a wide range of expertise in organizational management, ʻāina-based education, youth development and community engagement. Ana is currently program coordinator at Kōkua Learning Farm, a part of Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization that cultivates long-lasting behavior change around sustainability by engaging students, educators, families, and community in hands-on environmental stewardship.
Kenyatta Kelechi
Kenyatta Kelechi is an artist born and raised in photogenic Kailua, Oʻahu whose his art practice focuses on the material nature of photography itself as his subject, capitalizing on the side effects of chemically based photographic processes, currently creating images with the nineteenth-century method of wet plate collodion, or what is commonly referred to as “tintype” photography. Kenyatta has a solo show of his work opening at Honolulu Museum of Art in later 2024.
Mahalo to Vivir Photography and our photobooth from Joseph Esser Photo + Video for capturing our evening!
Our Supporters and Sponsors
Mahalo nui to all the organizations, volunteers, and individuals who make our Black Futures Ball possible
