Join us on Friday, June 19th for a special Juneteenth program with Grammy-nominated children’s entertainer, author, and educator, Culture Queen!
This PROGRAM is free with Zoo admission or membership.
About Culture Queen:
Jessica “Culture Queen” Smith is an award-winning, internationally celebrated creative visionary known for her dynamic work as a children’s performer, educator, playwright, curator, and arts leader. She creates cultural art experiences that are magical, meaningful, and memorable, sparking joy in celebrating one’s own heritage and honoring the cultures of others.
Since 2010, she has served as the founder and owner of Culture Kingdom Kids, LLC, an acclaimed educational arts company that produces interactive, Black history-centered performances and festivals across the country. Her royal stage presence has shone at renowned museums and hundreds of schools, libraries, malls, restaurants, theaters, and festivals nationwide. As a cultural ambassador, she traveled to Ghana with the L.E.A.P. (Literacy, Empowerment, and Action Project) to lead cultural literacy-building workshops for teachers and students.
Her debut album and book I Like the Me I See! are beloved tools for raising confident, culturally grounded youth. Her TED-Ed film “Mansa Musa: One of the Wealthiest People Who Ever Lived” has over 6 million views. Her published children’s musical Bone Soup: A Kwanzaa Story is produced nationally and published by Pioneer Drama Service, and her viral line dance The Kwanzaa Slide topped Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live. In 2022, Jessica attended the Grammy Awards when the One Tribe Collective album—featuring her original anthem “I Am the Future of Black History”—made history as the first compilation of all-Black children’s music artists ever nominated for a Grammy.
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