Photo Credit: Gary Williams, Jr. | Creative Theory, R Mural Project
We celebrate Black visionaries, groundbreakers and changemakers. #7WordStories @WeAreEDENS
We are in the business of humanity. Our differences are what make for beautiful and strong communities. We create our places to inspire us to come together with respect, understanding and empathy for one another.
We are inspired by the resilience, courage and legacy of Black heroes. We honor and celebrate leaders who have advanced racial justice, and those who follow in their footsteps.
Embracing inclusive and open dialogue is one way we can start to make change together.
Park Road Books x Park Road Shopping Center February 3 @7:00PM | The Devil You Know Virtual Book Event
Park Road Books hosts author and New York Times op-ed columnist, Charles Blow, as he discusses his book The Devil You Know in this virtual event.
Summary | The Devil You Know
Acclaimed columnist and author Charles Blow never wanted to write a “race book.” But as violence against Black people—both physical and psychological—seemed only to increase in recent years, culminating in the historic pandemic and protests of the summer of 2020, he felt compelled to write a new story for Black Americans. He envisioned a succinct, counterintuitive, and impassioned corrective to the myths that have for too long governed our thinking about race and geography in America. Drawing on both political observations and personal experience as a Black son of the South, Charles set out to offer a call to action by which Black people can finally achieve equality, on their own terms.
Politics and Prose x Union Market District Politics & Prose hosts several virtual book events—many aimed at younger audiences—tackling subjects that shape the conversation around race in America, including the Tulsa Massacre, the power of ‘good trouble’, and the significance of Black experiences in predominantly white environments. Notably, best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates will discuss with Nic Stone the powerful young adult edition of Coates’ The Beautiful Struggle. A candid coming-of-age memoir, this adaptation explores one boy’s journey to manhood and his relationship with his larger-than-life father.
February 4 @7:00PM | P&P Live! Breaking Bread With Kwame Alexander, Veronica Chambers, & Marie Arnold-Becoming Muhammad Ali, Finish the Fight, & The Year I Flew Away
February 9 @6:00PM | P&P Live! Leah Henderson and Tyler Feder-Together We March: 25 Protest Movements That Marched Into History—with Karen MacPherson
February 11 @2:00PM | P&P Live! Carole Boston Weatherford-Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
February 24 @7:00PM | P&P Live! Ta-Nehisi Coates — The Beautiful Struggle – with Nic Stone
Black Owned Boston X South Bay February 13 Opening | Since March 2019, Black Owned Bos. has been creating space for Black-owned businesses, places, spaces, and faces to be amplified and to thrive in the Greater Boston Area.
The Museum for Black Girls x RiNo February 18 Opening | A vibrant interactive Black Girl Magic Museum pop-up at RiNo. Designed to share magical experiences and stories.
The Village x Union Market District The Village is a story of three DC natives who came together to create a place of opportunity for themselves and others stemmed from the beliefs that the right environment can lead to positive impacts in people’s lives. The idea of The Village was conceived as a communal center, began as a community café, but has grown into so much more.
The Village Café also doubles as a workshop, board room and learning lab for EDENS to research consumer behavior, implement pilot retail projects and engage with the community.
False Ego x RiNo In 2018, Jevon Taylor began developing False Ego as more than just an apparel company, but also as a tool for positive impact. False Ego strives to change the way fashion is consumed, and does so as one of the few genuinely environmentally-conscious apparel brands.
Serenata x La Cosecha at Union Market District Andra Johnson (“AJ”) is one of the founders and partners of Serenata, a full-service Latino cocktail experience crafting drinks inspired by the countries that make up Latin American heritage.
AJ is a recognized hospitality professional with over sixteen year of experience. She has worked with some of the DC’s most popular restaurants including Michelin-starred Bresca, Stephen Starr’s Le Diplomate, and Robert Wiedmaier’s Mussel Bar & Grill. She is the brainchild of DC’s Black Restaurant Week and is currently working on a book, White Plates, Black Faces, which addresses the cultural neglect of African-Americans in the restaurant industry.
This month, Serenata celebrates Afro-Latina artists and activists through Serenata cocktails to honor their work. The Afro-Latina Box features five cocktails inspired by five artists and activists. ⠀
Jamie Scott Fitness x Cross Hill Market Jamie Scott, Founder of @jamie_scott_fitness, is a true innovator, entrepreneur and lifelong fitness advocate with a community-focused approach to health and wellness. Jamie’s drive to continue to grow through education and experiences has pushed himself to constantly evolve. Jamie has turned Jamie Scott Fitness into the most progressive, inspirational and innovative boutique gyms in the region. As communities find ways to re-engage safely, Jamie has creatively adapted to serve small-group and outdoor fitness experiences. Through all his efforts, Jamie is guided by his own personal philosophy that leading a life of wellness translates to a life well lived.
Creative Theory x Union Market District Founded in 2015, Creative Theory Agency has become a leader in multicultural marketing and partners with leading global brands that understand their ability to impact the community, representation, and equity.
Creative Theory Agency believes in an equitable and diverse media landscape that gives value to all perspectives and shares real stories of real people.
Conscious Community Wear x Union Market District Conscious Community Wear, a small company born out of the idea to move culture forward by making positive strides expressed in a fashion statement. Their mission includes donating a portion of their proceeds back to their communities, reaching out to those in need.
Be A Good Person x RiNo Be A Good Person was developed based on a passion for positivity and a brighter future within our society. The Most Basic Concept. “There are many talented and fortunate people who will never reach their full potential due to their bad habits and pessimistic outlook on life. But there are also many less fortunate people, who strive to be positive and work harder than those that take their skill set or blessings for granted. Instead of supporting the current trends of negativity, our #1 goal is to remind us all to approach our days with an optimistic, positive, and refreshed outlook. We believe that positive change truly starts with within ourselves, one person at a time.”
Mélange x CityVista With the launch of EDENS Catalyst, Elias is the inaugural partner of the program with the opening of Mélange as his first brick and mortar restaurant. Chef Taddesse’s history with EDENS began at Union Market, where he launched his pop-up Salt N’ Pepper in 2016 and created his famous burger sourced from Harvey’s Market, a Union Market District establishment since 1971. Born in Ethiopia, trained in France, and now famous for his triple-blend burger, Chef Elias Taddesse’s new restaurant Mélange builds on his iconic burger with new classics inspired by his Ethiopian heritage. Since opening Mélange in 2020 at CityVista in Washington, DC, Chef Taddesse has received a number of accolades from food critics at The Washington Post, Washingtonian, Washington City Paper and more.
Puddin’ x Union Market District Toyin Alli, owner and head chef of Puddin’, got her start eight years ago as a street food vendor at DC’s historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. Toyin specializes in divine comfort food including chicken ‘n beef sausage gumbo, shrimp ‘n grits, étouffée, red beans ‘n rice, shrimp, local Rappahannock oyster and wild blue catfish po’boys and of course, her signature dish and the company’s namesake, brown butter bourbon bread puddin’.
Barry’s Bootcamp x Atherton Mill Barry’s is donating 100% of proceeds from Barry’s At Home Class and limited edition Barry’s x Black Lives Matter pullover sweatshirt to the NAACP. A portion of all proceeds from these classes will go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit that strives to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights for Black people.
Black Women’s Blueprint Black Women’s Blueprint envisions a world where women and girls of African descent are fully EMPOWERED and where gender, race and other disparities are ERASED.
Color of Change Color of Change leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities. They challenge injustice, hold corporate and political leaders accountable, commission game-changing research on systems of inequality, and advance solutions for racial justice that can transform our world.
Innocence Project The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
Youveline Joseph x South Bay Youveline Joseph is a visual artist, born in Haiti and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts. Her body of work focuses on representation and her goal is to showcase and praise the beauty of her people (i.e. the diversity in the African diaspora). You can find a gallery of Youveline’s work at JP Lick’s in Boston South Bay.
Bryon Summers x Union Market District
Featured Exhibit | Celebrating Melanin + Black Heritage “What’s needed now more than ever, is for people to see, feel, & experience who we truly are. We are beautiful, proud, intelligent, creative, inspiring, and are demanding that the world finally acknowledges that. It’s important, as Black photographers, that we capture the love and light of our people and the space we occupy in humanity. It’s imperative that we celebrate each other in that way and invite others to see us in the same light. That’s the purpose of this installation- to showcase our beauty, our variety, our interests & our pride- as seen through the lens of DMVbred Black photographers.” – Bryon Summers
Robert Young x Union Market District
Featured Exhibit | UNMASK FEAR “To Unmask Fear is to engage the unknown and erase ignorance with truth. When truth is revealed in its entirety, humankind will find that we are all on the same side of the sun and therefore compassion for one another will be reflected in positive right-action in the light of adaptation.” – Robert Young
Creative Theory x Union Market District
Featured Exhibit | Resilience Mural Creative Theory Agency’s R Mural Project is a platform that gives a voice to locals who, in spite of setbacks, barriers, or limited resources have found the strength to move forward and climb as a community amid a global health and racial pandemic. The project was designed to encourage perseverance through artistic expression and storytelling while providing pandemic relief resources and minority-owned businesses.
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