New York, NY – In a moment when conversations about educational justice, community voice, and belonging are more urgent than ever, a new report from Cool Culture — Parent Power for Cultural Equity (PP4CE) — presents a transformative vision: families are not simply participants in cultural and learning ecosystems; they are essential architects of cultural equity and systemic change.
Developed in partnership with the Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center (BSECDC) and the Public Science Project at CUNY Graduate Center, the Creative Pathways in Bed-Stuy report brings together research, storytelling, and on-the-ground organizing to showcase how caregivers are helping reimagine schools, museums, and community spaces across New York City.
View the full PP4CE Report: Creative Pathways in Bed-Stuy here.
A Collaborative Effort Rooted in Community Leadership
Funded by the generous support of the New York Community Trust and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, this report is the result of a multi-year, community-driven collaboration:
- The Bedford-Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center (BSECDC) brought decades of deep neighborhood relationships and expertise in early childhood education, serving as the home site for PP4CE’s visioning, dialogue, and collective learning.
- Cool Culture contributed its 25-year legacy of cultural equity work, supporting family leadership, arts and cultural engagement, and cross-sector partnerships across Brooklyn and broader NYC.
- The Public Science Project (PSP) provided participatory research guidance, grounding the process in critical, community-based methodologies and collaborative analysis.
Together, these partners co-created a process rooted in accountability, not extraction—centering families as researchers, artists, organizers, and visionaries. Every insight in this report reflects the brilliance of Bed-Stuy families and the collective labor, imagination, and care that shaped this work.
Listening to Bed-Stuy: How the Research Unfolded
Parent Power for Cultural Equity (PP4CE) is a collective of Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) parents, caregivers, and grandparents who, in partnership with Cool Culture and the Public Science Project, set out to understand how art lives in the neighborhood—how it’s remembered, how it’s practiced, and how families envision its future. Over several months, the team listened across Bed-Stuy using multiple methods, including interviews, neighborhood-wide surveys, art-sharing stations, and community mapping activities.
We gathered stories from neighbors, elders, and families at the Bedford Stuyvesant Early Childhood Development Center’s Picnic in the Park and at Brooklyn Museum’s Museum on Wheels activation. Wherever Bed-Stuy residents gathered, we brought the work to them.
What We Heard: Art as Culture, Memory, Joy, and Survival
Families told us that art is history, identity, grounding, joy, and survival. Creativity thrived in daily gestures—braiding hair on stoops, music floating through playgrounds, shared meals, storytelling, and intergenerational skills passed down with care.
Yet residents also made clear that access does not match the richness of community creativity. Culturally-rooted arts spaces are disappearing or inaccessible, even as youth and families express a profound desire for them. Bed-Stuy’s rapid gentrification and displacement threaten the cultural memory and communal infrastructure that have defined the neighborhood for generations. Listening now—deeply, intentionally, and across generations—is essential to protecting what remains and building what comes next.
Still, families did more than remember—they imagined. They envisioned:
- Intergenerational arts centers
- Community healing hubs
- Performing arts spaces
- Youth-owned creative spaces
- Public art that celebrates everyday Black family life
The report outlines four key findings across the data and offers community-rooted recommendations for restoring, expanding, and sustaining artistic and cultural life in Bedford-Stuy. We invite you to read the full report to learn more.
Why Parent Power Matters More Than Ever
Educational research continues to affirm that student thriving is deeply connected to family engagement and culturally responsive learning environments. When caregivers are invited into decision-making—curriculum design, community partnerships, and school culture—inequities begin to shift. PP4CE demonstrates families leading conversations, analyzing challenges, and proposing solutions rooted in lived experience. Their insights help schools and cultural institutions evolve into inclusive spaces that reflect and celebrate the communities they serve.
From Advocacy to Action: A Roadmap for the Future
PP4CE is more than a research initiative. It equips caregivers to advocate for equitable policies and arts funding, build stronger bridges between educators, families, and cultural institutions, share stories that deepen community understanding, and lead local organizing efforts across Brooklyn and beyond.
Through this work, parents are not only supporting their own children—they are shaping a more just cultural landscape for generations to come. As schools navigate complex social and political pressures — from book censorship to shrinking arts budgets — the stakes for cultural equity have never been higher. The PP4CE report offers a roadmap forward: one in which families are central to reimagining early learning, cultural access, and community power.
Read & Share the Full Parent Power for Cultural Equity Report
PP4CE Report: Creative Pathways in Bed-Stuy (PDF Link) PP4CE Report: Creative Pathways in Bed-Stuy (Magazine Link)
About Cool Culture
Cool Culture is a social justice organization led by people of color. For 25 years, Cool Culture has worked to ensure that families of color and other historically marginalized families facing poverty in New York City have access to the cultural resources necessary to thrive. Through joyful cultural experiences, artistic expression, and collective advocacy, Cool Culture partners with schools, early childhood centers, and cultural institutions to open doors to marginalized communities, encourage families to preserve their cultural heritage, and influence the systems shaping their lives and communities.
Media Contacts:
media@coolculture.org
psalandy@coolculture.org