"It is an honor to serve as a City of San Jose 2021 Cultural Ambassador. I look forward to working with the other ambassadors to enrich the cultural landscape of the city. I will be collaborating with my film festival team and a few community organizations to present a youth digital story telling program called “Sankofa”, an Urban Griot Project that is primarily targeted at African ancestry youth. We will teach them how to tell their own stories using the tools of image capture - cell phones, movie cameras, etc. Sankofa is designed to train, mentor and teach our youth how to use digital tools to tell their own stories. More than learning to tell stories, is giving them a pathway to understanding, owning and appreciating the power of their own voices. They become our present day Griots and like the griots of 12th century Mali Empire, they become the custodians of our collective stories and memory. "

"The Pandemic has put a lot of restrictions of our ways of doing and being, hence the way we consume and experience art in the city has changed quite a bit. However, pre-covid, I loved and enjoyed hanging out on the Eastside of San Jose to take in the array of rich cultural activities and programs on that side of town. From murals, to music, aroma of foods, dance classes and performances at the School of Arts and Culture, etc. The offering is endless and priceless. Also, as a film buff, I feed by love of independent and international movies at a number of our local boutique theaters around the city."

"Culture in its broad definition can be described as a people's collective ways of doing and being as practiced through time. However, it must be noted that this same word can and has been twisted and sometimes weaponized to denigrate and subjugate minority groups by a dominant group. As artists and culture bearers, we must remain vigilant and ready to call out the role dominant culture’s narratives play in perpetuating “otherness”. Especially in times like these, when are communities need healing from the pandemic and the heightened angst of racial and social injustice, the Arts provide marginalized communities a safety valve and space for affirmation. The Arts open the windows to our hearts and invites all of us to a shared celebration of our rich and varied voices. From molding to movement, sculpting to singing, drumming to dancing, art on the wall or off the wall, on-stage or off-stage, when emotions are high and words fail us, art gives us language that transcends cultures and provides a pathway to courageous conversations and healing. This shared experience that art uniquely offers us must be nurtured by all stakeholders in order to breathe new life back into our communities."

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Visit San Jose 2021