ANCHORED IN JUSTICE FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, CCCADI HOSTS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER YUSEF SALAAM, ONE OF THE “EXONERATED FIVE”
On June 7, 2024, East Harlem’s Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) hosted a reception for Council Member of the 9th District, Dr. Yusef Salaam alongside community leaders and other elected officials. The reception served as an opportunity for the nearly 50-year-old cultural institution to create a space for dialogue that centers the advancement of racial and social justice among the East Harlem community and Salaam, one of the “Exonerated Five”.
The reception was held on a date that is sandwiched between May 25th, the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, and just weeks before the nation commemorates Juneteenth, the true date of the emancipation of Black Americans two years after slavery was abolished. Remarks from CCCADI representatives began with an acknowledgment of all the Black lives lost to centuries of colonial oppression and informed guests of CCCADI’s Institute for Racial and Social Justice through Arts and Culture, founded in 2020 as a response to the legitimate demands of the Black Lives Matter movement. The establishment of the Institute was made possible by funds that were made available to advance racial justice, funds that speakers noted, have since dissipated.
“We find ourselves in a moment between these calendar markers that beg us to reflect on the continued systemic injustices. At CCCADI, all of our work is dedicated to advancing cultural equity and racial and social justice for African descendant communities,” said Melody Capote, Executive Director of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute.
“In that spirit, we welcome Dr. Yusef Salaam to our space. With his own lived experience of systemic injustice as one of the “Exonerated Five” who were wrongfully convicted of a violent crime, it was the system that committed grave violence toward him, as it committed against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor who would have turned just 27 years old on June 5th, and as it continues to commit on our youth every day that there is inequity. Together, we need to build and demand a better present and a better future.”
Members of peer organizations such as Harlem Week, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Uptown Grand Central, and Afro Latin Jazz Alliance were in attendance, alongside CCCADI board members and representatives of the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Broadway Housing, and Community Board 11. Echoed across the statements of various speakers was that cultural institutions and community leaders play a vital role in ensuring all residents have access to quality of life. As such the community calls for more support from local government agencies and representatives, in particular during June when city budgets are being finalized. Strongly emphasized by Capote was that small and mid-sized cultural institutions across New York City are pillars to their communities; they are first responders and they are not mere entertainment, they are a lifeline.
The reception included a tour of CCCADI’s current exhibition, BYENVENI, meaning “welcome” in Haitian Kreyòl. A multimedia exhibition featuring 11 Haitian Diasporic artists, BYENVENI invites viewers to explore the concept of home through these works. The exhibition is part of CCCADI’s yearlong effort, Lakay se Lakay, that pays homage to the legacy of Haiti, the first Black independent republic, Lakay Se Lakay, which translates to “home is home” in Haitian Kreyòl, creates opportunities to build bridges across AfroFuture visions.
