Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

Aziza Robinson-Goodnight is an avid artist, educator, activist, entrepreneur and community organizer committed to shaping, reenergizing and creating systemic, sustainable changes. The daughter of Paul Goodnight, famed painter and entrepreneur best known for his vibrant depictions of Black culture around the world, and employee of the family owned business Color Circle Art Publishing Inc. that was founded 25 years ago. Aziza was born into the arts, having grown up in the Piano Factory, a historical art-space well noted for its artist living spaces and arts advocacy. Boston has been the base for her activism from serving as Chair of the upcoming Frederick Douglass Sculpture Project (2011-Present) to sitting on the executive board of the Boston Branch NAACP as the Chair of the ACT-SO Committee (2012-2016).She has spent the last year (2017-2018) after a ten year separation from working in the school system to work as the Arts and Ethics to all 220 students at Davis Leadership Academy as well as the Director of Afterschool programs and Enrichment. Learning the Beauty and power of young Black children has empowered her to work towards advancement and development of our cultural gems, Our youth. She is also managing partner of “Gallery-Z” on Dudley which is both an art Gallery and community teaching space, where young people are at the heart of all decisions. Aziza’s lifelong understanding of being a person of color and the power of the arts to create change pushes her to continue to serve and believe in a beautiful future.

Aziza Robinson-Goodnight, Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Tony Van Der Meer, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in the Africana Studies Department. He is a scholar-practitioner rooted in Leadership and Change praxis; liberatory pedagogies; and African indigenous spiritual knowledge systems. He was a 2021 co-recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award for his leadership in campus-wide efforts to help transform the university into an anti-racist and health-promoting public research institution. In the 90's he served as President of Boston's Black Political Task Force. Currently, Dr. Van Der Meer chairs the Board of the North Carolina Communiversity, a non-profit organization focused on leadership development for Black workers and the archiving of their narratives.

Tony Van Der Meer, PhD - Photo Courtesy of the Artist

James Pierre is a passionate advocate for access to the arts for his hometown of Cambridge and the Greater Boston Area. His passion in advocating for the arts led him to found the Adius Arts Initiative, a platform with programs and events designed to intentionally highlight Black arts culture. James is an avid lover of the arts and started drawing at a young age. He considers himself an arts advocate and has greatly contributed to the arts culture in Boston working with organizations like The Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, The Museum of Fine Art Boston, The Community Art Center, The Cambridge Arts Council Hibernian Hall, The Central Square Theater, and The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. James is dedicated to sharing his passion and resources to spread the joy of art.

James Pierre, Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Identifying as a non-binary Black, Indigenous person of color, Jaypix Belmer is a Boston based documentary photographer whose work captures the “visual soul of their subjects.” Born in Boston, Jaypix focuses on the unconsidered people and places in our everyday lives. Jaypix’s professional style combines innovative design and artistically bold portraits that shine a light on individuals, enabling confidence towards the pursuit of their own vision. Being able to capture a feeling rather than a moment is a unique aesthetic evident throughout their work. Jaypix is extremely committed to storytelling. Through dialogue Jaypix establishes a strong relationship with the people they photograph which results in creative image-making.

JayPix Belmer, Photo Courtesy of the Artist.

Mwalim DaPhunkee Professor (Morgan James Peters, I) is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary artist and educator whose works span the mediums of music, theater, literature, and film. Born to a Bajan (Barbados) mother and Mashpee Wampanoag father, and growing up in New York City and Mashpee, MA; his work as a writer often explores the Black and First Nations experiences in American society. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Oversoul Theatre Collective, Inc. Cape Cod's oldest, continuous BIPOC arts and education organization. His plays and performance works have been presented throughout the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, and the UK. A fourth generation musician on his mother's side, Mwalim is an accomplished composer, pianist, vocalist and record producer, as well as a founding member and band director of The GroovaLottos, as well as owner and head of production at Polyphonic Studios, founder of Poly-Groove Records, and a tenured professor of English, Communications & Black Studies at UMass Dartmouth. Mwalim received his BA in Music and MS in Film from Boston University; his formal training in theater from New African Company in Boston, where he is currently a distinguished Playwright-In-Residence; and his MFA in Writing from Goddard College. He is also a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Elder.

Mwalim- Courtesy of the Artist

Play for Change is a collaboration between Little Uprisings and The Gottabees. They are immersive theatrical experiences for families featuring puppetry, live music and art-making centering liberation through joy and play, led by Tanya Nixon-Silberg (Little Uprisings) & Bonnie Duncan (The Gottabees). Tanya and Bonnie bring their expertise as educators for racial justice and theater makers for young audiences ​to empower youth to imagine themselves as change makers, to practice being change makers, and to ultimately be the change makers. ​ Play for Change is designed to support and inspire resilience, agency, advocacy, and change. ​It is our goal that every participant leave our experiences filled with joy and ​equipped with the language and tools for speaking out and fighting injustice. Play for Change has been shared in museums, theaters, festivals, and community spaces such as Detroit Institute of the Arts, Brandeis University, ICA/Boston, Boston Children’s Museum, Wayland Public Schools, Brookline Public Schools, and LeHigh University. It has received support from The Boston Foundation and Boston Cultural Council. http://www.playforchangeboston.com/

Little Uprisings is a collaborative and liberative racial justice program for kids. They endeavor to: Build long lasting, sustainable, and deep relationships with schools and educators that result in deeply rooted change within institutions. Create programming that centers itself in joy and play - and inspires, educates, and revolutionizes our youth. Affirm our children of color, and make allies out of our white children. Partner with community spaces and existing organizations to bring racial justice work to their forefront. Little Uprisings is founded by Tanya Nixon- Silberg, who is a black mother, artist, educator, facilitator. You’d mostly find Tanya playing and learning from her 11 year old, dreaming up new and fun ways to engage children in racial justice and radically imaging how we all get free. Tanya has worked with the MFA, Boston Public Schools, Puppet Showplace Theater, Eliot School of Applied and Fine Art, ICA/Boston, and Boston Public Library to name a few. http://www.littleuprisings.org/

The Gottabees make super fun theater for families, featuring live music, puppetry, and physical theater. They regularly sell out venues, inhabit computer screens, and inspire homemade puppet shows throughout the US, Canada, and beyond. Their work has been performed in 19 states, 5 countries, for over 43,000 people and was awarded an UNIMA- USA Citation of Excellence, the highest award in puppetry in North America. Their projects have been funded by the Jim Henson Foundation, Puppeteers of America, USArtists International, Boston Cultural Council, and the Boston Foundation. The Gottabees is headed up by Bonnie Duncan, who is a white mother of 3, passionate teaching artist and curriculum designer, maker of puppets & odd things, and a life-long performer. She has taught in schools for 20 years, integrating the arts into curriculum with joy, truth, and magic. And she really loves chocolate chip cookies. And dogs. http://www.thegottabees.com

Play for Change, Photo courtesy of Tess Scheflan