Harlem Grown and Bred
In January 2024, FYA Studios was awarded a $5,000 grant through the Mellon Foundation and Harlem Grown. When I received the news, I was beside myself. It felt outstanding for a program I created, Fearless Community Classes, to be seen and respected even to invest in it.
On Monday, August 26, 2024, with the help of my friends and partners ( Bessie Fong, Alexis Borth, Cassidy Kaye, and my wife Lauren Pringle), the first FYA Studios Community Class launched in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park. The class filled the hearts of frequent parkgoers, a parent and their child, and a few performing artists.
The four hours spent in the park gifted me with so much peace that I felt I was floating for the next several days after we concluded. To folks within my community, gaining the benefits of somatic and holistic approaches for performing artists illuminated the need to access these tools for all black and brown bodies. We are the communities that need it most, and yet, in the heart of Harlem, without the financial means, children, adults, artists, healers, and residents reach a drought in the ways to express and uplift one’s self.
It is not enough to tell a young person to do well in school when there is no creativity in the approaches to teaching. It is not just to tell a person to “suck it up” or “just get by” all so we can endure the pains of not only ourselves but our neighbor.
The community class is a way for people like myself, who have seen and felt the benefits enough to pass on the value to those who have not had access to the privileges I have. Community class is a way to level the playing field, even for only a few hours. Community class is a tactile way to humble ourselves and connect with those we never would have. Community class shows us that we are only as strong as the person standing next to us, and it serves us all to help one another be strong(er)
It is my goal in 2025 to establish my Fearless Community Classes as a 501c3 so that anyone who seeks a respite from the daily struggle of surviving in a world that does not make it easier for us to find success can feel, see and exhale the fearless power of oneself.
