named programs · 4 · from sources
What they call their work
Making the Revolution Irresistible: Legacies in Cultural Work
Workshop led by cultural worker X Olamina that explores the role of artists in community organizing, featuring generative writing, discussions on curation, grassroots marketing, and intergenerational knowledge sharing.
New York Black and African Literature Festival (NYBALF)
Annual three-day festival in Harlem featuring readings, panel discussions, workshops, performances, and a bookfair that connects writers and cultural workers from Africa and the global Black diaspora.
Radical Softness: Poetry, Power & the Act of Healing
Virtual writing workshop led by Felicia Cade that uses poetry and vulnerability as tools for healing and liberation, drawing from Langston Hughes’ literary legacy and Black diasporic truth-telling traditions.
The Afro-Atlantic Breath Rosary
Hands-on spiritual workshop led by Afro-Dominican healer Brenda Polanco, teaching participants a breath-based meditative practice rooted in African diasporic traditions using a cord or beads with twelve knots for grounding and personal reflection.
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Literary Events & Workshops 2 activities
- Hosts literary and creative writing workshopsConducts in-person and virtual writing workshops focused on poetry, self-expression, and emerging voices, using prompts and live examples to explore themes such as softness and radical care, inspired by writers like Nikki Giovanni.
- Organizes and hosts an annual multi-day literary and cultural festivalProduces an annual festival in New York City, primarily in Harlem, featuring panel discussions, readings, performances, workshops, a bookfair, and a creative economy marketplace. The festival connects writers, poets, artists, and thinkers from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the African diaspora, with the inaugural event held from September 5–7, 2025, at The Africa Center and other venues.
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Event and Production Volunteer Coordination 1 activity
- Coordinates volunteer engagement during festival operationsUtilizes volunteers to support artists, welcome attendees, document events, assist with programming, and coordinate spaces during the annual festival.
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Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
- Facilitates community co-programming and participatory planningEngages the community in festival planning through an open call for co-programming in June, fostering shared vision and collective agency in shaping the festival’s content and direction.
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Spiritual Development & Meditation Programs 1 activity
- Hosts spiritual and wellness-focused workshopsOffers experiential workshops such as creating and using a breath rosary with twelve knots tied to specific intentions and rhythmic breathing patterns, integrating wellness practices into the festival programming.
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financials · form 990EZ · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$124K
Contributions & grants$120K97%
Program service revenue$4K3%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$123K
Program expenses—
Admin / overhead—
Fundraising—
Salaries & benefits$12K
Grants paid out$0
balance sheet
Total assets$2K
Cash—
Investments—
Liabilities—
Net assets$2K
1 years on record · 2025–2025
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
paid leadership · 2
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Efe Paul-Azino | Program Director | 40 | $7K |
| Brianna Clara | Project Officer | 20 | $5 |
board members · 2
- Kola Tubosun — Vice Board ChairComms Director
- Titilope Sonuga — Board Chair
relationships · 11
Who they work with
- Africa is a Country Partner — Participated in the festival panel "State of the Radical Press: Media and the Movement."
- Brittle Paper Partner — Participated in the festival panel "State of the Radical Press: Media and the Movement."
- Guggenheim Museum Partner — Co-hosted the 2025 festival events at its venue.
- Harlem Network — Host community and geographic anchor for the festival
- Langston’s Parlor Partner — Programmatic inspiration and namesake for the workshop series, indicating a thematic or collaborative relationship.
- Radical Books Collective Partner — Participated in the festival panel "State of the Radical Press: Media and the Movement."
- The Africa Center Partner — Co-hosted the 2025 festival events at its venue.
- The Africa Center Partner — Co-hosted the inaugural festival at its venue and other locations in Harlem.
- The Africa Center Partner — Co-hosts a creative writing workshop with the organization.
- The Africa Center Partner — Hosted the event "Making the Revolution Irresistible: Legacies in Cultural Work."
- The Africa Center Partner — Hosts events in collaboration with The Africa Center.
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Art for Personal and Collective Reclamationmethodology: art-for-reclamationBy using creative writing and poetry to challenge internalized narratives, the organization enables personal empowerment and cultural reclamation, because artistic expression allows marginalized individuals to reconstruct identity and resist dominant stereotypes.
- Community Co-Creation of Cultural Programmingmethodology: community-co_creationBy inviting writers, artists, and activists to co-create festival content through open calls, the organization ensures authentic representation and sustained engagement, because inclusive design rooted in lived experience produces more resonant and impactful cultural programming.
- Cultural Organizing Through Literary Activismmethodology: literary-activism-through-dialogueBy using dialogue-based workshops and historical figures as models, the organization cultivates poetic expression as a tool for truth-telling and community organizing, because Black literary traditions provide actionable frameworks for contemporary cultural and political action.
- Literature as Community Accountabilitymethodology: literature-as-accountabilityBy centering literature that reflects, critiques, and preserves community life, the organization strengthens social accountability and resists erasure, because artists make communities legible to themselves and serve as early registrars of social change.
- Sankofa-Based Cultural Reckoningmethodology: sankofaBy revisiting historical and cultural roots through literature and dialogue, the organization fosters collective healing and future-oriented progress, because engaging the past empowers communities to reimagine identity and agency in the present.