Memphis River Park Partnership will host events on Thursday, April 27 from 11:00am-2:00pm, in partnership with Downtown Memphis Commission.

The program features the popular Downtown Memphis event supporting local food vendors in Court Square Park, Food Truck Thursday. With special performances relating to the “All Power to All People” installation in Fourth Bluff Park.

Fourth Bluff Park, the site of All Power to All People by Hank Willis Thomas, will be open from dawn to dusk during the Memphis Highlight Weekend. This project has been curated by George Abbott of Memphis River Parks Partnership for the 2023 Tennessee Triennial.

All Power to All People is an eight-feet tall Afro pick with a power fist cast in aluminum. The origin of the Afro pick dates back to the time of ancient Egyptians as an article of status and cultural belonging. The clenched black fist comb in particular is associated with the 1970s Black Power Movement. As an accessory of a hairstyle, it represented counterculture and civil rights during one of the most important eras of American history. It exists today as many things to different people; it is worn as adornment, a political emblem, and signature of collective identity. The Afro pick continues to develop itself as a testament to innovation. Symbolically installed in Fourth Bluff Park on the former site of a Confederate statue, this piece serves to highlight ideas related to community, strength, perseverance, comradeship and resistance to oppression.