Antonio da Veiga Rocha

My Story

I was born in Lisbon Portugal to Cape Verdean parents and was reminded daily of the differences me and my family held in the country.  I recall how often my thinking of differences brought me to the topic of justness.  How in many of my interactions as a child I called for the application of fairness, but found it absent in consideration.  I speak here of the impetus for my contemporary work on diversity and Equity.

When I was eleven we moved to the United States, and through combinations of experiences -  that included xenophobia, racism, bigotry, classism - but also just as impactful, kinships with likeminded immigrants from South America and continental Africa, working class African Americans, and even white allies of the black, immigrant experiences - I moved on to college.

I went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after one year of community college.  There I concentrated on writing and painting and started building a creative practice that focused on the African and African American / African Caribbean / black experiences and studies.  The works were explorations on identity, memory, and generational stories.  

I was the second in my family to go to college and the first to graduate.  After two years of doing community work and art, I joined the master’s in fine arts program at Goldsmiths College, University of London.  There I continued my practice, exhibiting in both group and individual shows and increasing my education in colonialism, imperialism, African independence and revolutionary movements, philosophy, cultural studies, continental African art history, and the Western Canon, all these studies continue to this day!

My work history has always been a journey and conversation on professional diversity and how experiences can occupy a much more profound space than degrees and certificates.  I've only recently received a degree in education, yet I had been practicing education throughout my higher learning degrees.  I understood that pedagogy was a practice that came easy to me, and empathy another custom that seemed innate.  I taught in London public schools as part of a government initiative called Aim High, and at universities like the University of Reading.  I continued on lecturing in institutions like the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia University, University of Michigan, University of Cape Verde, and others. 

Through this prism of studies and discoveries I was also actively advocating for youth.  I frequently joined panels, forums, gatherings, etc., on youth concerns, often through national programs like Weed and Seed, and Aspire.  As a young professional you could find me teaching a university course in the morning, early afternoon teach-counseling at-risk students, late afternoon joining a community youth meeting on violence reduction, early evening playing an indoor soccer game, and in the late evening attending an art opening; that was a normal day!

Most recently I have begun research on teachers and empathy, and finished a masters in research in education.  Previous to this I worked on raising awareness about toxic sexual behaviors at institutions like Day One, a sexual assault trauma center.  This was through teaching, lecturing, and building curriculum for programs like PREA, the Prison Rape Elimination Act, for the State of Rhode Island's Corrections Services Department.  I have also worked in Rhode Islands's health department in their Health Equity Institute, which focuses on making sure that every Rhode Islander has a fair and just opportunity to be healthy.  And prior to focusing on KinSite I directed a private school’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, creating and implementing DEI standards.

My journeys have taken me to multiple workspaces from health organizations and associations to social working cooperations & cooperatives, from childcare non-profits to state government, and from the visual arts to the security services.  It has also allowed me to work in many different countries and cities, from London, England to Praia, Cape Verde, from Barcelona, Spain to Chicago, United States.  It’s such diversity of production spaces that has provided me a wider reference as to what fundamentally works and is longer lasting.  Through such journeys I have also come to appreciate the value of good leadership and the importance of fairness in one's daily process.  From the imperative nature with which we need to centralize diversity in our social workspaces to making sure every organization has the tools and education to create diverse and equitable working environments. 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me.  I hope soon I will have the pleasure of learning more about you.

KSCC Founder