THEY that hath ears, let THEM hear…

STREAM BLACK CHARLOTTE

A poetic CELEBRATION OF FOLK AND PLACE

YOUTUBE MUSIC
APPLE MUSIC
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AMAZON MUSIC

listen to the gospel as you enter the fourt. Fifteen poets crafted a heartfelt love letter to Charlotte, blending music and spoken word into an album that celebrates the city’s Black neighborhoods, important trailblazers, and unforgettable moments.

OUR SACRED

four saints of black charlotte

st. ward the second

st. ward the first

st. ward the fourth

st. ward the third

PLANT A SEED

where memory takes root and stories bloom

if you’d like to share a few words, record your charlotte memory below:

  1. press the “record audio” button.

  2. press the red record circle (allow mic access).

  3. wait for the countdown timer and record your message. it can be a phrase, story, or heartfelt memory. your words will help create poems to honor our city and people.

  4. press the red square to stop and submit your recording.

what to share:
think of moments that connect you to charlotte and feel like home, we’re not looking for perfection, just your truth. your memory can be small or big, joyful or bittersweet. here are some prompts to guide you:

  • a place in charlotte that holds meaning for you

  • sounds, smells, or tastes that remind you of home here

  • people or traditions that shaped your experience

  • a story about black charlotte that deserves to be remembered

don’t want to record your testimony, but still want to share? here’s our questionnaire!

A CELEBRATION OF LIFE

join us for a silent headphone ceremony that honors black charlotte through poetry, meditation, movement, and music. this living ritual invites us to remember cherished people and places through story and expression.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2025

begins promptly at 5 pm

ON THE GREEN, facing college st.

registration is suggested.

attire: all black

BYOB - bring your own blanket (so you can sit comfortablY on the green)

RSVP

WITNESSING HOURS at the fourt™

step into a space of memory and storytelling.

friday jones holds space to witness the testimony of local griots and invites you to share your own memories of charlotte, home, and belonging.

LET THE PEOPLE SAY …

hear heartfelt testimonies from charlotte residents as they share their stories, memories, and reflections—capturing the heart, history, and spirit of our city.

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these beautifully raw interviews were conducted by mixed metaphors productions for their immersive play Kudzu: A Story of Belonging presented in partnership with QC Family Tree.

A DIVINE CYCLE

the seeds of memory, germinating in stillness, sprouting with joy, and blooming into a sacred space where our stories live again.

🌱 It begins with a seed.

A seed is small, but inside it is memory, history, the knowing of our past. When we plant the seed, we are saying: we remember who we are, and we honor where we’ve come from.

Then comes germination — the waiting season. Sometimes it feels like stillness, sometimes like struggle. It is meditation and stagnation, side by side. The seed is buried, but it is not dead. In the quiet, in the dark, it is preparing.

Next comes the seedling. Fragile, tender, yet full of promise. This is the season of joy breaking through the soil. The seedling is our laughter, our songs, our play — joy that testifies, we are still here.

and finally, the bloom. When the flower opens, it shows the fullness of what was hidden in the seed. This is expression, testimony, artistry. This is when memory blossoms into beauty for all to see.

THE FOURT™ is a sacred space woven from the rich cultural fabric of Charlotte’s Black community.

this vision was born through the artistry of friday jones, owner of the immersive music venue and production house, fdh. she is a multidisciplinary artist and world-builder whose practice lives at the intersection of sound, story, and soul that is rooted in alignment and purpose. having spent plenty of time away, friday has called charlotte home for nearly 30 years.

excited to pour into the city, she moved back home in 2020 and has become deeply involved in the arts and culture community of charlotte. her love for charlotte was sown as a child visiting family, watered after moving to charlotte in high school, and nurtured further by her husband, a native charlottean who introduced her to “the four”.

from that seed, the fourt grew into a living work that preserves memory, and plants truth for future generations. it honors the people and places too often forgotten, serving as both a reflection and a celebration of life.

inspired by homegoing traditions, it is a memory garden—a space to pause, remember, and connect. it is not just a structure, but a sanctuary made just four you.

GONE BUT NOT FOURGOTTEN™

GONE BUT NOT FOURGOTTEN™

what began as a singular vision has expanded into a body of work titled gone but not fourgotten—a living archive of black charlotte that celebrates the lives and legacies that have shaped this city. THE FOURT is the first in this series of work and will be followed by her next project as the focus of her culture bearer residency with qc family tree this fall, friday will explore and research the enderly park community. this research will be transformed into an artistic experience filled with reflection, rhythm, and storytelling. through this work, friday answers a call to create space for intimate artistry where truth, beauty, and soul can be embodied, remembered, and shared.

OUR FAITHFUL GUIDES

a Special thank you to Blumenthal Arts, cIAF, Black Charlotte project, Mixed Metaphors Production, the vapa center, the arts empowerment project, Backspinz music Academy, and (as always) the fam for their invaluable support of this experience.