CCCADI’s 2025 ‘For the Culture’ Cohort Spent the Summer ‘Mapping Our Joy, Dreams and Liberation’
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute’s For The Culture 2025 Youth Summer Program has concluded. Our young people kicked off six weeks of culture-based learning on Monday, July 7th. This year’s theme, “Black Constellation: Mapping Our Joy, Dreams, and Liberation”, explored how Afrofuturism and ancestral wisdom empower Black communities to envision liberated futures by connecting past, present, and future through art, culture, and technology.
Within this theme, the 20 students of this year’s cohort directly engaged in the process of archiving CCCADI’s massive 50 year history. They did this through digitizing, scanning, logging and cataloging both physical and digital archives. The students collaborated to create meaningful connections to inform their own culminating creative projects.
Led by teaching artists Tamara Thomas and Jordan Martins, the program was designed to focus on themes of self-empowerment anchored in African Diasporic traditions. With our 50th year on the horizon, CCCADI grounds itself along the foundational pillars of: Sacred Traditions, Dance and Music, Social Justice, Symposiums and Scholarly Spaces, and AfriCarnaval. This five pronged approach supported the youth as they preserved and reflected on their living history, while preparing for a more empowered future.
On this quest, they visited the Schomburg Center to develop research questions, recovered the lost art of double dutch with Double Dutch Dreamz, and worked with the Theater of the Oppressed to expand their personal development. On the creative side, the youth attended poetry workshops with award-winning poet Willie Perdomo, had African Mask making sessions with Nyeisha Mallett, and discovered more about screen printing and stamp making with Georgie Ortiz. To support their final creative project, they had Zine workshops with Aleksandra Kwiecien and Brian Fraser, with the support of CCCADI staff members. With a full roster of research opportunities, personal expansion and creative development, our young people had a packed five weeks.
Our cohort completed the program by showcasing the knowledge, skills, lessons and expansion that they have experienced during the five weeks. On August 14th, the youth hosted a culminating event for their loved ones in our newly launched second space, Ilé Oyin. They showcased hand-made African masks, presented original poetry, and got everyone moving with double-dutch during the reception.
“We did some mask interrogation, but that was a much different masking in that they had an opportunity to look at what masks do beyond from just an African perspective. The way in which it covers and reveals and holds and explores different ideas and personalities and ways of being,” said Teaching Artist Tamara Thomas
As a facet of the dream portion of the Black Constellation project, the young people were able to create their own two episode video podcast interviewing pillars in our community. Lastly, the cohort created a 40-page zine titled “Echoes of Home” bridging the past, present and future using mixed media supported by our archives.
The For the Culture: Harlem Ancestral Renaissance Project youth program focuses on teaching New York City teens the blueprint that already exists to preserve the impact of the African Diaspora by highlighting the Harlem Renaissance as the celebratory act of resistance that lifted the intellectual, artistic, and cultural contributions of African Descendants of that time. CCCADI designed this summer program to support youth in navigating and contributing to conversations about race, racism, and anti-Black violence, to develop future leaders in social justice and cultural equity, and to create bridges between art, culture, & social justice. For the Culture has collaborated with the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) for the second year. The SYEP students made up 85% of this year’s For the Culture cohort as they utilized the opportunity to explore their personal and career interests.
Part of the program’s design is to offer students an opportunity to enhance their awareness of the role that our ancestors played in developing today’s Black and Brown community, develop responses to the need to temper resistance to racial and social injustice with personal and community wellness, and an understanding of the power of collective and collaborative effort.
Sabine Blaizin, Deputy Director & Head of Programs
“This is a powerful moment to guide Harlem’s young Black and Brown creatives through a transformative journey. One that hones their artistic talents and deepens their cultural roots. By connecting with the stories and struggles of our ancestors, they witness the resilience and collective strength that drives meaningful social change. They are the living legacy of the impactful work we carry forward at CCCADI.”
Jordan Martins, FTC Teaching Artist
“In year four of the For The Culture program, we guided young people through multiple artistic modalities. We worked with everything from linocut stamp making, Xerox printmaking, paper-mache mask-making, collage, and both handmade and digital zines. They also learned to work both behind and in front of the camera to produce video editions of podcast episodes centered on Caribbean culture and traditions. By exploring different mediums, participants discovered new techniques and modes of expression. Many challenged themselves and grew as individuals and as artists and scholars. Their creative practice was rooted in research and storytelling, where they learned how to preserve the past, document the present, and help shape a more liberated future for themselves and their communities.”
Tamara Thomas, FTC Teaching Artist
“What a treat. What a joy. Because we have these young ones from 9:00 in the morning, we see them in all their glory. This summer has most certainly allowed us to see them shine and get sharp. Some moments challenge them, awaken them and push them. And so, it's always wonderful to hear insight because we don't always hear it. Some of the youth, you know, what they show at home isn't what they show here. They're constantly being pulled and reinforced and exposed to different things. So cheers to making it this far.”
