Written By: Viannca Vélez

New York, NY - In a world where white supremacy has effectively utilized divide-and-conquer strategies that continue to actively attempt to keep our communities, including our institutions of color, at odds with one another, in competition with one another, struggling to thrive because of limited funding seeking to check off boxes of “diversity and inclusion” work, we at CCCADI envision a different world.

Instead, we draw from our revolutionary leaders of the past who believed that the key to self-determination is in Pan-African unity. Our Executive Director Melody Capote has set forth a vision for CCCADI to lead the Diaspora in demonstrating & celebrating its shared global ancestral connection rooted in resilience, preservation, expression, and spirituality. CCCADI seeks to take our community on a journey through the Diaspora and back to the motherland, Africa. 

In early July, Melody, alongside Sabine Blaizin, CCCADI Director of Programs, and Regina Bultrón Bengoa, CCCADI Crossroads Interim Project Director & Executive Advisor traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to strengthen CCCADI’s relationship with like-missioned organizations, namely Ashé Cultural Arts Center by working closely with Chief Executive Officer Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, and the New Orleans African American Museum by way of Executive Director & Chief Curator Gia Hamilton.

Through connecting with the talented leaders of these institutions, which are also woman-led, and experiencing Ashé’s Maafa Commemoration, CCCADI leadership was able to gain a deeper appreciation for the creative ways Diaspora-centered organizations have persisted past the struggles they face.

“From the moment we set foot in NOLA, everything felt familiar. From the smells, sounds, foods and kindness of the people, we knew we were home. However, what I found most fascinating from my trip and conversations with the leaders of these sister organizations, were the similarities in commitment, the challenges we each face as the new heads of organizations that were established as "safe spaces" for our people to connect, explore, learn and see themselves for all that we are! We continue the legacies of our respective founders while building and offering more opportunities in these different and testing times. Additionally, we are all working on campaigns to expand our footprints in our respective neighborhoods. Yes, we're taking our 'hood back and claiming it through ownership! It was comforting to find support and love in the camaraderie of these sisters who remain committed to addressing the issues of our times using art as our primary tool, but it also served to remind us that together there is strength and we have much more work to do. We made a promise that jointly, we will continue to build for African descendant communities wherever we are present and so it is," said Melody Capote, CCCADI Executive Director.

As organizations committed to the arts and culture of the African Diaspora, our collective obstacles remain the same, especially with regard to equity and justice. While these remain at the forefront, we are finding new and creative ways to address them through the work of our individual organizations and our collaborations.

Ashé’s annual Maafa Commemoration was held on July 2, 2022, and serves as a community remembrance event, a moment to reckon with the horrors of the Transatlantic slave trade and to release ourselves from the chains of its legacy. The event began with a gathering in Congo Square, followed by a procession to the Mississippi River to honor our ancestors who fought, resisted, perished, and persevered through enslavement. 

“The African legacy in NOLA is palpable. This trip was an ancestral calling as a daughter of Haiti returning to the northernmost Caribbean city. The architecture, food, art, and culture are pure magic! The people I’ve met and the organizations/institutions I’ve visited solidified the importance of this Diasporic journey. I look forward to telling our stories and creating interconnected programming— for us by us!” said Sabine Blaizin, CCCADI Director of Programs.

In perfect alignment with CCCADI’s vision for the Diaspora, this year’s theme for Ashé’s Maafa Commemoration was Interconnected.

“The deep, ancestral bonds of the African Diaspora are unbreakable. From New Orleans to Puerto Rico to Brazil, from bamboula to bomba, we retain the rhythm of the motherland. Across the span of centuries and oceans, conquest and colonialism could not dilute our roux or wash away our roots. We are the legacy of a cosmic and complex history of survival, resistance, and triumph.” – Ashé Cultural Arts Center

This trip served as one way CCCADI seeks to create institutional bonds so that our organizations, and therefore the communities we serve, can rest assured that the future is being built on solid ground. Working with partner organizations throughout the Diaspora allows us to create paths for our community to see itself and its global ancestral connection within art and culture institutions.

Looking forward, CCCADI and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center plan to present an event in 2024 that will counter the way elements of Carnival that have become white-washed, tourist attractions of cultural appropriation, and far removed from its African and Native roots. In many parts of the world, including New Orleans, Carnival celebrations ring in millions of dollars that do not benefit the communities whose culture is being “celebrated”. Our 2024 event seeks to decolonize Carnival and prioritize the financial stability and the well-being of our communities.

Learn more about Ashé Cultural Arts Center and the New Orleans African American Museum.