Held in the 可乐视频 Library on November 18鈥攖he anniversary of the 1803 Battle of Verti猫res, which ended French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue and ensured Haiti鈥檚 independence鈥攖he daylong celebration was both festive and reflective. It brought together scholars, archivists, students, and community members to honor Simidor and to highlight the vital role of archives in preserving collective memory.

Speakers emphasized a central truth: Archives are more than collections of documents. They are vessels of identity, resistance, and continuity. For diasporic communities, archives ensure that histories of struggle, migration, and creativity are not erased but passed forward to future generations.

Program Highlights

HSI Director Marie Lily Cerat and archivist Obden Mondesir welcomed guests, situating the event within the institute鈥檚 broader mission: to document, study, and make accessible Haitian culture, politics, and history.

A Q&A hosted by Mondesir featured a panel of distinguished archivists and cultural workers鈥擲teven G. Fullwood, Hadassah St. Hubert, Ph.D., Joanne Hyppolite, Ph.D., and Petrouchka Moise, Ph.D.鈥攚ho shared reflections on their careers and the broader significance of archives for diasporic communities. Each underscored how archives amplify marginalized voices and preserve cultural memory across generations and borders.

The special event was also attended by Simidor鈥檚 son, Georges Eliz茅e, as well as former 可乐视频 Haitian American Students Association leaders Yves Raymond 鈥�77 and Kettly Samuel 鈥�79, giving the occasion a powerful sense of living history.

(Left to right) CUNY HSI Director Marie Lily Cerat, Georges Eliz茅e, and archivist Obden Mondesir at the HSI Archives and Special Collections November 18.

The program featured a discussion of the book Silence and Resistance with writer and activist Monique Clesca, hosted by The Haitian Times. Clesca situated her book within Haiti鈥檚 ongoing struggle for democracy and cultural survival. She spoke of silence not as absence but as a force that can both oppress and empower, and of resistance as an act of remembering鈥攔efusing to let stories and voices be erased. Her words reminded listeners that archives are living tools for shaping the future.

Macollvie J. Neel, Special Projects Editor for The Haitian Times (left), and author Monique Clesca led a discussion about the book, “Silence and Resistance.”

An open house with tours led by members Rosashia Shortte, Matthew Romulus, Steve Previlon, and others allowed attendees to explore Simidor鈥檚 personal papers and other treasures held in the HSI Archives. Manuscripts, photographs, and rare documents offered a tactile sense of the histories preserved, underscoring the power of archives to connect past and present.

The Legacy of Daniel Simidor

At the heart of the celebration was Andr茅 Eliz茅e/Daniel Simidor, whose life embodied memory as resistance. A writer, poet, activist, and archivist, Simidor was deeply involved in Haiti鈥檚 political struggles鈥攖he anti鈥慏uvalier movement of the 1980s, protests against the U.S.鈥慴acked coup against President Jean鈥態ertrand Aristide in 1991, and advocacy for Haitian asylum seekers detained at Guantanamo.

His archival work was equally transformative. For 26 years, he served at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, curating collections that illuminated Haitian history, French鈥憇peaking Africa, the Caribbean, and African American political movements. His exhibitions, including The French Revolution in the Americas and Dechoukaj! Contemporary Social and Political Developments in Haiti, 1986鈥�1988, became touchstones for scholars and the public. He also organized film and lecture series that extended archival materials into classrooms and community spaces.

About the Panelists

• Steven G. Fullwood: Founder of the In the Life Archive at the Schomburg, the largest collection documenting LGBTQ people of African descent.
• Hadassah St. Hubert, Ph.D.: Historian and digital humanist, co鈥慺ounder of Sidra Collaborative, emphasizing digital preservation for cross鈥慴order access.
• Joanne Hyppolite, Ph.D.: Supervisory museum curator at the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of African American History and Culture, and curator of groundbreaking exhibitions on Afro鈥慍aribbean and African American culture.
• Petrouchka Moise, Ph.D.

The post Honoring Memory, Preserving Culture: 可乐视频 Celebrates the Legacy of Daniel Simidor appeared first on 可乐视频.

Can you tell us about your background?

I was born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 1946. Growing up on a small island in a small community gave me a strong sense of identity, which has prevailed throughout my life. I would walk down the main street in Kingstown, the capital, and I would recognize eight out of every 10 people who passed by, and they would know me. So I always felt a sense of belonging. The culture, food, music, festivals, Carnival, and so on brought people together.

My grandfather was a musician, and all his children took music lessons. My father, an accomplished pianist and saxophonist, started a band called the Mellotones. When I was about nine, I played in the band. We played at local dances, concerts, and the like. We played calypso, of course, as well as boleros, cha-cha-chas, merengues, and lots of jazz standards. From the Mellotones, I formed my own band at age 14. Most of the members of the band were my friends and classmates. We played for school functions, socials, and so on. When the school was having a function, they鈥檇 say, 鈥淥h yeah, Frank McIntosh has a band, they鈥檒l play for free.鈥�

What brought you to the United States?

I planned on studying music on the university level. The University of the West Indies did not have a music major. From St. Vincent, I went to Antigua, where the work for musicians was more plentiful. From there, I applied to 可乐视频. I had considered other options like Juilliard and Berkeley. Still, I chose 可乐视频 because of its broad range of course offerings. I could do music and take classes in chemistry. I was a piano major. Did theory and music history, the whole shebang.

When did your career as an arranger begin?

It began around 1976 with artists from St. Vincent, starting with a Calypsonian named Becket (Alston Becket Cyrus). He approached me about correcting some music he was performing in Brooklyn. Whoever had written the music made some errors. So I corrected it. At his next rehearsal, everything flowed smoothly, so he came back to me and said he would like to record an album. And he sang a song for me. Now I didn鈥檛 realize it at the time, but Becket was one of the pioneers of the new soca (soul/calypso) style that combined older calypso with influences of Black American soul, rock, and disco. We went to the studio, and we recorded the first song, A producer in the studio, Buddy Scott, had connections with major record labels, and he secured a deal for Becket with Casablanca Records. That album did very well. One of the songs, was in the movie The Deep.

That catapulted my career. Everyone started calling from all the islands鈥攁n artist from Trinidad named Crazy, Winston Soso from St Vincent, and King Short Shirt from Antigua. Then came Explainer, Chalk Dust, and Calypso Rose from Trinidad. That gave me a broad overview of calypso as a whole, because before that, calypso was defined as being only from Trinidad. But now we had singers from Antigua, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia.

Tell us how you became the in-house arranger for Straker Records.

Frankie McIntosh

I had known [music businessman and record producer] Granville Straker in St. Vincent. He had a well-established record store in Brooklyn on Utica Avenue. When he signed artists to his label, he sent them to me to do the music. That went on for years, starting in the early 1970s. As the staff arranger for Straker鈥檚 Records, I arranged virtually all his music.

I didn’t have an exclusive contract, so I worked with several other independent labels. I recorded an album for the Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener, which Charly Records produced. Small labels hired me to do work, and that’s how I was able to feed my family.

Ray Allen

Interestingly, all this is musical activity occurred within a very small radius of a mile or two in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, where record shops run by West Indian producers Rawlston Charles and Granvilee Straker were located. Right down the street was Eastern Parkway, where the big Carnival parade happened, and there were many dance halls and clubs in the area. It was a very active place for Caribbean music back then.

Professor Allen, your research focuses on American folk and popular music, including Caribbean Carnival music, with a particular interest in New York City music culture.

I had spent several years gathering information and writing a book on Caribbean music that was eventually published as Jump Up! Caribbean Carnival Music in New York City [Oxford University Press, 2019]. The focus was on the steel band and calypso music that were central to Brooklyn鈥檚 Labor Day West Indian Carnival. During my research, I attended a calypso concert, where Frankie was performing. I was really impressed. So I went up and said, 鈥淗ey, I teach at 可乐视频.鈥� We laughed that we had something in common. Later, I interviewed him for the Jump Up! book, and he talked about his work as an arranger of soca and calypso music.

My next project was going to be a book about Brooklyn soca, because the borough was the center of this music from the late 1970s through the 1990s. All the best recording studios, as well as several independent record labels, were in Brooklyn. Frankie was the perfect person to collaborate with because he was in the middle of it, the in-house arranger for so much of soca music that was coming out of Brooklyn. Nobody had ever written about the arrangers鈥攁ll the books are about singers.

Have calypso and soca music received the kind of recognition and attention from music scholars that other genres of music have?

Ray Allen

The study of world music has developed significantly over the last three decades, and there is now recognition of various genres like Caribbean music. But there is more work to be done. For example, much has been written about Latin music, music from Cuba, salsa, and reggae, but calypso and soca have not made it onto the stage in terms of music that鈥檚 recognized outside the Caribbean. Most music fans know the reggae star Bob Marley, but how many have heard of the calypsonians Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener? We hope that this book will put more focus on calypso and soca music from the English-speaking West Indies and that this will help to broaden the kind of work done in academic research.

By the way, when Frankie arrived at 可乐视频 in 1969 there were no courses in world music, Caribbean music, or jazz. In fact, students who wanted to play jazz had to hide out in the basement of the old Gershwin Hall because they were afraid their music professors would not approve. But fortunately, that has changed. Today the 可乐视频 Conservatory offers classes in jazz history, African American music, and world music. And most importantly they run a jazz ensemble so their students can gain firsthand experience playing the music.

Frankie McIntosh

Most books on calypso take a sociological bent, more in the frame of ethnomusicology. What makes our book different is that we deal with the music as sound. You鈥檝e got harmonies and orchestration. There鈥檚 an appendix with chord charts for most of the songs鈥擱ay had the patience to do that. I think it was appropriate for us to address the music. Not that other factors, like social and historical setting, don鈥檛 come into play, because there鈥檚 an introduction to each chapter. However, our book includes aspects such as the small talk among musicians in the studio before recording. For example, we illustrate all the steps from the artist presenting a demo to the arranger, and the arranger’s considerations before writing a note. I would ask myself what the artist expects: Does he intend to deliver a political message? Is his music for dancing? Is the emphasis on drums and bass? Should I put more focus on the horns? All those things are detailed in the book, which I think is what makes it unique.

Ray Allen

By the way, all the songs we discuss in the book are on and a listening guide is provided for those who want to delve deeper into the music.

Frankie, you worked with young people鈥攄o you see yourself as a mentor?

Frankie McIntosh

Well it鈥檚 funny, because these days, I鈥檓 the one who often needs the advice. You see, in today鈥檚 world, the definition of music itself has changed. You have rap where there鈥檚 no melody, and computers have replaced pencil and paper. So increasingly I find myself looking to young people for guidance, for instance, on selecting music software. They tell me about what these programs can do. And I admire their business approach. They publish and promote themselves. They create their own record labels, whereas my generation just sat and waited to be discovered.

Now in answer to your question, if I were to offer advice or mentorship to younger musicians, I would say that sometimes life has other plans, and it may become necessary to divert or modify your original objectives. Being prepared to make a significant shift, as I did from aspiring to be a pianist to becoming an arranger, is crucial. Because being a pianist would not have supported my family, it鈥檚 all about being open-minded and reassessing your priorities to determine what鈥檚 truly important.

The post A Calypsonian Career appeared first on 可乐视频.

As a student at 可乐视频, Shelley Vidia Worrell 鈥�01 wondered why there was no Little Caribbean in New York City. There were official city designations for other ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, and more. Why not for the well-established Caribbean community of Flatbush? A child of Trinidadian immigrants, Worrell double majored in Caribbean studies and anthropology, graduated, and spent nearly a decade exploring a variety of professional roles in hospitality, media, and the tech sector before shifting to produce a number of film festivals and community events that would evolve into the brand, I AM caribBEING.

Today, caribBEING supports local businesses and raises awareness of Flatbush鈥檚 Caribbean culture through events, tours, public programs, and partnerships with public and private organizations. Last year, she opened her own brick-and-mortar that sells sweatshirts, rum cakes, pepper sauces, aprons, souvenirs, and memorabilia. But perhaps the accomplishment she鈥檚 deservedly best known for is spearheading the push for the official designation of Little Caribbean in Flatbush, the largest and most diverse Caribbean population outside the West Indies. The neighborhood is now trending from a string of recent accolades, including the 2024 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award by the Preservation League of New York State, and Timeout magazine鈥檚 designation as 2024鈥檚 鈥渃oolest neighborhood in NYC.鈥�

Can you tell us about your background?

I grew up between Flatbush, East Flatbush, and even a bit in Kensington. I started going to Trinidad when I was six months old, just like many children of first-generation Caribbean immigrants. That, in addition to growing up in a Caribbean household in Brooklyn, informed who I am as well as the work that I do today.

I spent all of my early childhood summers in the Caribbean. We would effectively get out of school and then I just remember being in Trinidad with all my extended family. Days were filled with outdoor play, a lot of beach parties, bathing in the rain. And then straight back into the classroom at the end of the summer.

I also have vivid memories of walking to school and just being in the Brooklyn community. I grew up seeing and hearing and speaking with other children like myself and families like ours. The first school that I went to was a Haitian bilingual school. My family talks about me coming home speaking in Creole and singing in French.

Did you enter 可乐视频 knowing what you wanted to study?听

Actually, after I got admitted to 可乐视频, I went to Trinidad for a bit. I still had some paperwork to get in order, so my father enrolled me in all my courses and that鈥檚 how I ended up in Caribbean studies and anthropology. I didn鈥檛 have a clear path at that time.

But you stuck with those majors.

I did because it was a way for me to further explore my identity in a more academic way. And I had amazing professors and opportunities. It gave me the opportunity to be on the ground in the neighborhood that鈥檚 always been home. I lived off Church Avenue, so I could walk or take the train a few stops, and I was just really immersed in the culture and the community.

How did all of that evolve into caribBEING?

I thought about caribBEING when I was at 可乐视频, but I didn鈥檛 know what it would be. Years later, one of my former classmates was working in cultural programming at the library in Flatbush. She came to me and said, 鈥楬ey, Shelley, remember when you had this idea about doing caribBEING?鈥�

I had been thinking a lot about the lack of representation in storytelling. So, I ended up doing our first film festival at the Flatbush library. It was sort of the pilot. It was horrible. No one came. It was weird and not what I wanted to do.

Around that time, I would run into [former New York State Assemblywoman] Rhoda Jacobs 鈥�62 a lot during my walks. Starbucks had just opened on Hillel Plaza, and we just always had the same timing. She had been following me and my work, and she ended up helping facilitate us doing our first pivotal public program film screening at 可乐视频 in Whitman Theater. One of my old professors, Regine Latortue, was the moderator.

And from there, we just continued to grow and evolve. Jumaane Williams, 鈥�01, M.A. 鈥�05, [the current New York City Public Advocate] also helped out with some of our film programming, and that one was also a hit. I said, wait, maybe there is more viability to this. Let me see where this is going.

When did you decide to push for the Little Caribbean designation from the city?

I had been spending a lot more time on the ground in the neighborhood. And that鈥檚 when the idea for a Little Caribbean came to be. I was asking myself very existential questions, in large part because I had the privilege of having gone to 可乐视频 and studying anthropology and Caribbean studies, of having been to dozens of islands by then and more than 70 countries. My graduate studies in hospitality and tourism and my time in the media made me think about storytelling and representation. And in all that time, no one could answer me one question: Why was there no Little Caribbean? I was determined to push it through.

And you did, in 2017. What has the designation meant for the community?

Now we get to tap some city and state funding. [We receive] media accolades, we have a tour with National Geographic. Cornell University and Pratt Institute have taught classes on Little Caribbean. There have been a lot of benefits for all of us who鈥檝e lived here and made this our home for many generations.

The post Community and Heritage appeared first on 可乐视频.

When she was a student at 可乐视频, Shelley Worrell 鈥�00 wondered why there was no Little Caribbean in New York City. At the time, there were already official city designations for all sorts of ethnic enclaves like Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown, and more. Why not for the well-established Caribbean community of Flatbush?

She understood that their experiences had their own distinct nuances, separate from other immigrant groups and from that of African Americans. She knew an oil down from griot from fish tea and which restaurants lining Church, Flatbush, Nostrand, Rogers, and Utica avenues served the best bites. She was versed in West Indian Carnivale culture, could distinguish a Trinidadian accent from a Bajan one, and was always clear about the value in the collective identity of the people, shops, and restaurants that made up her neighborhood in Brooklyn.

鈥淪o why wasn鈥檛 there a Little Caribbean?鈥� she asked herself.

Worrell, a child of Trinidadian immigrants, double majored in Caribbean studies and anthropology.

After college, she spent about a decade exploring a variety of professional roles in hospitality, media, and the tech sector before shifting to produce a number of film festivals and community events that would evolve into I AM CARIBBEING.

Today, supports local businesses and raises awareness of Flatbush鈥檚 Caribbean culture through events, tours, public programs, and partnerships with public and private organizations. Last year, she opened her own brick-and-mortar that sells sweatshirts, rum cakes, pepper sauces, aprons, souvenirs, and memorabilia.

But perhaps the accomplishment she鈥檚 deservedly best known for is spearheading the push for the official designation of Little Caribbean in Flatbush, the largest and most diverse Caribbean population outside the West Indies.

The neighborhood is now trending from a string of recent accolades, including the 2024 Excellence in Historic , and Timeout magazine鈥檚 designation as 2024鈥檚 鈥�.鈥�

Here, Worrell talks about how she founded the organization that was but a glimmer in her eye during her time on campus, how 可乐视频 alumni helped her along the way, and the important work of nurturing community.

Shelley Worrell 鈥�00 in Little Carribbean, a neighborhood designation that resulted from her advocacy.

You grew up quintessentially West Indian American, and you鈥檝e managed to parlay that鈥攑lus all your experiences, academic and professional鈥攊nto a real cultural commodity.

I grew up between Flatbush, East Flatbush, and even a bit in Kensington. I started going to Trinidad when I was six months old, just like many children of first-generation Caribbean immigrants. That, in addition to growing up in a Caribbean household in Brooklyn, informed who I am as well as the work that I do today.

I spent all of my early childhood summers in the Caribbean. We would effectively get out of school and then I just remember being in Trinidad with all my extended family. Days were filled with outdoor play, a lot of beach parties, bathing in the rain. And then straight back into the classroom at the end of the summer.

I also have vivid memories of walking to school and just being in the Brooklyn community. I grew up seeing and hearing and speaking with other children like myself and families like ours. The first school that I went to was a Haitian bilingual school. My family talks about me coming home speaking in Creole and singing in French.

Was that strong sense of identity why you chose Caribbean studies and anthropology for your majors?听

Actually, after I got admitted to 可乐视频, I went to Trinidad for a bit. I still had some paperwork to get in order, so my father enrolled me in all my courses and that鈥檚 how I ended up in Caribbean studies and anthropology. I didn鈥檛 have a clear path at that time.

But you stuck with those majors.

I did because it was a way for me to further explore my identity in a more academic way. And I had amazing professors and opportunities. It gave me the opportunity to be on the ground in the neighborhood that鈥檚 always been home. I lived off Church Avenue, so I could walk or take the train a few stops, and I was just really immersed in the culture and the community.

How did all of that evolve into CARIBBEING?

I thought about CARIBBEING when I was at 可乐视频, but I didn’t know what it would be. Years later, one of my former classmates was working in cultural programming at the library in Flatbush. She came to me and said, 鈥楬ey, Shelley, remember when you had this idea about doing CARIBBEING?鈥�

I had been thinking a lot about the lack of representation in storytelling. So, I ended up doing our first film festival at the Flatbush library. It was sort of the pilot. It was horrible. No one came. It was weird and not what I wanted to do.

Around that time, I would run into [former New York State Assemblywoman] Rhoda Jacobs 鈥�62 a lot during my walks. Starbucks had just opened on Hillel Plaza, and we just always had the same timing. She had been following me and my work, and she ended up helping facilitate us doing our first pivotal public program film screening at 可乐视频 in Whitman Theater. One of my old professors, Regine Latortue, was the moderator.

And from there, we just continued to grow and evolve. Jumaane Williams, 鈥�01, M.A. 鈥�05, [the current New York City Public Advocate] also helped out with some of our film programming, and that one was also a hit. I said, wait, maybe there is more viability to this. Let me see where this is going.

How did you describe what CARIBBEING was then?

Our mission was building community through film, art, and culture. Now we say we work at the intersection of culture, community, commerce, and sustainability. We became multidisciplinary. We鈥檝e added art, food, and cultural programming. We were tapped to do one of the largest public programs for a triannual exhibition that was a partnership between Queens Museum, Studio Museum, and El Barrio.

When did you decide to push for the Little Caribbean designation from the city?

I had been spending a lot more time on the ground in the neighborhood. And that鈥檚 when the idea for a Little Caribbean came to be. I was asking myself very existential questions, in large part because I had the privilege of having gone to 可乐视频 and studying anthropology and Caribbean studies, of having been to dozens of islands by then and more than 70 countries. My graduate studies in hospitality and tourism and my time in the media made me think about storytelling and representation. And in all that time, no one could answer me one question: Why was there no Little Caribbean? I was determined to push it through.

And you did, in 2017. What has the designation meant for the community?

Now we get to tap some city and state funding. [We receive] media accolades, we have a tour with National Geographic. Cornell University and Pratt Institute have taught classes on Little Caribbean. There have been a lot of benefits for all of us who鈥檝e lived here and made this our home for many generations.

What鈥檚 next for you and for CARIBBEING?

Just continuing to grow and scale and to listen to the community and respond to its needs.

The post Call Her Ms. Flatbush appeared first on 可乐视频.

Sampson listened to her stories about growing up in Guyana or folktales like Anansi, the wise trickster West African spider who represented resistance to slavery. These passed-down tales are why Sampson, a senior, is double majoring in Africana studies and Caribbean studies听more than a decade after moving to the United States.

Recently, she participated in Ayiti in The City, a summer cultural exchange with the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute,听where she soaked in the spirit of Brooklyn鈥檚 Little Haiti and other spots significant to the wider Black diaspora in Brooklyn, cooking Haitian stewed fish and mushroom rice and learning about the remedies in Haitian herbal teas.

We talked to Sampson about her academic and experiential learning experiences, her hobbies, and her future.

Tell us about your time in the Africana studies and Caribbean studies programs.

They both have interesting communities that are helpful and supportive. I鈥檝e been able to dive into my culture and learn about other cultures. [Associate] Professor [Prudence] Cumberbatch, the Africana Studies Department chair, is amazing. I鈥檝e been able to reach out to her any time I鈥檝e needed help. And [Associate] Professor [Dale] Byam, the Caribbean studies program director, encouraged me to apply for Ayiti in the City. They鈥檙e all very passionate about what they teach, and I find that so inspiring.

Next semester, I鈥檓 presenting research from my independent study with [Assistant] Professor [Aleah] Ranjitsingh at the Tow Mentoring and Research Conference. My research is on a traditional Afro-Guyanese pre-wedding celebration, Kwe-Kwe, which occurs the night before the wedding. The groom brings his family to the bride鈥檚 family home, where they meet and make their interests known and then advise them on marriage, uniting two communities together. There鈥檚 food and music and dancing. It goes well into the night. It鈥檚 so interesting because they still have so much energy for the actual wedding day.

What inspired you to study African and Caribbean cultures?

Some of my fondest memories are of my grandmother sharing and passing on stories and folklore. Telling stories was something we did often in my family. I realized that most of these stories and cultural practices are passed down orally, and through participating in different cultural experiences. This sparked my interest in the way history can be woven into stories that can be used to spread information and impart knowledge, lessons, and memories to someone else.

I wanted to take classes that reminded me of home and my grandma. The stories I heard in class gave me the same feeling and a sense of 鈥淥h, this is so beautifully put together. I would love to be a part of this.鈥�

This summer you were part of the Ayiti in the City program.

It was enlightening how we could access our culture and traditions, especially being away from home. I ate great food and made new friendships. It helped us build self-identity and embrace our cultural heritage. It also reinforced my belief in how interconnected history is, and how important it is to know your past so you can make informed decisions about your future. I did a about my experience.

I interned at , where I supported local businesses and helped keep the neighborhood clean and safe. I鈥檓 grateful I got to learn more about Haiti; its history, culture, and people; Little Haiti; and the Haitian diaspora. I gained a new perspective on how resilient the Caribbean community is at home and abroad. I also learned about migration, and the resilience and resourcefulness of Haitian immigrants as they navigate living and building a community in a new space.

What鈥檚 something that people wouldn鈥檛 know about you off the bat?

I learned to play the 听in my Steel Pan and Community class with Professor [Kendall] Williams. I hadn鈥檛 played an instrument before. It鈥檚 played in the Caribbean, developed in the streets of Trinidad. I also like to read, dance, meditate, listen to music, and make beaded jewelry. Recently, I鈥檝e been learning how to crochet.

You鈥檙e going into your last semester. How do you plan to make the most of it?

Next semester my friend and I are starting a club called The Fireflies that will focus on supporting women in media. In Caribbean culture, we don鈥檛 see much representation growing up. That鈥檚 why I want to see more women represented in the media, too, including behind-the-scenes, like the producers, screenwriters, and authors. We hope to create a safe space where individuals can come to support the creative aspirations of women and gender-identifying youth and contribute to the creative diversity of our campus community.

Where do you see yourself after you graduate?

I鈥檓 thinking about going to graduate school for history or public health with a specialization in African diasporic and Caribbean studies. I鈥檓 interested in possibly working in cultural organizations or libraries someday.

The post Past Is Prologue appeared first on 可乐视频.

Smith鈥檚 lecture, 鈥淲hat I Believe,鈥� will be an intimate exploration into her life as a trailblazer who broke new ground as a Black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, publisher, and independent scholar who inspired generations. She was among the first to define an African American women鈥檚 literary tradition and to build Black women鈥檚 studies and Black feminism in the United States. She has been politically active in many movements for social justice since the 1960s.

鈥淚 am so honored to serve as the Hess Scholar-in-Residence during the 2022鈥�23 academic year,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎t a time when some in our nation wish to limit the information and ideas that students can access, I look forward to expansive dialogues with members of 可乐视频鈥檚 wonderfully diverse community.鈥�

鈥淎s a writer, publisher, teacher, and organizer, Barbara Smith is a transformative force for justice. Her work has reshaped the American academy and society. We are honored to host her for a week of events culminating in the Hess Memorial Lecture,鈥� said Gaston Alonso, interim director for the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities and associate professor of political science at 可乐视频.

This lecture event is free and open to the public and serves as the main highlight of the college鈥檚听听for 2022鈥�23.

The event will also feature President Michelle J. Anderson as well as听, distinguished professor of political science, and Professor of English听, interim dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

On November 29, Smith was part of a conversation on campus with Theoharis when they discussed selected clips from the documentary听, which features Smith and is based on Theoharis鈥� research and听听of the same name.

A prolific writer and publisher, Smith has edited three major collections about Black women:听Conditions: Five, The Black Women鈥檚 Issue听(with Lorraine Bethel, 1979);听All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women鈥檚 Studies听(with Gloria T. Hull and Patricia Bell-Scott, 1982); and听Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology听(1983). She is also the co-author, with Elly Bulkin and Minnie Bruce Pratt,听of Yours in Struggle: Three Feminist Perspectives on Anti-Semitism and Racism听(1984). Smith is the general editor of The Reader鈥檚 Companion to U.S. Women鈥檚 History听(with Wilma Mankiller, Gwendolyn Mink, Marysa Navarro, and Gloria Steinem, 1998). A collection of her essays,听The Truth That Never Hurts: Writings on Race, Gender, and Freedom, was published by Rutgers University Press in 1998.听Ain鈥檛 Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith, edited by Alethia Jones and Virginia Eubanks with Barbara Smith, was published by SUNY Press in 2014.

The evening will also include mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford and the Conservatory Singers, 可乐视频’s select chamber ensemble, who will perform 鈥淎in’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around.鈥� The group will be conducted by Associate Professor/Director of Choral Studies听, director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus.

This signature event will be held on Thursday, March 16, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Claire Tow Theater at 可乐视频. It will also be livestreamed on the听.

Highlights From the Hess Week Calendar, March 13鈥�20

Full calendar and speakers

Barbara Smith鈥擧ess Scholar-in-Residence Library Exhibit: An exhibit located in the main entrance of the 可乐视频 Library that will highlight the works and legacy of Barbara Smith. Archival material from the Robert L. Hess Collection will also be presented. Curated by Professor and Librarian Helen Georgas.

March 13, 11 a.m.鈥�12:15 p.m.: President Anderson Welcomes 2022鈥�23 Hess Scholar-in-Residence Barbara Smith听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and on听Zoom

March 13, 2:15鈥�3:30 p.m.: 鈥淚f Black women were free鈥︹��: The State of Black Feminism 2023听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and on听Zoom

March 14, 2:15鈥�3:45 p.m.: 鈥淭ransforming the U.S. Academy鈥�听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the听.

March 15, 11 a.m.鈥�12:30 p.m.: 鈥淛ustice or Just Us?: Defining a Queer Agenda鈥�听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the听.

March 15, 3:40鈥�4:55 p.m.: 鈥淭eaching as a Liberating Practice鈥�听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the听.

March 16, 11 a.m.鈥�12:30 p.m.: 鈥淲orking for Liberation and Having a Damn Good Time鈥�听Woody Tanger Auditorium, 可乐视频 Library, and livestreamed on the听.

March 20, 6鈥�7:15 p.m.: 鈥淧utting Class Back Into Intersectionality鈥�听Online via听Zoom

About the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program

The Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program, established by 可乐视频, is supported by the Robert L. Hess Fund. The program serves as a permanent tribute to the scholarly commitment of Robert L. Hess, exemplified during his tenure as president of 可乐视频. It represents the ideal of the educated individual鈥攌nowledgeable, thoughtful, inquiring, alive to the shared purposes and concerns linking all intellectual pursuits. More particularly, it evokes the scholarly and academic virtues embodied in the curriculum at 可乐视频.

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Jeanne Theoharis

On November 29, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Smith will be part of a conversation on campus with 可乐视频鈥檚 Distinguished Professor of Political Science听Jeanne Theoharis. The pair will discuss selected clips from the documentary, 鈥�,鈥� which features Smith and is also based on Theoharis鈥� research and book of the same name. Smith and Theoharis will explore Rosa Parks’ life of freedom fighting, how the many myths of Parks and the movement cloud our understandings of social change, the roles and experiences of women in the movement, and the lessons this history provides for the work of organizing and social justice today. After their conversation, there will be a Q&A period for students, staff, and faculty.

The event will be held in the library鈥檚 Woody Tanger Auditorium and will also be livestreamed on the Wolfe Institute鈥檚 YouTube channel. At the speaker鈥檚 request, masks are required for the in-person event. Room 441 in the library will also be open for guests to watch the lecture online.

You can watch the livestream of the event

To stream the documentary for free before the event, 可乐视频 students, faculty, and staff can email:听wolfeinstitute@brooklyn.cuny.edu

More Hess Scholar-in-Residence lectures will be held in March 2023, and a complete schedule of events will be made available soon.

About the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program

The Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program, established by 可乐视频, is supported by the Robert L. Hess Fund. The program serves as a permanent tribute to the scholarly commitment of Robert L. Hess, exemplified during his tenure as president of 可乐视频. It represents the ideal of the educated individual鈥攌nowledgeable, thoughtful, inquiring, alive to the shared purposes and concerns linking all intellectual pursuits. More particularly, it evokes the scholarly and academic virtues embodied in the curriculum at 可乐视频.

Sponsors

Africana Studies Department; American Studies Program; Anthropology Department; Caribbean Studies Program; Classics Department; the Shirley Chisholm Project; Communications Arts, Sciences, and Disorders Department; English Department; Film Department; History Department; the Honors Academy; Judaic Studies Department; the LGBTQ Resource Center; Modern Languages and Literatures Department; Philosophy Department; Political Science Department; Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Department; Sociology Department; Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program; and the Women鈥檚 Center at 可乐视频.

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Michael Menser, an associate professor of philosophy, urban sustainability, and Caribbean studies, lived on the Gulf Coast of Texas as a child. His familiarity with the situation is not only observational, but personal.

“Many have died. The Houston Chronicle reported that over 50 have died in Houston alone. Mostly freezing to death, mostly elderly,” says Menser, who is also a member of the board of the Center for the Study of Brooklyn whose areas of research include sustainability and resilience as well as participatory democracy.

On top of the devastating loss of human life, the tragedy has had profound economic impact, with property damage and energy bills skyrocketing to astronomical costs.

“There could be more than 125 billion dollars in damages, which would make it the most costly disaster in Texas history,” says Menser, author of We Decide! Theories and Cases in Participatory Democracy (Temple University Press, 2018).

Menser notes that Texas has seen numerous natural disasters in its recent past, many exacerbated by the effects of climate change. We talked to him about his insight into the current situation, its contributing factors, and how it can serve as an important lesson for the future.

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“Crucial to my success as a student at 可乐视频 are the faculty who mentored me along the way,” Del Sol said. “I constantly think about what my trajectory would have been had I not gotten into 可乐视频. There would have been so many missed opportunities.”

Del Sol鈥攚ho was born on the Caribbean island of Dominica and came to the United States with her mother when she was seven鈥攄ouble majored in English and Caribbean studies and double minored in sociology and Africana studies.

“One of Lisa’s greatest strengths is her intellectual curiosity,” said Assistant Professor Prudence D. Cumberbatch, who is coordinator of the college’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program and teaches in the Department of Africana Studies.听“She is able to make connections across disciplinary boundaries and to make ideas her own. I see great things in her future.”

Del Sol transferred to 可乐视频 from the , where she was initially majoring in computer science, after one of her professors noticed her aptitude in English and told her about the high quality of the English program at 可乐视频.

“She said, 鈥榊ou’re really doing well in English; you’re very focused.’ And truthfully, when I first enrolled in the class, I wasn’t very interested in literature,” Del Sol confided. “But then we read James Baldwin and that changed everything for me.”

When she enrolled in her first English class at 可乐视频, a course in modernism taught by Associate Professor Jason Frydman, the subject matter was so esoteric that she found herself floundering. She thought that perhaps she had made an error in judgment and that English might not be her strong suit.

“But I didn’t give up,” she said. “And Professor Frydman took a real interest in his students and what we were doing. And it was the comments I got back on my first paper, a horrible paper, that helped me. I never had anyone tell me that I was a terrible writer before. But having him tell me in such a constructive way made me a better writer.”

Emboldened by her growth, Del Sol took full advantage of every opportunity that came her way. Through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship鈥攁nd under the mentorship of Associate Professor of English Rosamond S. King, who is also director of the fellowship鈥攕he studied abroad in Brazil and South Africa, where she examined race and culture. She became an intern for Professor Roni Natov in the English Majors’ Counseling Office, where she helped produce the college’s undergraduate literary magazine, managed and produced content for the department blog and social media, and helped other students navigate the major.

She participated in the Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program, a pilot program which pairs transfer students with faculty and together听they collaborate on research funded by the Mellon Foundation. Del Sol worked with Professor James Davis on a comparative literature project examining author Patrick Chamoiseau’s use of language. In June, she presented her research, titled “Cultural Silencing Reproductions and Repetition of Cultural Trauma in the Work of Patrick Chamoiseau,” at a Caribbean Studies Association conference in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. In December, she will participate in an American Studies Association panel on gentrification in Denver, Colorado.

Del Sol began attending Columbia University this fall, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in English and comparative literature. At Columbia, she also works as a research assistant for a faculty member in her area of study.

“I want to be an educator. I feel that it is the ultimate way to give back,” Del Sol said. “I want to be able to do for other students what Professor Cumberbatch, Professor Davis, Professor Frydman, Professor King, and听Professor Natov听have done for me. It’s all for nothing if you can’t help someone else. You have to pull other people up.”

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Professor Dale Byam‘s class, Carnival: History, Music and Performance, ran during the second summer session, a fortuitous time because it coincided with the local Caribbean-American community’s intense preparations for Brooklyn’s carnival festivities.

Michelle Williams, vice president of a Brooklyn-based organization that has its own steelpan orchestra, invited Byam to hold class in their rehearsal space in the cramped basement of a Lefferts Gardens brownstone. There, the experienced pannist talks to the students about the birth of the steelpan, the only acoustic instrument to be invented in the 20th century.

Williams explains that there has been some discrepancy over who actually invented the instrument, native to Trinidad and Tobago, which has now spawned orchestras as far away as Japan.

“With any marginalized group, their history is often not recorded,” adds Byam, the director of the Caribbean Studies program. “But many people informed the development of this instrument.”

The most popularly held story takes place during the 1930s, when used oil drums near American military bases in Trinidad and Tobago were taken by impoverished youth, heated over bonfires, and hammered into an instrument whose indentations produced the notes of a musical scale.

After the history lesson and quick annotations on each instrument that make up the steelpan orchestra鈥攖he double seconds, double guitars, triple cello, tenor bass and six bass鈥攖he students are invited to pick an instrument on which they will receive an expeditious lesson so that they can come together to play a tune at the end of the day’s class.

“I used to teach this class on a purely theoretical level but that wasn’t working for me,” says Byam, who also teaches in the Africana Studies department. “You have to actually get out there and experience this type of music up close, the sense of community that is necessary for it to come together, and the kind of energy that is nurtured.”

Williams teaches the students, with an assistant who is part of her orchestra, the popular soca song, “Feeling Hot Hot Hot.” As heads bob, riotous laughter breaks out and the cacophony of the students’ fervent drumming fills the room.

Byam is among the most kinetic players, her petite frame nearly engulfed by the six tall steel pans that make up the six bass, the instrument she has decided to bunker down with.

“I think this is my height,” she shouts out to no one in particular. “I’m ready to go!”

“My friend told me Professor Byam was really good but I didn’t expect to have so much fun,” says Schontal Russell, a senior majoring in kinesiology, who is of Jamaican descent. “It’s been really nice to learn about how this music that came from these tiny islands has influenced the world.听 I have also grown a deeper appreciation for steelpan.”

The Caribbean Studies program emphasizes the role that the Caribbean has played in U.S. history, immersing students in the study of slavery, colonialism and the rich cultural collision that shapes the islands today.

Byam, who has traveled the Caribbean studying carnival, is planning to take a group of students to Trinidad and Tobago during the winter intersession so that they can see the carnival preparations there.

“Carnival has traditionally been a space for activism and resistance,” she says. “From an academic perspective, there is a lot to explore. For us as a class, the energy alone is empowering.”

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