Honoring Black History Month
February is marked as the annual recognition of “Black History Month.” This is one of the most widely acknowledged times of the year. Too often it is forgotten that this country was built by black and brown hands, and so it is with great honor and privilege that our firm has had the opportunity to work with New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, a historic and predominantly Black church body. It is a rare occasion in which we get the gift of a project which has such a significant local history. We have been along side many members of the church such as Pastor Sonja R. Dawson and Reverend Dawnesha Beaver. They have been such a delight to collaborate with. I have to say, this has been one of our most interesting projects to work on. With any kind of project comes trial and error and it was important to our design team that we maintain and highlight key components of the church such as the cross.
Redesigning a historic building which is run and operated under historic female-led leadership has truly been a gift to our firm. Women like Pastor Sonja R. Dawson, daughter of founder Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson, and Reverend Dawnesha Beaver have been an inspiration and wonderful collaborators in design. Reverend Dawnesha specifically oversaw all the work throughout the construction process and made sure it went smoothly. We’d like to highlight these women in particular, as they themselves are also history makers, being part of the first all-female leadership team in Baptist ministry in the Los Angeles area.
We wanted to make drastic upgrades to the church but we still wanted to keep sentimental pieces. The cross for example was refinished and repurposed to give it a fresh look along with new backlighting to embrace its importance. As we approach the end of this project we want to touch base and show you some photos of the design process that have become our favorite parts of the sanctuary.
Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson founded the church over 49 years ago. On his way to work one day he was told to take the route of El Segundo Boulevard where he passed this location and noticed a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn and the Spirit spoke within his heart that this where the church would be planted. Established in 1963, this beautiful building possessed characteristics that we just could not bear to change – the breathtaking stained glass windows for example! From the get-go, our client was particularly passionate about retaining other historic features of the church, which we absolutely love.
The fact that Rev. Dr. Lonnie Dawson built this church from the ground up and subsequently created one of the largest faith communities in the Los Angeles area, which would eventually be helmed by his daughter and a team of fiercely devoted women, this is just a testament to the fact that history does not dictate our future; rather, honoring your history and struggles makes the present that much sweeter.
We, as many of you, love to shop for cool design finds. We all have our favorite stores or brands we go to directly but we always try to stay mindful of where we source from. When it comes to fun pieces or new intricate designs we like to go to brands that are on the less traditional route. It’s important to us that we support smaller or black owned businesses. We have curated our top 3 home decor stores that are black owned.
Albany Park
SustainAble Home Goods
Rochelle Porter
We prefer these brands in particular because not only are they black owned but they are such unique pieces! The selections offered are like no other. Albany Park is known for their cozy aesthetic. They have such reasonable pricing and fabric options that are to die for. Sustainable Home Goods is a great place to look for accent pieces such as their floral and vintage section. Their items are great decorative pieces that are such a significant touch. Rochelle Porter is all about “abundant living” and that on its own is something that initially had caught my eye. Not only do they have decorative pieces but they also have other items such as athleisure. My personal favorites are their runners and pillow cases.
The beauty in this project lies in the balance of honoring history and also bringing the design into the future. Not overshadowing the past, but highlighting its beauty. Striking that balance has been the greatest joy and challenge of this project! Although black history month is recognized for a short period of time it is important that we all stay mindful to one another every single day. As a courtesy of Pastor Sonja R. Dawson, specifically quotes ” working with Nazeli Design has been a blessing. We had a vision on how we wanted the space to be renovated and we could not do it alone. We wanted to enhance not erase our rich history and we were able to achieve just that with Nazeli Design.”
For any questions or concerns contact:
Nazeli Design: (818) 967-7222
or contact us here
611 N Brand Blvd Ste 1300, Glendale, CA 91203
nazeli@nazelidesign.com