OUR VOICES HAVE BEEN HEARD - NEW YORK CITY BUDGET TO INCLUDE $53M RESTORATION TO ARTS AND CULTURE FUNDING

Earlier this month the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) called on its community to have their voices heard by signing on to the Cultural Equity Coalition’s letter demanding the restoration of $53M to arts and culture funding. Members of our community stepped up, signed the letter, joined the rallies and made sure to let Mayor Adams know that culture is the heartbeat of this city. 

On June 27, 2024 just before the June 30th budget deadline, the announcement came in: the $53M will be restored to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs’ Cultural Development Fund (CDF). The CDF is a critical source of funding for many of the city’s cultural institutions including CCCADI, and the communities they serve which are overwhelmingly of color. 

“These institutions are a critical part of New York City’s social fabric, which New Yorkers depend on for their children’s growth and the vibrancy of our city,” Mayor Adams said in a statement.

“Our arts and cultural institutions and libraries are foundational pillars of our city, and New Yorkers depend on their services every day,” said Speaker Adams. “The Council has consistently championed funding restorations for these institutions as a top priority, and we’re proud to reach an agreement with Mayor Adams and the administration to successfully secure these critical investments for them in the city budget. Thanks to the Councilmembers and New Yorkers across the city who fought for this, and to the Adams administration for arriving at this important agreement for the city with us.”

The budget restoration is a win for the cultural community. Yet, as advocacy efforts in the last two months have highlighted, there is a clear inequity in the city’s allocation of cultural resources: 85% of the budget for operations and programming activities goes to 34 organizations whose right to that money is based on ownership of property designated over 100 years ago, when community organizations of African descent had no access to be in a similar position let alone be competitive. The remaining organizations, most of which are rooted in communities of color, are forced to compete, with each other, for the remaining 15%. 

That 15% is CDF. It is clear that much work still needs to be done to ensure all New Yorkers have access to cultural institutions that reflect who they are, their beliefs, their art, music, dance, food, and values, and are readily available to serve their needs. 

“The fundamental rationale for the government’s involvement in arts and culture is, or should be, a recognition of the reality that it was the government itself, and other accomplices, who robbed an entire community of African descendants of their culture, culture which defines a people. Arts and culture funding is designed, or should be designed, to restore that culture taken from primarily African descendant communities,” said Melody Capote, Executive Director of CCCADI.

With the restoration of the budget, the questions that follow are what sustainability looks like and whether or not the future of the CDF will be jeopardized once again in the next year.