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Engaged Opportunity Grants

Engaging NYC: Oral History and Ethnography

Combating the cultural displacement that accompanies gentrification by conducting oral histories of the Caribbean community in Brooklyn

The swift gentrification of Brooklyn has resulted in the cultural displacement of numerous ethnic communities. This project brings students to New York City, where they collaborate with CaribBEING, an arts and culture organization based in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Students intern at CaribBEING and gain hands-on experience working with the local Caribbean community of educators, entrepreneurs, activists, and artists who are CaribBEING affiliates. After conducting remote work for CaribBEING over the course of the semester, the class travels to Brooklyn where each student records the oral history of a community member. These interviews inform the students’ final research papers, which highlight social justice issues. Students also work with CaribBEING to map the parameters of a proposed “Little Caribbean” in portions of the Flatbush and Crown Heights neighborhoods.

Grant category: Other

Topics: Access, Equity and Justice; Arts, Communication, Media and Design; Culture, Language and History

The Team

  • Oneka LaBennett, Africana Studies and Research Center

    College of Arts and Sciences

  • Elena Guzman, Department of Anthropology

    College of Arts and Sciences

  • Community partner:  CaribBEING

In The News

MAY 8, 2017 
Class gathers oral histories of Caribbean residents in Brooklyn
– Cornell Chronicle


Engaged Opportunity Grants

Supporting a wide range of community-engaged learning projects, from student leadership programs and partnership building to events and conference travel. Open to all faculty and staff.

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