Every second weekend in June we [the Five Percent Nation] hold our Annual Science and Educational Show & Prove at the Harriet Tubman School in Harlem, NY [Public School 154]. This coming June 13th, 2021 marks our 50th!!
The first Show & Prove took place on June 13th, 1971 at Harlem Prep following a December 4th, 1970 dance that was organized six months earlier in Queens, NY [AKA: The Oasis in the Desert]. I mention this dance because it was the first collective gathering of Five Percenters since the assassination of The Father [Allah] one year earlier on June 13th, 1969 and the spark to ignite the Science and Educational Show & Prove. This annual youth-centric event was established to celebrate The Father's legacy through showcasing the contributions and accomplishments of our family members who are building upon this legacy. Founded by several young Five Percenters such as Allah B, Prince Allah, God Supreme, Dumar, Gykee, Takesha, LuAsia and others, the Show & Prove highlighted a youth science and educational fair and has expanded over the years to include a marketplace, food vendors, speeches, performances, and a Meet & Greet/Cook Out the day before. The largest single gathering of Five Percenters each year, the first Show & Prove on June 13th, 1971 was said to have over 2,000 people, most of them youth, in attendance. The first Show & Prove that I attended was twenty-four years ago in 1997.
As I've mentioned above, our Annual Science and Educational Show & Prove is the largest single gathering of Five Percenters each year. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, we did not have a Show & Prove last June. As we begin to loosen gathering and mask restrictions here in NYS, this year's Show & Prove is the first large scale opportunity for us to congregate, network, support our businesses and build. By "build" I don't mean talking. Five Percenter concepts such as "building" have become common nowadays. It, among other concepts, were adopted by Hip Hop culture and have since taken on the generic meaning of "talking." This concept is now as empty as the glossed over eyes of a Millennial rocking a box with no knowledge of who Big Daddy Kane is. Talking is not its original meaning. Five Percenters are scientists of life and building is the oral presentation of one's work/research to other members of our scientific community for peer review. And just like any scientist, upon review of that work/research, if something needs to be added on or taken away, we go back to the lab and make the appropriate adjustments.
This year's 50th Science and Educational Show & Prove will take place outdoors in the yard and schoolyard of Allah Youth Center and Harriet Tubman School [Public School 154] on Saturday June 12th and Sunday 13th. CDC COVID-19 Guidelines will be enforced and the days events will consist of food, games, musical performances, a science fair, a pull up competition, the 22 Points Team Youth Program and other family fun activities.
Peace,
Saladin
