About Us…
The SIL Mission
Co-Editors in Chief, Delphine Fawundu-Buford and Kayinde Harris (center) with "The Skin I'm In" teen feature shoot models (l-r)Tyra, Iris, Justine, and Renee
Founded by Delphine Fawundu-Buford and Kayinde Harris, Say It Loud! is a multi-media webzine that represents the voices of today’s youth, while giving them the opportunity to express themselves creatively. This magnificent contribution to teen culture features interviews, arts & entertainment, news, sports, lifestyle, poetry, short stories, social issues, and career & educational resources. It is an “edutainment” magazine written and produced by young adults between the ages of 13-22, under the supervision of professionals in the media and entertainment industry.
About the Co-Founders and Editors – in-Chief
Delphine Fawundu-Buford
Founder & Executive Director. Eye & I
Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief, Say It LOUD! Magazine
Delphine Fawundu-Buford is an educator, a writer, a mother, and professional photographer whose work has been exhibited and published nationally. The Brooklyn native received her Masters of Arts in Media Ecology from New York University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Education at Mercy College. As a photographer, she has contributed to magazines such as Vibe, The Source, and Rolling Stone and worked with corporations including MCA, Elektra and Jive Records. She has also exhibited in notable art institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, The International Center for Photography, and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Her work has been published in the books Black: A Celebration of Black Culture, Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers 1820-Present, and Unbelievable: The Life, Death and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. As an educator, Delphine is a New York City Teaching Fellow and a special education teacher at the Urban Assembly of History and Citizenship for Young Men. Delphine is using her expertise in the visual arts and her commitment to the community to develop the innovative organization Eye & I Inc. and the dynamic teen publication Say it LOUD! In addition to her many accolades, Delphine is a first-round recipient of the competitive Open Society Institute Community Fellowship.
Delphine Fawundu-Buford currently resides in Brooklyn with her husband and three boys.
Contact: delphinefbuford@eyeandi.org
Delphine Fawundu-Buford and Kayinde J. Harris
Kayinde J. Harris
Director, Eye & I Inc.
Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief, Say It LOUD! Magazine
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Kayinde Harris is an English teacher at a progressive middle school in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. She received both her Bachelors of Arts in Africana Studies with a minor in English and a Masters of Arts in Adolescent Education in the Teaching of English from the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Kayinde began her strong foundation in the entertainment industry when she was hired to work in the Brooklyn retail shop, Spike’s Joint. Applying her acquired skills from her experience with Spike’s Joint/40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, Kayinde has worked for companies including Comedy Central, Tuff Gong International New York, The Children’s Television Workshop and Showtime Networks. In 2001, Kayinde decided to return to her first passion – working with children. For the past seven years, she has continued to motivate, inspire, and encourage her middle school students to “think outside of the box” through innovative and creative teaching approaches that cater to the diversity of learners in her classroom; exposing her students to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and J.K. Rowling. Combining their experiences in the fields of education, entertainment, and photography, Kayinde and good friend, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, created Say it LOUD! Magazine: the Voice of Today’s Urban Youth, a magazine that would allow young adults to express themselves creatively through journalism and the visual arts. Since its July 2005 debut, Say it LOUD! has reached well over 40,000 teens in the New York City area. Blending her work as an educator and editor-in-chief of Say it LOUD! magazine, Kayinde continues to provide an outlet for young adults to write their lives, experiences, and interests from their own perspectives.
Kayinde Harris currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Contact: kayindeharris@eyeandi.org