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INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:00:06.00 --> 00:03:22.20 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Kai Walther interviews Doc Powell at Malcolm X Park for Indigenous Peoples' Day. In this clip, Doc Powell introduces himself and speaks about his connection to Malcolm X Park. SUBJECTS: (Washington, DC); Malcolm X Park; Malcolm X Park Drummers and Dancers Could you introduce yourself to me? Yes my name is Doc Powell. I'm the artistic director of a wonderful African -- traditional west African drum and dance group the Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers. And my group has a definite connection and root to this wonderful park here where we are. Of course the cultural name and the community name for this park is is Malcolm X Park. And there has been a fabulous cultural tradition going on in this Malcolm X Park that I have been associated with for about sixty years now. Well yeah, at least fifty or fifty-five years. I'm seventy-three years old. I came out to this area as a teenager when I was eighteen, nineteen years old and found this fabulous cultural activity going on here in Malcolm X Park. These wonderful master dances from West Africa and from here in America that I learned the tradition of west African dance and drumming. I took to that activity here in Malcolm X Park and was able to digest enough information and enough culture in drumming to start my own African dance group.

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Since this park was the place that we started, that's why I call my group the Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers. I'm proud to be the artistic director of this wonderful group of drummers and dancers. I've definitely heard a lot about your group, and I live nearby so I've seen you all a couple times. This is why I'm so honored to be a part of this wonderful event and celebration of Indigenous people toay because this is our home root here. This my home root for my cultural expression that I always love to do in terms of drumming and learn so much about drumming and and the cultural elements of drumming right here in in Malcolm X Park. This is a great place to have a celebration of Indigenous people I believe, right here, you know? The cultural roots of this country and this is a excellent place. I'm so happy that this event is going on and I'm so glad that we're having beautiful weather here, and so many wonderful people with beautiful spirits and good community attitudes coming out to this event. I've seen some people today that I haven't seen in quite some time attending this event did that I've known for a little while. It is such a wonderful time, so I'm so glad to be here myself. INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:03:23.21 --> 00:05:43.04 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: In this clip, Doc Powell explains that Bob Brown invited him to the Indigenous Peoples Day event. Doc Powell knows Bob Brown through his work with the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party. SUBJECTS: (Washington, DC); Malcolm X Park; Bob Brown; All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party; African Liberation Day

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I am as well. Were you invited to come to this event? I was invited to come to this event by a brother named Bob Brown. I don't know whether you know Bob Brown but he and I have done some work together. He is one of the main coordinators and and directors of the All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party, AAPRP, and they would have -- Bob Brown's group would have this wonderful event right here in this park. It was a families event, it was so well-attended. They would have vendors, cultural vendors that would circumvent this whole park, all the way around the park, since so many groups of wonderful people selling jewelry and clothes and food and just about any type of cultural item that you'd ever want to have. At the time it was called African Liberation Day and oh my goodness, the event would be so well attended. It would fill up this whole park from top to bottom, you know. Folks would come from Chicago and New York and Detroit and New Jersey to attend this wonderful African Liberation Day event. That's how I first got acquainted with Bob Brown and he's one of the main coordinators of that fabulous event called African Liberation Day. In those days they would have us drummers -- put us on a flatbed truck because they would they would have a celebration of walking all around the city before having the main event in the park. we would be drumming on a flatbed truck and then the truck would let us off in the park. Then we would be participating, doing some drumming for the event. Bob Brown, he always did a wonderful job as a coordinator of the event, so when he called me I definitely had to answer the call to come to this event today. I knew it was going to be fabulous if Bob Brown was going to be associated with it.

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INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:05:44.18 --> 00:07:45.06 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: In this clip, Doc Powell talks about his awareness of and connections to Indigenous organizations and peoples. SUBJECTS: (Washington, DC); Sadanya Flowing Water; International Cultural Festival; The World Alliance of Indigenous Peoples Did you have any prior relationship or connection to the American Indian Movement? No I don't. I don't have any type of prior relationship except for the fact that my father's mother had some Blackfoot Indian blood in her. I was wondering why she always wore her hair in pigtails. And then I finally asked her about that, my grandmother. So I've always had this type of feeling of connection but nothing formally connected to Indigenous people. At least not until -- Well, one of my dancers, she definitely has some Native American culture in in her DNA and that's why she wears feathers in her hair. There is also a group called the World Alliance of Indigenous People. A sister by the name of Sadanya Flowing Water. She and I recently connected because of an event that she would invite my group of drummers and dancers to participate in called the International Cultural Festival that is normally held in York, Pennsylvania. So Sadanya Flowing Water is the main coordinator of that event. And she is very active, I think she's one of the directors of the World Alliance of --

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The World Alliance, so just recently I told her about this event. I don't think she came down, she's based in New York. But just recently, so to have that type of connection with Indigenous people through Sadanya Flowing Water. INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:07:46.11 --> 00:09:37:11 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: In this clip, Doc Powell gives his opinion about the DC government's decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day SUBJECTS: (Washington, DC); Muriel Bowser; Indigenous Peoples' Day; Columbus Day; Christopher Columbus Thinking about this celebration rally today, last year the DC government replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. Why do you think that change happened when it did? Why do I think it happened? Well, I have a great feeling for Mayor Muriel Bowser, I think she has some great ideas and that she's trying to bring a more meaningful cultural expression to to DC. I really applaud her efforts to do that.

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And you know, I'm kind of tired of celebrating Columbus Day anyway. Because how can you discover something that's already there? He thought he was in India, he didn't know where he was anyway. That's why he started calling the folks Indians. He thought he had circumvented the whole North America, so you know, he didn't really know what he was doing. He was a butcher anyway. He was torturing the Indigenous people that he ran into so he would find out where the riches were in the land so he could exploit that. I'm really not a Christopher Columbus fan and so I think it's just time to move on from that and have something that is much more meaningful to our country and to our land to celebrate. I just think it's it's a good idea myself, so you know I'm glad it's happening. So am I. INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:09:39.09 --> 00:11:09.16 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Doc Powell ends the interview by expressing his hope for the Indigenous Peoples' Day event to continue yearly. He would also be glad to have his performance company participate next year. SUBJECTS: (Washington, DC); Indigenous Peoples' Day; U Street Festival; Adams Morgan Day; Malcolm X Drummers and Dancers

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That's all the questions I have, is there anything else that you'd like to talk about? No I don't, I'm just glad we have a beautiful day here and I've even made some wonderful connections both culturally and in the arts right today. You know for people to have it here and it seems like it's a very well organized event. I'm just hoping that it'll be something that will start happening every year this time hopefully. And we can get this kind of beautiful weather and come together and I would be glad to to have my performance company participate in this type of the event because this is what we do. We do a lot of the cultural events here in the Washington DC area and a lot of the big festivals too. We do the U Street festival, which is the biggest one in the area, and the Adams Morgan day festival and the different street festivals. I'm just so glad and honored that my performance company was able to participate in this event and I just hope it continues one way or another every year. I'm looking forward to it. So do I. Thank you so much.

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You're welcome.