At Cambridge Naturals, we are donating 5% of sales on Saturday June 19th 2021, to be split between three local, community-centered, Black-led organizations that celebrate and promote creativity, art, joy, and prosperity. These organizations are: VLA Dance, Dorchester Art Project*, and Cambridge + Somerville Black Business Network.
Founded in 2019, VLA DANCE is a performance based Contemporary Dance company Led by Victoria Lynn Awkward and based out of Roxbury's Hibernian Hall and Boston Center for the Arts. We aim to create pathways to freedom for people of all identities through contemporary dance.
Dorchester Art Project is a community-driven art space in Fields Corner. Our mission is to serve artists in Dorchester and Greater Boston by providing affordable studio, performance, storefront and community gathering space. We prioritize systematically undervalued communities, including BIPOC, ALAANA+, LGBTQIA+, emerging and experimental artists, as well as artists born and/or raised in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. Support us by donating to our Wishlist, shopping at our online store or visiting our storefront on Dorchester Avenue! *in full transparency, Dorchester Art Project leadership team is made up of both Black and non-Black members.
The Cambridge-Somerville Black Business Network, facilitated by Nicola Williams of The Williams Agency and sponsored by the Sustainable Business Network of MA (SBN) and Cambridge Local First (CLF), brings together Black entrepreneurs and identifies specific programs that can be developed or adopted to help ensure these businesses survive the pandemic and thrive moving forward. This new initiative will convene and work with Black-owned businesses based in Cambridge and Somerville that are in at least one of these phases: 1) Start-Up 2) Expansion 3) Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
About Juneteenth: On June 19th, 1865, the last enslaved African Americans were finally informed of their liberation in Texas, a full two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was decreed. Juneteenth is celebrated in the Black community and in family gatherings, and Massachusetts has finally declared Juneteenth a state holiday. Juneteenth could rightfully be considered our nation's true Independence Day!