Interview with Jasmin Agosto

Partial Transcript: I am Stephanie Ocampo and I'm from Trinity College

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto introduces herself and begins to express her identity and her family's history. She is of Puerto Rican decent born in Boston. Her mother was born in Puerto Rico and her paternal grandparents immigrated from Puerto Rico before her father was was born.

Keywords: Bayamon,Puerto Rico; Boricua College; Boston, MA; Bronx, NYC; Brooklyn, NYC; Carolina, Puerto Rico; Hartford, CT.; Trinity College; West Hartford, CT; artist; boricua; identity; pansexual; program manager; pronouns

Subjects: Hartford; Identity; Latina; Latinx; New York City; Puerto Rico; birth place; queer

Partial Transcript: Um and then can you talk about how you decided to go to Trinity.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine shares her schooling journey from Boston, West Hartford and Hartford. She speaks on how she built her own identity and learned from and engaged with the city of Hartford. Her family lived in West Hartford but had connections all over Hartford such as the Hartford Seminary, Maria Sanchez School and church all over Hartford. She gives a quick history of the magnet schools in Hartford. Relationships she made with members of Hartford community organizations helped her form her identity and begin work in community organizing and outreach.

Keywords: Artist; Assata Shukur; Boston; Church Community; Community Organization; Conard High School; Connecticut; Creative Writing; Cultural Shock; Diverse; English Dominate; Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; Hartford; Hartford Seminary; Hartford,CT; Language; Magnet Schools; Malcolm X; Malcolm X Grass Roots Movement; Maria Sanchez School; Milner Middle School; Northend, Hartford; Schools; Segregation; Sheff v O'neil; Spanish; Suburbs; Trinity; West Harford; identity

Subjects: Arts; Community Organizing; Cultural Shock; Education; Hartford; Integration; Magnet Schools; West Hartford; identity

Partial Transcript: Go Ahead. When you talk about religion, what religion are we talking about.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto speaks on how religion has impacted her life and identity. Her father is a theologian and her family grew up in the United Church of Christ. As an adult now, she identifies as more spiritual than religious. Sankofa Kuumba, a non profit organization, as played a role in her identity and her spirituality.

Keywords: Ancestors; Cultural Arts of the African Diaspora; Denominational; Heaven; Hell; New Testament; Pentecostal; Queer; Religion; Sankofa Kuumba; Spirituality; Theologian; Theology; UCC; United Church of Christ; Willamsburg,Brooklyn; Youth Group

Subjects: Church; Religion; Sankofa Kuumba; Spirituality; Theology; United Church of Christ

Partial Transcript: I didn't answer your question about Trinity.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares her journey on how to she got to Trinity. Her education at the Hartford Academy of the Arts lead her to activits and artists in Hartford. Her decision to attend to Trinity stems from her desire to continue working and organizing in the Hartford Community. She goes on to share her experiences at Trinity and how Temple of Hip Hop and Trinity College's International Hip Hop festival grounded her and helped her through her college career.

Keywords: Academics; Activists; American Studies; Artists; Charter Oak Cultural Center; Community Organizing; Educational Studies; Hampshire College; Hartford Community; High School; Identity; Temple of Hip Hop; Trinity College; Trinity International Hip Hop Festival

Subjects: Community; Cultural Center; Hartford; Hip Hop; Trinity College; Trinity International Hip Hop Festival

Partial Transcript: So, Can you talk about the work that you do here at the History Center.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares her career path and educational experience after graduating Trinity. She was an executive assistant at Sankofa Kuumba for three years and later worked for Young Productions. Throughout that entire time she was also a substitute teacher at Hartford Academy of the Arts. Jasmine Agosto later went to New York University for graduate school. Afterwards in which she worked for the Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library.

Keywords: "Sistah Nandi"; Academy of the Arts; American Studies; Artists; Arts in Activism; Brazil; Brooklyn; Brooklyn,NYC; Business Plan; Careers; Colored Women's League; Community Action; Creative Writing; Cultural Arts; Education Community Outreach Manager; Education/Instruccion; Educational Studies; Executive Assistant; Graduate School; Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts; Hartford; Hartford History Center; Hartford Public Library; Hartford on Film; Hartford,CT; NYU; New York University; New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study; Non-Profit Organizations; Salvador, Bahia; Sankofa Kuumba; Substitute; Trinity College; Visual Arts; Young Studios; Youth Activisim

Subjects: Academy of the Arts; Art; Career; Hartford; Hartford Public Library; New York University; Non-Profit Organizations; Sankofa Kuumba; Trinity College

Partial Transcript: And, so now I have been two and half years as the Education Community Outreach Manager at the Hartford History Center at the Hartford Public Library.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares her experiences while working at the Hartford History Center. She speaks about her passion projects that she is able to do. She also shares negative experiences such as facing elitism and white supremacy in the history field in Connecticut. She shares her passion for oral history and what needs to be changed in the field. She also goes into what she wants to work on in the future.

Keywords: Archive; Black; Brown; Career; Community; Connecticut History Conference; Curriculum; Education; Elitisim; Goals; Hartford Public Library; Historian; History; Library; Oral History; Passion Projects; Storytelling; White Supremacy

Subjects: Career; Community; Hartford History Center; Hartford Public Library; Historian; Oral History; Passion Projects; White Supremacy

Partial Transcript: Can you talk about your career goals and can you also talk about La Sala Femme?

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares that working at the Hartford History Center has given her independence and stability but is seeking grow from those experiences and work towards bigger and greater goals. In the long run she wants to establish venues and communities that are supportive and affirming for many marginalized communities in Hartford but as well as in the East Coast. Sage Seeker Productions is her own production project that later led into her passion project of La Sala Femme. La Sala Femme is a space for womxn and queer people of color to express themselves through the arts.

Keywords: Art; Be a Boss; Business; Business Owner; Career; Choreographers; Code-switching; Community; Contracts; Cultural Affirming; Curator; Diversity; East Coast; Goals; Hartford; Hartford History Center; Healing; Identity; Independence; International Artists; Justice; LGBTQ+; La Sala Femme; Libations; Live-Sets; Local Artists; Music Artists; Networks; Producer; Queer; Queer Affirming; Racism; Safe Space; Sage Seeker Productions; Social Media; Sponsers; Tour; WOC; West Coast; Women of Color

Subjects: Art; Business; Career; Community; Goals; Hartford; Hartford History Center; Identity; Independence; LGBTQ+; La Sala Femme; Queer; Racism; Safe Space; Sage Seeker Productions; Venue; Women of Color

Partial Transcript: I guess I want to ask how do you think art is important in the community.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares the connections she has made between art and activism and how it has uplifted the community and has been mechanism of healing and joy. She speaks on the importance in creating spaces for people of color and marginalized communities in order to break cycles of oppression.

Keywords: Activism; Art; Community; Community Activism; Community Organizing; Hartford; Heal; Inter-generational Trauma; Joy; Liberation; Mental Health; Organizing; Police Brutality; Racism; Relax; Safe Space; Self-Care; Sexism; Space; Violence

Subjects: Activism; Art; Community; Community Activism; Community Organizing; Hartford; Joy; Liberation; Mental Health; Oppression; Safe Space; Violence

Partial Transcript: How important do you think it is for Youth to advocate for there social well being in Hartford and in general where do you see Hartford in the future.

Segment Synopsis: Jasmine Agosto shares how she feels about Hartford youth and the role they play in Hartford's future. She speaks on how relationships between community elders and youth will guide Hartford into a better place.

Keywords: Community; Empower; Future; Hartford; Inter-generational; Leaders; Mentors; Open-minded; Youth

Subjects: Community; Future; Hartford; Youth

Partial Transcript: That was the first question right.

Segment Synopsis: Here, Jasmine Agosto shares that she wants the Hartford Community to develop a solidarity economy and in Connecticut overall. She speaks on how Hartford should develop self sufficiency away from larger corporations.

Keywords: Art; Artists; Capitalism; Community; Equity; Future; Growth; Hartford,CT; Independence; Labor; Solidarity Economy; Thriving; Wealth

Subjects: Art; Community; Future; Hartford,CT; Independence; Wealth