As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Community Coalition (CoCo) and Sankofa.org are inviting the public to reconsider one of the nation's most enduring questions: Who gets to tell the story of America?

Through a groundbreaking new exhibition at LADC Studios, "WE, THE PEOPLE" centers the voices, stories, and creative expressions of Black, Indigenous, Brown, immigrant, LGBTQ+, femme, and historically marginalized communities—not as footnotes in America's history, but as authors of its past, present, and future.

While many commemorations during the nation's semi-quincentennial will celebrate narratives of American exceptionalism, this exhibition offers a deeper and more honest examination of America’s past, present, and future. Part exhibition, part cultural intervention, and part people's storytelling project, "WE, THE PEOPLE"  opens Thursday, July 2nd and runs through Sunday, July 19th. The project emerges at a pivotal moment in our American history. 

We believe that everyone deserves a chance to start anew and heal. Our virtual reality simulations and artificial intelligence tools are designed to provide returning citizens and youth with the skills, support, and resilience they need to overcome life’s obstacles.

Together In 2018, we launched the largest creative collaboration in our nation's history, the 50 State Initiative. During the midterm election season, we held over 600 concurrent decentralized public events across the country with over 250 partners that reflected a multiplicity of voices and sparked a national dialogue about art, education, commerce, and politics. Artistic expression, such as that of the 50 State Initiative Billboards, offers the possibility of inspiring people to feel empowered to enter the civic sphere.

Brandon Wilson (Nickel Boys), model Soap Collins, and Aaron Holliday (Sharp Objects) are starring in Pockets of Heaven, the feature directorial debut of Maria Belafonte, granddaughter of Hollywood icon and civil rights trailblazer Harry Belafonte.

Joining the ensemble are Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave), along with Jonas Gindin (Lurker) and Gilberto Ortiz (Atropia). Making his feature acting debut in the film is rapper-musician Mavi.

Set against the backdrop of a Los Angeles wildfire evacuation, the film “follows three young people from vastly different worlds: a privileged runaway from rehab and two unhoused 20-somethings surviving in a burn zone. As their lives intertwine, the film explores the fragile boundaries between love, addiction, and survival in modern Los Angeles.”

The film, co-written by Belafonte and Alexander Zeke Musca with cinematography by Angel Barroeta, wrapped principal photography in December in Los Angeles.

Pic is produced by Sofie Hubbard Warshafsky with Glia Productions, as well as Maria Belafonte and Alexander Zeke Musca under their New Wrinkle Films banner. Serving as executive producers are Gina Belafonte with Sankofa.org and Jason Wiesenfeld. The project was made in partnership with Help USA and with assistance from The People Concern to ensure authentic community engagement and representation of the unhoused stories it depicts.

“Many Rivers To Cross” was the largest Music and Arts Festival dedicated to racial and social justice. The festival took place October 1 & 2 in Chattahoochee Hills, GA outside of Atlanta. “Many Rivers To Cross” promoted awareness around critical human rights issues. 

Survivors Guide to Prison is a 2018 documentary film directed by Matthew Cooke exploring the United States prison system, largely through the lens of two wrongly convicted men, Reggie Cole and Bruce Lisker. The film, narrated by Cooke and Susan Sarandon, focuses on problems one might face against the prison system via segments covering topics such as plea bargains, solitary confinement, and the difficulties of life after prison. The movie features interviews with former prison inmates, police officers, court officials, lawyers, and journalists, as well as many appearances by celebrities such as Danny Glover, B-Real, Macklemore, Deepak Chopra, RZA, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Quincy Jones, Tom Morello, Wayne Kramer, Ice-T, and Danny Trejo. Some of the celebrities interviewed are themselves former prison inmates. The film was executive produced by Adrian Grenier and Susan Sarandon. Sankofa.org’s Gina Belafonte was a producer on this important film.

This unbelievably true story begins when Brooklyns own hip hop theater innovator and spoken word champion, Bryonn Bain (60 Minutes, The Village Voice, BETs My Two Cents), is wrongly imprisoned in NYC jails while studying law at Harvard. Directed by Sankofa.org’s Gina Belafonte, this project weaves together the voices of over 40 characters into a one-man tour de force, Lyrics From Lockdown, is a groundbreaking multimedia production with a live band and video DJ, fusing hip hop, theater, spoken word poetry, rhythm and blues, calypso and classical music, to tell a provocative story exposing racial profiling and wrongful incarceration in a nation imprisoning more people than any other in the world.

The Civics Series is an ongoing online video series in which artists from different disciplines come together and use storytelling to discuss issues that are often overlooked. One of our favorite projects was our incredible discussion at the Kennedy Center with Hank Willis Thomas, BMike Odums, Sophia Dawson, & Rene Payne

Since 2018 Sankofa has partnered with The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Social Equity Inclusion initiatives to explore the intersections of social justice in the arts and more.

Sankofa.org and the Latino Community Foundation  joined forces with The Young Turks in a final push to get out the vote among Latinx youth. Together, the organizers convened one of the largest non-partisan voter mobilization event in the country, dubbed “Tu Música, Tu Voz, Tu Voto. The Tu Música, Tu Voz, Tu Voto event included some of America’s most talented Latinx artists in music and TV, including Rosario Dawson, Carlos Santana, Amara La Negra, Frankie Negron, and many others. Comedians Aida Rodriguez and Gadiel Del Orbe hosted the fantastic event.