The Truth Staff
Two decades ago, Suzette Cowell, CEO and president of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union, created the first Arican American Festival and welcomed about 500 guests to the small Grace Park at the corner of Smead and Indiana.
Things have certainly changed. Now, in 2025, the African American Festival, to be held this summer on July 18-19, has grown into one of the main highlights of the summer season and includes a Prayer Breakfast, a community day, a parade and a Music Fest that will bring thousands of attendees to the Huntington Center to listen to the artistry of Lyfe Jennings, Troop, Musiq Soulchild, Pokey Bear, Le’Andria Johnson and the ever popular Zapp Band.
“This was a vision,” said Cowell on Friday, June 20, at the TUFCU Monroe Street branch during a press conference to announce the plans for this year’s Festival. “The vision is still coming together 20 years later.”
The Festival Prayer Breakfast will take place this year at Indiana Avenue Missionary Baptist Church at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 18. At noon on Friday, Community Day will start on the grounds of the Monroe Street Branch featuring vendors, activities for children and the promotion of the Festival theme – “History, Health and Education.”
Immediately after those activities there will be a panel discussion on the topic of “History, Health and Education.”
The parade will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Door Street TUFCU Branch, it will proceed towards downtown, then turn right on City Park and right again on Indiana Avenue.
That afternoon, the doors will open at 2:00 p.m. at the Huntington Center for the finale – the concert.
The weekend of the Festival is a source of pride for the TUFCU and the community as a whole, noted Valerie Simmons Walston, vice president of Public Relations for TUFCU.
“I am proud to be part of a movement that celebrates African American culture,” she noted.