Give me a minute to pinch myself because ASNEAA finally touched down in Queens (NYC) for Community Legacy Project (CLP) x Back to School. The experience is surreal on all the fronts! Let’s start with the professional ones: since the inception of CLP the goal was programming in ALL FIVE NYC BOROUGHS. This year, the organization is slated to reach that milestone!
Similar to CLP x Labor Day 2026, this CLP pop-up activation was personal for little and adult Shari! It’s no secret, I’m a nerd. I mean I created ASNEAA, so let’s say learning and research is my jam! Back to School season hits different for life-long learners and social justice activists.
It’s also no secret my love for hip-hop- hence CLP x Hip-Hop Celebration Day this year in the Bronx (another new borough for CLP implementation)! And in a NY State of Mind, when it came time for programming in Queens: QUEENSBRIDGE PARK was the choice! Obviously, I am a NAS fan, lol. It was serendipitous that it was also his birthday weekend (Happy Birthday Nas!) s/o to Mobb Deep too; I’ve been in a #legendhasit pocket since last year.
As I calm the hip-hop fan in me, the somber environment in NYC for the 25th year since the 9/11 attacks definitely did. This year’s reflection on that day in the city for me was also a twilight zone experience. To be so far removed from the event (a quarter century), yet it still sits in recent memory like yesterday. I guess that’s how trauma and triggers work. Ironically, to get from Manhattan that day- if my memory serves me right- I crossed the Queensboro Bridge with my friend and her father. So I’m getting it on ALL THE FRONTS like I said.
That “sunken place” feeling AKA life’s a b*tch and then you die is why I ended up studying mental health, eventually obtaining my Master of Social Work degree with a concentration in Leadership and Macro Practice. I mean it’s Back to School season, so I’m just talking to my experience because my life is real (shorty told him about her student loans and he said that he felt her). I’m going to stop with the Nas bars (at some point), I promise. Though I must say, I’ve been doing this since middle school- SURREAL! Ear drums devirginized by the words of Nas because that’s my love language. Nerd talk, duh.
And there’s a reality check and immediate respect that comes with standing in front of the Queensbridge Houses (from the Illmatic album cover)- word lovers might get hints of infamous and infinite in the atmosphere. Adult Shari contained little Shari, as we walked past the buildings to get to Queensbridge Park (QBP) for CLP x Back to School. Did I mention my sorority line name is Quiet Storm, I’m just saying my “thoro” flag is flying in these NYC streets. I guess that’s how goal setting and accomplishing works. With flyers up and setup complete, I got in service mode:
Queens is not only the biggest NYC borough, it might also be the most diverse! CLP x Back to School @ QBP gave the ASNEAA multicultural and BIPOC heritage lens a stretch of the imagination 101. I’ve been challenged by a park patron to find a geotag for Bulgaria (homework to be completed). Like CLP x America 250th Anniversary @ Commodore Barry Park (CBP) in Brooklyn, my scouting and programming experience at QBP is there’s a community rhythm in the weekend energy onsite. Most notably are the athletic fields with softball and volleyball games. There’s also the grass and barbeque areas for chilling and partying. Lastly, on my site visit I was so struck by the waterfront view under the bridge (complete with runners and gazers)- I didn’t even know there was a playground onsite too! Perfect for the school supplies giveaway at this CLP pop-up activation.
CLP x Back to School @ QBP participants were invited to share their name + BIPOC heritage and explore the ASNEAA website. There was also arts as advocacy creative expression project: Advocacy Paintings / ASNEAA coloring sheets:
Queensbridge is creative and camera shy! The memories from this first CLP event in the borough will always be special for me. This academic year, I’m sending out positive energy to ALL THE SCHOLARS (formal and informal) in their life-long learning journey. s/o to the Queensbridge Houses residents that gave this Brooklynite her stripes; explaining there are also courtyards, playgrounds and basketball courts in the housing interior spaces. I’m about that life, so after CLP x Back to School @ QBP- that’s where I went to give out ASNEAA postcards and the remaining school supplies giveaways!
#legendhasit regardless of one’s educational path; a notebook and a pen can take you far. The world is yours; be sure to continue your global BIPOC heritage exploration and check in with ASNEAA, Queens family! Stay tuned for more CLP events in service to people of ALL AGES and BACKGROUNDS:
Thank you to the CLP x Back to School 2026 host, participants and donors:
