(Brooklyn, NY)

Medgar Evers College/North Country Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color

Total Award: $22,125 over 1 year

Presidential Authority Grant
To support Medgar Evers College/North Country Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color, a venue that provides emerging writers of color in urban areas with an opportunity to participate in a five-day writing institute and retreat in northeastern New York where they will explore issues of race, ethnicity and social justice. This project represents a collaboration between several organizations and is a continuation and expansion of the alumni program for the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color. Other collaborators in addition to Medgar Evers College include Nkiru Center for Education and Culture, the English Department at SUNY, Plattsburgh, and the Adirondack Center for Writing. The Medgar Evers College/North Country Retreat and Institute for Writers of Color will pose the following questions: What are the racial, identity and social issues facing people of color in the 21st century?; To what extent have civil rights legislations impacted people of color?; In what ways have issues of race and equality been reshaped and redefined in the 21st century?; In what ways can writers change negative perceptions of people of color?; What responsibility do writers of color have for changing the ways in which youth of color are portrayed?; and Do writers of color have a social or political responsibility to lead the discussion on the changing nature of race relations? The participating writers will contribute essays, narratives, poetry and fiction to an anthology that focuses on these themes.

Program Contribution Breakdown:
$22,125 Arts and Culture Program: Objective I, Strategy 4