On Friday, June 19th at 6:00 pm Barking Legs Theater will be celebrating Juneteenth with West African snacks and a special documentary premiere on our Sister City partnership with Accra, Ghana.
Barking Legs staff got the opportunity to speak to Kanika Jones, the vice president of Chattanooga’s Accra, Ghana partnership and hear her perspective on the importance of this relationship.
The Sister City Association began in 1956 and was established by President Eisenhower. When learning about this program, Jones was impressed by the structure of cultural, educational and economic exchange the program represented, but noticed a lack of African representation.
There are 52,000 members of the black community in Chattanooga, and they were missing representation. So, Kanika Jones sought out to develop a friendship with Accra through two years of travel and meeting with mayors and city officials.
Kanika spoke on the importance of Ghana's representation for the roots of Chattanooga citizens and preserving Ghana’s history as a place of origin for many Black Chattanoogans.
“Love, art, and culture connects people and transcends what keeps us disconnected,” Kanika said.
Barking Legs Theater is proud to have been partnering with the City of Chattanooga and Chattanooga’s Sister Cities for our Cultural Cross Ties program. They pair local artists with artists from Chattanooga’s Sister Cities around the world for conversations, cultural exchanges, and inspiration.
This year, they had the privilege of working with artists from our first African Sister City. So come share with them as we celebrate the food, art, love and culture of Accra, Ghana.