Marcus Garvey Park Healing Drum Circle

06/09/2026

Hi Family.....in four days ......please join us, wear white, bring family and Honor the Ancestors!!! Ase,OOO.....

06/06/2026

Hi , friendly reminder ,please come out if you have the time free as we honor our Ancestors !!! Ase, Ase, ASE!!!!

Grand rising children of the sun.
One week to go.

05/22/2026

⸻
Hello dear Marcus Garvey Park Healing Drum Circle, family and friends. It’s that time of the year again.!!!

On Saturday, June 13, 2026,
Starting at noon , we gather once again at the waters of Coney Island to honor the ancestors of the Middle Passage.

Across the African diaspora, people gather at ports and shorelines connected to the transatlantic slave trade — places where our ancestors arrived in chains, carrying unimaginable pain, survival, memory, spirit, music, and life itself.

This annual gathering is not only a memorial.
It is an act of remembrance.
An act of love.
An act of continuity.

Through drumming, poetry, song, dance, prayer, and community, we call their names in spirit and let them know:

You were not forgotten.
Your suffering was not in vain.
Your blood still moves through us.
We honor you. We praise you. We love you.

At sunset, we move to the water together in tribute to those who crossed unwillingly, yet whose strength made our existence possible.

Join us in reverence, healing, culture, and collective remembrance.

🖤❤️💚

05/13/2026

Dear friends and family of the Marcus Garvey park Drum Circle , I hope you’re doing well. Thank you so much for your attendance at Baba Raheem’s celebration of life!!!

It was a wonderful celebration , filled with joy and love .

I have a small request from the family, if you were at the celebration of life for Baba Raheem and you took any pictures or videos if you could kindly send them to sister Arleen, Baba Raheems loving wife and partner.

Please see her post below with her Facebook information

Thank you 🙏!!

04/18/2026

Dear Marcus Garvey Park Drum Circle family and friends,

With the deepest respect, I am sharing information from our drum circle sister, Arleen Griffith, regarding the transition of her beloved husband and our Drum Circle brother, Baba Raheem Ron Neal. We honor his life, his spirit, and the ancestral path he now walks. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones at this time.

༺❁༻༺❁༻༺❁༻

Peace, my good brothers and sisters. Hoping all is well with you and yours.
We have lost a beloved and revered elder and upstanding member of our African Drum Community in the transition of Baba Raheem Ron Neal, my better half. We have gained a loving Ancestor.

May my husband’s beautiful spirit soar throughout the Universe, continuing to guide and protect us all.

We are grateful for having had the pleasure and privilege of knowing and loving Baba Raheem.

Please come out and celebrate the life of our fine African Percussionist, husband, father, brother, uncle, cousin, friend, instructor, and advisor, Baba Raheem, on Saturday, May 9th, 2026, from 12 Noon – 3 PM EST, at Silvana Harlem.

***Please wear white ****

Much love, Family. Peace and blessings. Ase.
🕊️🌺❤️

— Arleen Griffith

04/05/2026

Thank you to all !

03/19/2026

My dear friends and family of the Marcus Garvey Park healing Drum Circle have some news to share with you.

Sonny the Flower-man Memorial Tribute:

For those who have spent time in Harlem, the corner of 135th Street and 5th Avenue had a familiar and welcoming presence for more than two decades — Sonny Gibbs, known to many as “The Flower Man.”

Sonny was far more than a man selling flowers on the corner. He was a friend, teacher, mentor, and chess master who shared his love of the game with generations of young people. During the warmer months, it was common to see tables lined up along 135th Street with chess boards set out — a tradition Sonny helped nurture by teaching, mentoring, and encouraging others to learn the game.

Beyond chess, Sonny had another deep passion: the African drums. He created a beautiful instrument known as the Healing Drum and was known to spend time with the drum circles in Harlem and Brooklyn, sharing in the rhythm, spirit, and community that drumming brings.

For many in Harlem, Sonny was more than a familiar face — he was part of the heartbeat of the neighborhood. Through flowers, chess, music, and mentorship, he touched the lives of countless people who passed through that corner.

Sonny Gibbs will be remembered as a friend, a community leader, a teacher, and a guiding presence whose impact will not be forgotten.

Please see the information below about the memorial tribute that will be happening in Harlem on 135th and Fifth Avenue on Saturday, April 4 , at the same location where Sonny spent over 20 years sharing his love of flowers, chest, and Drumming!!

Please spread the word and come out to celebrate with us the life and legacy of our friend Sonny Gibbs. Sonny the flower man !!

09/29/2025

Please join us dancers !!