Congratulations to 21 organizations across the state that have been awarded Action Grants. Each organization will receive up to $10,000 to support projects that fulfill Humanities New York’s mission of promoting dialogue and critical thinking from the community level–upward.
Take a look at the full list of recipients.
Long Island University Brooklyn English Department
Mapping Black History in Brooklyn
Project Director: Deborah Mutnick
Summary: Marking the 400th anniversary of New Amsterdam’s founding and occupation of Lenapehoking in 1625, this project will create signage for Black historic sites along the Black History Heritage Corridor, and produce two journal issues, 15 oral histories, and 12 podcast episodes.
Brooklyn Public Library
Salon at CBH 2025
Project Director: Marcia Ely
Summary: Through this program offered twice-a-year, CBH opens its doors to the public for a free curated evening and community party that includes programs, discussions and music exploring a specific humanities-focused theme.
International Print Center New York
Printing Black America: Reimagining Du Bois’ Data Portraits in the 21st Century
Project Director: Jenn Bratovich
Summary: A dynamic exhibition curated by Tiffany E. Barber that will generate conversations across the fields of art, social science, technology, and African-American history.
Visual AIDS
Getting Off Right: Bridging the past and present of harm reduction
Project Director: Kyle Croft
Summary: A short documentary, a free broadside, and a series of events will center drug users and sex workers as leaders in the history of harm reduction, breaking down the stigma that surrounds the overdose epidemic and sexual health landscape.
The Buffalo History Museum
An Investigation of the Erie Canal and Connected Waterways
Project Director: Anthony Greco
Summary: A hybrid cultural anthropology and art project designed to collect current day histories associated with the Erie Canalway system from a contemporary perspective.
New Heritage Theatre Group
“Harlem Is…” : A Multi-Media Cultural Center at Harlem Hospital
Project Director: Barbara Horowitz
Summary: An expansion of the “Harlem Is…” exhibit at Harlem Hospital with Saturday family programs, video kiosks showcasing Harlem’s living legends, and an enhanced website featuring Harlem’s Latin Roots communities in East Harlem and Washington Heights.
Just Buffalo Literary Center
Civil Writes Project
Project Director: Barbara A. Cole
Summary: Featuring National Humanities Medalist James McBride, the project will celebrate Black literary innovation, support crucial conversations, and uplift spirits across communities as audiences read, write, & connect with one another through the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum
Engaging Peterboro Past Benefits the Future
Project Director: Dorothy Willsey
The Jewish Museum
Movies That Matter: Film Screenings for Schools
Project Director: Jamie Auriemma
Summary: A large-scale, multi-school documentary-screening series that engages middle and high school students and their teachers with social justice issues, and includes a Q&A with the film’s director or subject. We also offer four to six in-school partnerships engaging this content in-depth.
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Against the Grain: The Untold Stories of The Scoopers
Project Director: Scott Propeack
Summary: A contextualized history of Buffalo’s “scoopers,” the people, who, from 1825-2004, emptied shops hauling grain for a rapidly growing America, exploring themes of labor and changing landscapes that weave together the history of Buffalo and this working-class community.
Syracuse University
Listen to the Elders Speaker Series
Project Director: Patricia Roylance
Summary: The series highlights traditional Haudenosaunee knowledge held by Haudenosaunee elders, with the goal of boosting the visibility of Native peoples, their issues and the profound importance of their teachings for our collective future.
Literary Freedom Project
One Book One Bronx: Sak Pase Haiti
Project Director: Ron Kavanaugh
Summary: A public discussion group that recenters literature to build community conversations related to gentrification, social justice, women?s empowerment, criminal justice, and racial inequality.
The School of Making Thinking
Strategies for Liberation Artist Residency
Project Director: Akeema-Zane Anthony
Summary: An artist residency where four to six Black, working-class artists from New York State will be supported to translate their arts practice to the page, to produce “Making Thinking Guides” for public distribution.
Fourth Arts Block
The People’s LES: Resisting Cultural Erasure in the Lower East Side
Project Director: Dakota Scott
Summary: A series of live and online presentations on how artists, organizers, historians, and residents have been creatively documenting and preserving community histories of the Lower East Side.
KODA Arts
5 Exhibition Catalogs & 5 Podcast Episodes
Project Director: Elif Usuloglu
Summary: Publication of five scholarly and thought-provoking catalogs launched with five podcast episodes with five mid-career, socially engaged artists: Farideh Sakhaeifar, Rowan Renee, Mildred Beltré, Alex Mari, and Renée Cox.
Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio, Inc.
Resilient Roots
Project Director: Jeremy Dennis
Summary: Resilient Roots delves into the themes of identity and cultural heritage, focusing on how these elements intersect with the artistic expression of Shinnecock Nation artists.
Henry Street Settlement
Queer History Walking Tours
Project Director: Katie Vogel
Summary: The Queer History Walking Tours use the stories of lesser-known LGBTQ+ figures and landmarks from the 1850s through the 1990s to explore the formation of queer identity and the role that LGBTQ+ people played in shaping the city.
Homelands Research Group on behalf of Story House Ithaca
Refugee Voices
Project Director: Lesley Lisa Greene
Summary: Story House Ithaca will organize a weekend-long celebration of the refugee experience through theater, storytelling, music, and art by refugees in the Ithaca community.
Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater
SPOTLIGHT: Creatives at Work
Project Director: Jorge B. Merced
Summary: “SPOTLIGHT: Creatives at Work” offers inspiration and provocations from performing artists and media makers of color working for positive social change. Filmed at Pregones Theater in the South Bronx and edited into snappy 30-minute episodes, the series broadcasts on BronxNet Community Television.
Ithaca Community Radio
The Undiscovered Country: Voices Over the Wall
Project Director: Michael Rhynes
Summary: A radio program and podcast featuring the poetry, prose, and voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, hosted by Ithaca-based poet Michael Rhynes, who was recently exonerated after serving 39 years for a crime he didn’t commit.
Cumbe: Center for African and Diaspora Dance
Art-Making and Citizenry
Project Director: Nacala Jendayi
Summary: This project will explore and spark reflection on the untold story of New Yorkers who have had lifelong African/Diasporic dance practices – not as professional dancers, but as everyday individuals who have experienced personal and communal development through decades of study with master teachers.
