20231103_CommunityAltarOfrenda_BEECo - 2
The BEE Collective announces its curated Community Altar + Ofrenda on Friday, November 1, 2024 at Public Works Art Center, located at 135 W Richardson Ave. in Summerville, open to the public starting at 4 p.m. with art making, a grief circle, and culminating with a celebration from 6-8 p.m.
This event precedes the BEE Collective’s 2nd annual Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422 building located at 1142 Morrison Drive, Downtown Charleston. Friday’s event is in honor and remembrance of lost loved ones and ancestors, offering an opportunity for grieving, processing, mediating, celebrating, and support. Food and refreshments will be provided. The community altar and ofrenda event is free of charge and all ages are welcome. The Just-Us Indaba is offered on a sliding scale. Pre-registration is required for both. For more information, full schedule of activities, and to register, visit justusindaba.com.
Beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 1 at Public Works Art Center, the remembrance will begin with semi-private and shared space for personal meditation, in addition to a separate area for art making. From 6 until 8 p.m. there will be live music and spoken word poetry, accompanied by art making and traditional Mexican food, including homemade tamales and aguas frescas. Doula Raquel Washington, MA will also be offering herbal grief tea. Performing artists to be announced.
The community is invited to bring copies of photos of their loved ones, along with recycled bottles and/or any object to create a momento to leave in honor and celebration on the altar, or ofrenda (offering), in Spanish. This expression of love intertwines many indigenous traditions, including Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrated in México. During Día de Muertos, the tradition is to build private altars (ofrendas) containing the favorite foods and beverages, as well as photos and memorabilia, of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the words of the living directed to them. These altars are often placed at home or in public spaces such as schools and libraries, but it is also common for people to go to cemeteries to place these altars next to the tombs of the departed.
BEE’s Community Altar + Ofrenda opens the Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit presented by BEE Collective and Southern BEE Alliance - a transformative gathering and full-day event dedicated to pregnant, birthing, and parenting families, along with their healthcare advocates, reproductive justice champions, and supportive healing arts practitioners. This event is an opportunity to register, engage, and co-create community-driven solutions that safeguard the well-being of pregnant, birthing individuals, and young children in the beloved community.
The 2nd ANNUAL JUST-US INDABA will be presented on Saturday, November 2, beginning at 10 a.m. with on-site registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome, including babies in arms. Elders, those with disabilities, birth workers in Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities, and all birthing people are especially encouraged. Free and ample parking is available. is centered around the theme of “cooperative economics,” also known as “Ujamaa,” the fourth principle of Kwanzaa. Ujamaa is the commitment to the practice of shared social wealth and the work necessary to achieve it.
“Together, we are committed to dismantling the alarming rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity among Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities in South Carolina. Let's listen, learn, and collaborate for a brighter, healthier future. We aim to explore how cooperative models can enhance economic resilience and community empowerment, particularly within BIPOC communities,” says BEE Collective’s co-founder, Adrienne Troy-Frazier. “This year we will feature various sessions and workshops designed to delve into the potential of cooperative economics in fields such as birthwork, healing arts, and early childhood education.”
The Just-Us INDABA provides a full day of scheduled events, including speakers and presenters, community activists and advocates. A full schedule is available at justusindaba.com/schedule.
This program is made possible with support and partnership from the following: Cooperative Education Fund, Sisters of Charity, Berkeley County First Steps, I Am Voices, Tri County Play Collaborative, BEE Collective, Southern BEE Alliance, and the community-at-large.
For additional information regarding the Just-Us INDABA: Birthing, Education, and Healing Justice Summit presented by the BEE Collective and the Southern BEE Alliance, visit justusindaba.com.
