Building Equity

Building Equity for BIIPOC (Black, Immigrant, Indigenous, People of Color) Artists is a pilot program from the Jamaica Center of Arts & Learning. Supported by a grant from New York Community Trust, it is dedicated to researching, engaging and promoting underrepresented artists in our community, and to providing greater access for audiences to see and to experience their work.

2022 Building Equity Events

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Live Bomba Dance Workshop with Don Angel

Puerto Rico Report Back and Poetry, Part

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The Syncretism of Borícua Cultural Tradi

We Are Still Here - Caribbean Indigenous

KWANZAA 2020 Global Edition December 20.

Advisory Council

The current members of the Advisory Council are:

Anika Lewis

Program Assistant

Anika Lewis is currently a senior at CUNY Queens College where she is majoring in Family, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences (FNES) and minoring in data analytics, anthropology, and health sciences. She is currently interning at JCAL and enjoys helping out in fundraising and development. Anika’s primary purpose is giving back to her community and so far, has worked and volunteered at community centers, food banks, food deserts, mentorship programs for homeless children, and physical therapy offices around New York City. After graduation, Anika hopes to continue pursuing her interests in non-profits, community health and data by getting a master’s degree in data analytics.

Barkha Patel

Barkha Patel is a performing artist, choreographer, educator and the Artistic Director of Barkha Dance Company based in New York. Her creative work is rooted in Indian classical kathak dance and framed by narratives of cultural suppression, personal transformation, and communal empowerment. Barkha is a touring artist whose live works have been presented at several venues including Dance Theatre Harlem, Joyce Theatre, Little Island in New York as well as Chidambaram and Modhera Dance Festivals in India.

Barkha teaches weekly classes and hosts a monthly practice meetup for her community of kathak students and dancers across the U.S.

Carlos Cuestas

Carlos Cuestas is an associate in strategic partnerships and programming at Kupferberg Center for the Arts. As a classical guitarist and son jarocho performer, he has appeared as a soloist and in chamber, orchestral, and traditional music ensembles in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, and Ireland. Carlos, a Colombian national, is a PhD Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the City University of New York, The Graduate Center researching the effects of environmental change in the poetic and musical practice of son jarocho.

Carolyn Johnson

Carolyn ‘Ms. Candy’ Johnson has earned five college degrees from the City University of New York, Queens College. Bachelors Degrees in Sociology, English and Theatre Dance; a Master of Arts in Sociology and Master of Science in Secondary Education and Youth Services. Her passion and dedication to youth lead to her position as, Program Director with The Child Center of NY at Preparatory Academy for Writers (PAW). She has created an atmosphere of family within a campus style school; gaining the attention of her agency’s Executive Leadership she received the Russell L. Carson Service Award in 2021 as well as The Melanin Magic Gala Women Of Distinction Award in 2019.

Indo Aboki

Born in New York and raised in Nigeria, Kenya and Brasil, Indo is constantly inspired by her African and South American upbringing. She is a graduate of the acclaimed Fashion Institute of Technology with a BFA in fashion design.

Her Brand: Indo Lami is a fusion between traditional cultures and contemporary fashion, paying homage to her history and looking forward to creating a future with minimum carbon footprint. Indo Lami strives to support local textile industries based in Africa as well as working with local artisans to create clothes that are socially and environmentally conscious.

Jeffrey Holman aka Freedom Jones

Playwright/Director/Visual artist/Artist Activist /Published author and illstrator. Original Founding member of HARLEM NEIGHBORHOOD WRITER’S GROUP, Asst. Artistic Director for THE THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED UPTOWN at THE RIVERSIDE CHURCH in Harlem
His most recent play “JUMPIN’ TURNSTILES (and other misdemeanors)” opened as a fully executed stage play Off Broadway at The Tank Theatre in Manhattan’s theatre district after being done as a stage reading in various theatre venues throughout NYC.

José Gabriel Maldonado Suárez, Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)

José Gabriel Maldonado Suárez is a Puerto Rican guitarist, educator, and music arranger based in Brooklyn, NY. José interprets works by composers from the Caribbean with an emphasis on his native Puerto Rico from Juan Morel Campos to Rafael Hernández Marín and covers genres from Danzas to Guajiras. He studied guitar performance at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico and completed a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at Stony Brook University, New York. His doctoral research focused on the Puerto Rican Danza using musical analysis to suggest a more accurate performance practice of these genres on the classical guitar.

Katharine Pettit

(Director/Choreographer)
Katharine Pettit is a NYC based Director/Choreographer and Founder/Artistic Director of Katharine Pettit Creative - KPC, which equally stands for Keeping People Connected.
Katharine founded KPC in 2016 to spotlight social injustices using dance as our universal language, changing minds by opening hearts through movement. Katharine continues to build relationships within the dance and theater community to create spaces where we center and celebrate marginalized humans, particularly BIIPOC & LGBTQ+ folx, believing in doing so we will decolonize the performing arts community and dismantle racism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism together. https://www.katharinepettitcreative.com/

Kenny Williams

Kenny Williams is a Queens, NY native. For 30 years he has performed in comedy clubs, colleges, churches, Rikers Island correctional facilities (Yes for Inmates), & military bases nationally and overseas: South Korea, London, Germany & Amsterdam. His credits include Def Comedy Jam, BET ComicView, Showtime @ The Apollo, The phenomenal web series "Money & Violence". He has also appeared in several independent films: “Brotherly Love”, “Golddigger Killer” & “The Stuff”. Check him in the Upcoming Movie “Honor Among Thieves”

Lisa D. Wade

A Queens-based intuitive visual artist, Lisa uses photography, mixed media, clay, assemblage and collage. She has had solo and group exhibitions in Queens, NY, Elmont, NY, and the Bronx, NY since 2017. Her work represents the confluence of intuition with the material. She is a conjurer of the material with a dash of magic. She approaches her creations in service to her guides and allows the art to manifest in a form of its choosing. In addition, she has curated photography exhibitions, co-written arts grants and worked on arts committees to produce several exhibits. She now serves as Historian for Historic Addisleigh Park, Queens archiving and creating tours.

Magaly Colimon-Christopher

Actress/Playwright/Director/Producer, Magaly Colimon-Christopher is a first-generation Haitian American. She writes new works from a viewpoint heavily influenced by the complexities and wonders of Haitian culture, Haitian Diaspora, and history. She is the Producing Artistic Director and Founder of Conch Shell Productions – the presenters of Conch Shell International Film Fest, Reset Series, #bluelightseries and Hear Her Call Caribbean American Theatre Festival. Her company’s mission is to develop/workshop/produce new works by Caribbean Diaspora & Caribbean artists who have a passion for innovative storytelling that inspires social change. To learn more about Magaly, go to www.magalycolimon.com

ManSee Kong

ManSee is a filmmaker and cultural worker born and raised in Queens/NYC. She is currently directing/producing a feature film about community response after the racist hazing death of Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-year-old Army Private from Manhattan Chinatown. She co-founded Chinatown Art Brigade with Tomie Arai and Betty Yu, a cultural collective that uses art to amplify grassroots social justice campaigns. ManSee is an alum of Third World Newsreel’s Production Workshop with an MFA in Film from NYU.

Marcello Di Russo

Marcello Di Russo is an Italian composer, educator, and administrator. He earned an A.A. in Liberal Arts - Music option from LaGuardia CC, a B.Mus in Composition with a minor in Music Recording Technology from the Brooklyn College-Conservatory of Music, and he is currently pursuing an M.A. in Arts Administration at Baruch College. Since 2018, he has been the president and an active member of the Brooklyn Composers Collective, and in 2019 he joined the Administrative team of Composers Now, Inc. Outside the music world, Marcello has an ongoing career as a basketball coach after coaching youth and professional teams in Italy.

Paige Stewart

Paige "Queen TuT'' Stewart; dance teacher at public dance schools & arts centers in NYC instructing youth, autistic children and mentally disabled adults in dance. Diagnosed with Lupus since twelve she inspires while evoking passion through everything she does. She performed in a wheelchair, crutches and cane proving that anything is possible. She danced for Nick Cannon, Lupe Fiasco, DMC & Ariane Grande, performed poetry off-Broadway, for Madison Square Garden Network and for the Knicks Poetry Slam. The Kingdom dance company was created providing free dance, art & poetry classes & professional development workshops for NYC teens and adults. TheQueentut.com

Persephone DaCosta,

Persephone DaCosta, Born of Trinidadian descent, trained with renown Master Dancers; Vado Diamonde, Rose Marie Giraud, Mikerline Pierre, Michel Kafando & Patrianne Edwards. She became a principal dancer in Kotchegna Ensemble, Bambara Dance and Drum Company and Mikerline's Haitian Folklore Dance Company. In 2005 she started her own company as the Artistic Director of Batingua Dance & Drum Productions LLc. Through Batingua Ms. DaCosta’s mission is to preserve, educate and celebrate cultural arts. Batingua puts on workshops, assemblies and performances that teach and showcase dances from Africa, Trinidad, Haiti & Jamaica. Her choreography focuses on building unity and healing communities through the arts.

Rekha Malhorta

Rekha is DJ, producer, educator, curator, and activist who pioneered Bhangra music in North America via their monthly club night, Basement Bhangra(1997-2017). Rekha was the sound designer for the TONY award-winning Broadway Show, "Bridge and Tunnel", They taught at NYU Tisch and Dept of Social and Cultural Analysis. They have a Masters in the Comparative Media Studies Dept from MIT and produce the weekly podcast Bhangra and Beyond. They are the interim Chief of Staff for Chhaya CDC a housing and economic justice organization serving South Asian New Yorkers.

Renee Joshua-Porter

Renee Joshua-Porter is a multifaceted artist with over 30 years experience as an educator, performer, voice over artist and playwright. In 2004 she founded, The Burning Bush Family Foundation Inc, a nonprofit organization which implements multimedia programs to aid underserved families, ignite women and redirect at risk youth. A regular teaching artist for Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Inc., her brand of “edutainment” instructs youth in personal growth and development. She is an awarded community servant, and licensed New York State Chaplain. She currently hosts a web-based cooking show, “Working with What You Got' which empowers audiences to "un-not" their minds.

Richard David

Richard landed at JFK Airport 25 years ago as an undocumented dreamer. He currently works for an energy company, is an adjunct professor at York College and a District Leader in Assembly District 31.

For over 10 years Richard has worked in senior leadership at three government agencies: the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

He also worked as a lobbyist for Kasirer overseeing their nonprofit desk and representing some of the leading organizations in NYC. Richard has served for a decade on his community board and lives in Queens.

Sangeeta Ghosh Yesley

Originally from India, Sangeeta lives in New York City and produces shows combining dance and other art forms focusing on multicultural, multi-discipline and site-specific performances. Sangeeta is the Director of Creative Performances producing creative works in NYC, supporting the early and mid-career artists. Creative Performances productions are StylePointe, NYC Drawing the Dance Workshop and Dixon Connect Networking for artists. She curates two dance series at Dixon Place, ‘Fast Forward’ and ‘8 in Show’ and curates ‘Dance Bloc NYC Festival’ and produces a year-end dance benefit ‘30-30-30’ on Dec 30, each year. Sangeeta serves on the selection committee of The Bessies.

Shakira Polite

Shakira is a Queens native and Founder and Principal at Be Polite Creative. A women led consulting firm, creative agency hybrid that helps small businesses build better brands. She works with clients and brand partners to create and elevate brands, businesses and people by combining small business consulting, integrated marketing and strategy.

Shakira founded Be Polite Creative in 2020 after having worked over a decade on the corporate side of luxury fashion and beauty. She remains committed to building capacity in BIPOC entrepreneurship. Her client work has been recently featured in Forbes, Vogue and Business Insider.

Tracey Irvin

Tracey Irvin is a resident of Queens, NY. She is poet who writes and recites! Tracey is a former board member of a Co-operative development where she helped implement and provided, programs and events for the youth, young adults, and seniors of the Community. Tracey is also a Wellness Coach who implemented and facilitated Wellness groups at J-Cap in South Jamaica and the Psychiatry and Detox units at Lutheran Hospital which is now NYU Lutheran in Brooklyn. Tracey, an advocate for Wellness would like to use her experience and knowledge, to help broaden awareness in the Jamaica Queens area.

Tyra Emerson

Tyra Emerson, Executive Director for the first Collaborative Organization of Arts, Education & Business in Southeast Queens. Cultural Collaborative Jamaica has been the driving force and example of how community partnerships can work together with one common goal. Ms. Emerson holds a BA from C.W. Post, Long Island University and a Certificate of Nonprofit Management from Columbia University. Her accomplishments include development of the first festival that links the arts to economic development on ten blocks of Jamaica Avenue called the Jamaica Arts & Music Summer affectionately known as the (JAMS) Festival. A 2-day summer celebration of Queens.