Our mission is to build an inclusive community through cultural arts to heal and cultivate positive change.
Our vision is an interconnected community where all individuals feel a sense of belonging and inpowered* to develop their most authentic selves.
*inpowered– activating the power within us
UCC’s roots go back to 1997 when Mestre Jurandir moved to Seattle and started the Seattle chapter of the International Capoeira Angola Foundation (ICAF), an educational organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira Angola. Leika started training in 2002 and recalls the precious sense of community when she and her then 1-year-old daughter were embraced into the group. In 2003, ICAF gained non-profit status and expanded our programs to include community events and school partnerships. Mestre Silvinho moved to Seattle in 2004 at Mestre Jurandir’s invitation to take leadership of the group so he could return to Brazil. Long story short, Leika and Silvinho developed a strong friendship that led to their marriage in 2007 when they officially inherited the management of the non-profit. Our dream as partners was to serve the community through cultural arts and bring together Mestre Silvinho’s skill as a Capoeira teacher and Leika’s passion for health through food and holistic nourishment.
In 2010, four years after being displaced from our previous studio in Capitol Hill, we established the Union Cultural Center (UCC) as our home for the Capoeira group and our longtime partners Dora Oliveira (Samba & Afro-Brazilian Dance) and Manimou Camara (West African Dance & Drum). We wanted to expand our offerings beyond Capoeira to include more cultural arts and invite a multigenerational and multicultural community into our space. In the first year there, we hosted our youth program Youth In Action and created the mural you see above our mirrors. Within a year, the landlord informed us they were going to develop the building and we had 6 months to move. It took the full 6 months and many site visits until we found the spot on 8th & King where we’ve been housed since 2011. We love being in the Chinatown International District and welcome you to experience the vibrance of UCC and the warmth of this historic neighborhood!
We center the African and Indigenous ancestors that carried deep wisdom as culture keepers and caretakers of the earth. We honor the generational knowledge passed from those that came before us and strive to give back to those that carry these arts forward. Our work is our process to become better ancestors for our children and future generations. We create spaces that value our elders andinvest time to deepen our understanding of these traceable and tangible histories.
We recognize cultural arts are often born out of resistance for communities to gather and reinforce their shared humanity. We work to preserve a sense of dignity for all engaged in our work and collectively take action towards identifying and shifting the interlocking systems of oppression (colonialism, racism, etc.) that leave their mark on allof us.
Our relationships are foundational to making our work sustainable and collective.We develop trust in our relationships by investing time to listen and share stories with one another.
We are humbled and nourished by the profound joy of moving, creating, playing, and celebrating with one other. Joy is a strategy for resistance for marginalized communities as survival for their humanity. Celebrating life is a central pillar of our work, necessary to hold us up when the work weighs heavy on our shoulders and our hearts.
We approach health and wellbeing through a holIstic approach that honors our body, mind, spirit, and our interdependence with nature. We see agriculture, healing arts, culinary arts, music, dance, and martial arts as interdisciplinary cultural art forms that promote community health. We look out for the wellbeing of everyone in our community.
Accountability is something we continually strive and build towards with each other as individuals and with the organization as a whole. We understand that what we say and do has consequences and pro sequences. We speak with humility and act with integrity. We cultivate a practice of self-awareness, humbly listening and responding when the impact of our choices needs repair.
Deepa has over 20 years of experience in farming and food systems education as well as extensive experience and skill in creating and facilitating food security and food justice activities in direct partnership with the communities she serves. She holds a Masters from the Michigan State University College of Agriculture & Community Sustainability department. She and her partner Victor founded Ayeko Farm in 2018 with a mission to create space for BIPOC community to reconnect to the land and our cultures through food and farming. At Ayeko Farm in addition to hosting events Deepa and Victor grow culturally relevant produce that diverse communities in South King County are seeking, and they feel they have done well when people remember the Earth, their ancestors and their homeland when tasting the food.
Iris C. Viveros Avendaño, PhD. was born and raised in Mexico. Her academic interests emphasize the integration of third-world feminist approaches to analyzing colonial legacies in present-day systems of violence. She focuses on the role of state-mediated technologies of power in perpetuating violence against Afroindigenous [descent] women and communities at large. In addition, Iris’ scholarly work focuses on the connection between polyrhythmic collective music-making as a decolonial temporality and a practice of resistance, recovery, and healing from trauma. A central focus in her scholarly work is the analysis of the feminized body in fandango–In its collective and individual manifestation– as a decolonial space where knowledge is produced, negotiated, and transmitted.
Sandra was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Her experience as a multilingual, Black, immigrant woman has shaped much of her life, and the work that comes with it. She has spent over 10 years working in nonprofits, serving in communications, farming, youth advocacy and education, human rights observation, community organizing, and nonprofit management. Her experience as a consultant and capacity builder centers partnerships with immigrant, refugee, and Black communities to co-create organizational systems that promote self and collective liberation. She loves working with non profit organizations to reimagine their strategy, leadership, finances, and organizational culture in ways that build practices of pause, reflection, and accountability. She work with her organizational partners using coaching, co-created tools, facilitation and thought partnership. She has a degree in Business Marketing from Seattle University and a coaching certification from Blooming Willow Healing Centered Coaching.
Dr. Stewart is an inclusion specialist utilizing Peacemaking Circle in schools (K-College), businesses, families, government, and community settings. He has trained in the lineage of Circle Keeping connected to Mark Wedge, Kay Pranis, and Barry Stuart for nearly a decade. Besides keeping Circle he also trained in, and practices other Art of Hosting social technologies, all with a focus on institutional cultural change. Jabali is a public speaker who has also cultivated a practice of deep one-on-one cultural counsel. His work is deeply informed by his belief and practice of sensible, love-based leadership.
