Ithaca College Musicians of Color Association (IC MOCA) is a student organization on campus working toward the amplification and support of students of color’s music at Ithaca College. It has existed on campus for years planning events such as the BIPOC Showcase, which took place on Feb 25. highlighting the work of musicians and students of color. At Ithaca College, a predominantly white institution, IC MOCA stands as a group that highlights inclusion and diversity in music and the work of students of color around the school. The organization came back in 2022 and has been going strong for three years.
Musicians of color come together
Today IC MOCA has a general body of more than 10 including five executive board members: Co-Presidents Mackenzie Ward and Gerdrose Jean Louis, Secretary Jayna Simeon, Treasurer Jazmen Robinson and Underclassmen Representative Sabeena Mori. Robinson joined when she was a first-year student and music education major at the time, noting how important it felt to join the group then.
“To discuss the issues that were going on for musicians of color regarding curriculum and the racism going on in Whalen, it was a safe space to come as you are and to be in a collective space where your music was appreciated amongst other people of color,” Robinson said.
Meeting bi-weekly, IC MOCA uses meetings as an opportunity for every person – including those outside of the e-board – to get to know each other. These meetings range from sit-down conversations where each member speaks about what it means for them to be a musician of color to fun sing-alongs where conversation is largely minimal.
“It’s been a big priority for us because we know there are a lot of people here at Ithaca College who are interested in music and perform and sing, but they’re not like music students,” Ward said. “And so, just letting them know that if you’re not a music major or a part of the music school, you are still a part of this musicians of color community. And that’s been really important for us to outreach to them.”
Beyond the meetings, events are largely important to how IC MOCA makes its presence on campus heard. From an Opera Noir Concert to karaoke nights, events hosted by the organization take place throughout each semester. The BIPOC Showcase is one of these major events.
For Robinson, who is no longer studying music education and is now a sociology major, she jumped at the opportunity to perform.
Robinson said, “I don’t have that much time to do my own pieces that I would like, so I took it as an opportunity that I could get back to expressing myself in that way.”
Robinson was especially excited by the range of music that the performers could sing. She said it was important for her to be able to sing gospel as she is a very spiritual person. From musical theater songs to classical music, the showcase welcomed variety.
“It was also about building hope, not even just strictly religion, but we will get through it if we have the faith to hold on long enough. It was wonderful to see everyone’s songs come to life. I think the theme was just hope and storytelling,” Robinson said.
MOCA’s impact
While there is not public reference on each specific school’s race and ethnicity numbers, overall Ithaca College is a predominantly white institution made up of only 24.1% BIPOC students as of Fall 2024. Something that has felt incredibly daunting for students of color in any case, and certainly for students of color who love music.
In the goal of supporting musicians of color on Ithaca College’s campus, both socially and educationally, IC MOCA has prioritized conversations with the school’s administration on how to increase visibility of musicians of color’s work, both on-campus and off.
“Last year we had a lot of different conversations with our dean and interim dean now, and dean last year. … She had a lot of different meetings with us to talk about our concerns and what else we could be doing. We had meetings with our admissions team to talk about how we can promote the BIPOC students that we do have here around Whalen. We had listening sessions that were hosted in collaboration with all of the MTD program,” Ward said.
Ward said she’s been happy with the responsiveness the organization has been able to have when working directly with the school. The work extends to the people a part of IC MOCA who have felt personal growth because an organization on campus like it exists.
“I know for me and a lot of people I’ve met through the organization I get feedback like, ‘I’m so glad I found this space to make friends and to find community and feel like I belong,’ because you know we understand each other at a level. Because we understand what it’s like to be in our position,” Ward said.
Robinson echoes that statement as treasurer, but also as another student on campus.
“Right now, with everything regarding DEI, I feel it’s important for people to not forget our history, to not forget where we came from. … But I also feel like just the thought that this is my safe space. And I’m looking forward to it every week because it can be isolating being the only person of color in my classrooms, and things of that sort, and I think just to be with community that understands where I’m at and to say that, ‘You’re not alone in this,’ and, ‘What can we do to help?’ . … Just being there is more than enough.”
