If you look at the video above, who's missing? Compare it to this one.

Inspiration for this fundraiser: We've been meeting monthly in the Stellar Village Folk School Zoom to talk about liberation for community song leading. The facilitators were inspired by panel discussions from a few years ago on decolonizing community singing with Riyo (Shireen Amini at the time), Hannah Mayree & Dodie Whitaker, Facilitated by Aaron Johnson of Holistic Resistance, and hosted by The Bird Sings.

In the last few months, we dove deeply into a document by Lauren McElroy, Jennifer Morales and Dodie Whitaker called Who is Community Singing For?

One key item on the action list was "Help raise seed funding for shorter events in POC-majority centers, to meaningfully invite people of color into Community Singing, build relationships, and showcase people of color’s leadership."

So that's what this is.

We invite you to learn more about where this seed money would go directly from Sheniqua Trotman , Brooklyn-based song leader who leads powerful song circles at gatherings around the world. Thanks in advance for your support of cultural healing!

Why I’m Raising Funds for Community Singing in Black and POC Communities

I’m a Black community song leader and vocal empowerment facilitator, and this work has been at the heart of Elevated Expression since the very beginning. My original mission is simple and deep: to bring singing and community back to my community.

I believe singing is a birthright. It’s something we’re meant to do together, not something reserved only for performers, professionals, or specific spaces. Right now, participatory community singing in the U.S. is largely a white space. For many Black people and people of color, singing in community is often limited to church or concerts, with very few spaces where we sing simply as whole and healing humans.

Singing together is powerful. It helps regulate our bodies, release stress and grief, and remind us that we belong. Our ancestors sang to survive, resist, heal, and stay connected. This work is about reclaiming that technology and making it accessible again.

This GoFundMe is not about charity. It’s about access, cultural repair, and sustainability. It’s about shifting beyond inclusivity and creating spaces where Black and POC communities can gather, breathe, and sing together without needing to perform or explain themselves.

This work supports people right now, adults carrying burnout, grief, and isolation, and it supports future generations. When children grow up seeing singing as something we do together, it becomes a lifelong tool for connection, expression, and belonging.

What Your Support Makes Possible

Your contributions help make it possible to:

If this resonates, supporting this GoFundMe or sharing it with your community helps bring this vision to life. I’m deeply grateful for every form of support.

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Please support this important project to allow Sheniqua to bring the technology of community singing to her own community. As one of her songs says, "We're in this together! Together, we are here."

Every contribution helps! Please share with your friends in community song circles. If the suggested amounts are too much, choose your own, and consider the monthly option for a smaller amount, like $5-$25.

You can also support Sheniqua's work long-term by also joining her on Patreon and sharing this fundraiser: The link is https://www.gofundme.com/f/singingseeds