Review: Rebecca and Alexander Howard Community Engagement presents ‘Read the Park’

Published on July 20, 2026

Okay, confession time: when I interviewed Stephanie Cholmondeley about “Read the Park,” I got so extremely excited and I began “nerding out,” even and buying a “Reading Rainbow” shirt to debut at this event!

Meeting Cholmondeley in person at “Read the Park” was such an honor. During our conversation, she mentioned how she would be processing this event within the next few weeks and honestly, same here! “Read the Park” was truly special in many ways and it’s not something you can fully digest in just one day!

My eyes were opened to numerous aspects of Black history and culture on a local, national, and global scale that I never knew about before. Every conversation and presentation lit a fire in my spirit that I never want extinguished — I want to do everything I can to partner alongside our black community in the continued fight for equal rights within all spheres of life; the most important sphere being the safety and celebration of our community’s black children.

As I sit here and write, I realize that this article will always feel incomplete and imperfect to me because there are just too many things to keep discussing…that’s why this might just be the best article I ever write. I never want the conversations I present in my articles to end with me, but this story presents a special opportunity to achieve something that the nature of my work does not always achieve.

Let’s keep talking, keep fighting the good fight, and keep learning together.

Setting the Stage

Stepping into this event, I immediately felt the love poured into this event. Happy tears welled up in my eyes as I saw numerous coffee tables, like you would find in the coziest of homes, holding vibrant children’s books by black authors. My favorite was “Something, Someday” by Amanda Gorman, which I bought a copy of at Browsers Bookshop afterwards.

There were also other spaces with other home furnishings that created sort of “outdoor living room” vibe, making everyone feel warm and welcomed. Many spaces featured the artwork of Katrina Pittman, which were stunning and added another elegant splash to this event!

My friend Zhu Zhu from Traditions was part of the team helping with set up and she showed me something cool. Pointing a peacock chair, Zhu Zhu described the tradition many families embrace where they take their yearly photographs near a peacock chair. That chair gets to watch families grow older and children grow up, how meaningful and sentimental! … See what I mean, there were opportunities for learning everywhere!

When I took my seat, I saw that the gal sitting in front of me had really gorgeous nails, and I told her so! Little did I know that the gal in front of me was event presenter Dr. LaToya Brackett! We ended up having a conversation that lasted for about an hour talking about everything from Black History to local restaurants, sharing pieces of our lives in between. Dr. Brackett was the real deal — kind, intelligent, open minded, generous, fun, and a very good conversationalist. Mentioning our conversation in this review is relevant because “Read the Park” was not just about sitting there and watching presentations, but about making friends, supporting one another, and growing through discussion.

On the Event Presentations

“Read the Park” kicked off with a red carpet where everyone who had even “one drop of black” in them could walk and celebrate themselves! Everyone was gorgeous, but watching kids walk down the carpet with their faces glowing with pure joy was a sight to behold!

I leaned over to Dr. Brackett and made a comment about how beautiful the kids were and how they deserved all the opportunities to shine! She reminded me that this is one of the few opportunities they get, and that oftentimes the black community has to create these opportunities for them because no one else is creating them. In our conversation, Dr. Brackett emphasized how it is also the black community who is watching out for the safety of their kids as, yet again, nobody else is doing it. Realizations like this make me truly ashamed and embarrassed to be white — we need to do better, not just talking the talk, but walking the walk (which does look like creating opportunities for everyone to walk a red carpet)!

India Irons and the Fearless Dance Team radiated glee as they performed their rendition of the historical “CakeWalk” dance. The “CakeWalk” dance originated among slaves and continued after emancipation. The style of dance is meant to playfully mock the “Mr. and Mrs.” so to speak, really all the white people of the time. This was made all the more awesome by the fact that when white people saw these dances performed, they did not catch on to what was actually happening! There were once CakeWalk competitions where the winner would receive a literal cake. “Read the Park” honored that tradition not only by sharing the origins of the dance, but inviting audience members to vote on the best team, who received a cake as a prize. So much intentionality present in this event!

After the dance, my friend Dr. Thelma Jackson did a presentation discussing her book “Blacks in Thurston County” (read my review here). If you have ever met Dr. Jackson, you know just how amazing she is! It is impossible not to be compelled by what she shares or captivated by her warm and loving nature! Dr. Jackson’s presentation described the process of creating her book, why this book remains important, and how there are plans to create new editions of this book. Something I learned at “Read the Park” was that the housing restrictions described historically in the book do remain intact in both Olympia and Tumwater today. It truly disgusts me, how can this still be happening? Knowledge is power, now let's go use our knowledge to make some change!

Up next was my new friend Dr. Brackett, who discussed her original ongoing research and project, “African Hair Stories.” Before her presentation, all I knew was that black people have different hair from mine that required special treatment not available in traditional salons. That remains true, but it goes much deeper than that! Seriously, take at least five minutes to explore her website and learn more.

The presentations that followed included Merritt Long who read segments of his book “My View from the Back of the Bus,” C.A.U.T.I.O.N. (aka Terrance Turner) who shared powerful spoken word and touched on his own story, and Tara Campbell who discussed the nuances that lie in writing speculative fiction and the opportunities it presents.

Everything they shared blew my mind and opened my eyes to something I never knew about before, making me hungry for information. I cannot emphasize enough, this event made me crave learning and showed me how much more I have to learn!

Final Thoughts

There are so many people in this world who criticize anyone who is “woke.” The way I see it, when there are historical truths that are deeply important, that everyone should know, why would anyone want to be asleep? …racism, a desire to just keep calm and keep floating through life, a desire to avoid conflict.

The truth is, sweet sleep is a luxury that is not granted to everyone, but should be granted to no one until we live in a world where safety, justice, voting rights, resources, access, and more are spread equally.

I was chatting with a loved one after the event and I shared how I was like one of eight white people there. They asked me how it felt to be a minority for a moment? I told them I would write a poem and get back to them on that (its how I process, stay tuned).

What I will say is that there were feelings in that experience that reminded me yet again how ashamed I am of my ancestors, and of how embarrassing it is to be white.

I cannot change my skin color or the sins it represents…all I can control is me, what I do, and how I use everything I can offer to let others shine.

White people, I’m speaking to you now: we need to remember that being a good ally means showing up, even when that makes us a minority (which is good for us to experience to gain an ounce of perspective). To be the change we need to see, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone, speak bold truths, and be willing to fight the fight and take the risks required of us. An easy first step is attending events like these which celebrate our beautiful black community.

I invite you to join me at the Rebecca and Alexander Howard Community Engagement “Cinema at the Park” event on August 15th! Fun for the whole family, there will be a screening of “The Wiz” and a costume contest!

I look forward to seeing you there!