For 49 years, CCCADI’s work has been guided by the principles of Sankofa — reaching into the past to draw from ancestral knowledge as an African Diaspora in order to move forward. On the eve of our 50th anniversary, the Community Archiving Lab for Culture and Justice deepens that connection, inviting reflection on our history and evolution as an organization.
Beginning May 22nd, step into the CCCADI Firehouse and witness the real-time uncovering of archival treasures — letters, recordings, images and stories that hold the pulse of our legacy.
It is not an exhibition. It is a living archive in motion.
We invite you to remember with us
Dr. Margarita Lila Rosa, Resident Archivist
“We really are rediscovering history all over again. The uncovered CCCADI Archive has been holding an extraordinary amount of Afro-Latin American and African American documents from Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Nigeria, everywhere! It’s our privilege to dust off those pages and realize that we’ve been here— speaking, sentient, revolutionary beings, all along.”
Maria Bear, Resident Archivist
"This is a collection that transports us in time and space. Right there on 125th street, CCCADI holds a portal, or rather many portals, that show us what it means to weave a community together. Through each of these materials, we connect with our collaborators and our kin on both sides of the Atlantic, to our ancestors and to our descendants, as we work together to keep the story alive."
LAB VISITING HOURS
Wednesdays & Thursdays 11am-7pm
Second Saturdays, 1pm-5pm
