Our Story
About In FACT, Inc.
In FACT, Inc. — Innovative Solutions through Folk Art, Culture and Tradition — is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in Willingboro, New Jersey in 2011. We preserve and perpetuate folklife traditions to sustain communities and affect social change.
Our Mission
To preserve and perpetuate folklife traditions and to use these traditions to sustain communities and affect social change — rooted in the African diaspora, open to all.
Our Vision
A world where the folk arts, oral traditions, foodways, music, and cultural practices of African Diasporic and African American communities are honored, documented, and passed on to future generations as living, breathing forces for community well-being.
Explore how we put our mission into practice.
"Tell a story... sustain a culture."— Karen "Queen Nur" Abdul-Malik
Founder & Executive Director
Karen "Queen Nur" Abdul-Malik
Karen Abdul-Malik, known professionally as Queen Nur, is an internationally recognized master storyteller, folklorist, and cultural worker who has used the power of story, song, and tradition to heal, educate, and inspire communities across the African diaspora throughout the United States.
She has performed and presented at the Smithsonian Institution, the National Heritage Fellowship Awards, the National Black Storytelling Festival, and cultural institutions throughout the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean. Her work has been recognized by the Library of Congress, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, MidAtlantic Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. She received the New Jersey Heritage Fellowship Award in 2024 and the Zora Neale Huston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers in 2022.
In 2011, while earning her Master's in Cultural Sustainability at Goucher College, she founded In FACT, Inc. to formalize her community cultural work and create a sustainable vehicle for folklife preservation in South Jersey and beyond.
Leadership
Board of Directors
Claudia Cream
Board Chair
Sharon Suber
Treasurer
Patricia Burch
Secretary
Najibah Sabir
Member at Large
Rashidah Khalifa
Member at Large
What Guides Us
Our Values
Community First
Every program, event, and initiative is designed to serve and strengthen the communities of the African diaspora in South Jersey and beyond. Guided by the Nkonsonkonson — the symbol of unity and the unbreakable chain of human interdependence — we believe our collective strength is built link by link, through shared purpose and mutual responsibility.
Inclusive Leadership
In FACT is committed to ensuring that all programming, spaces, and materials are accessible to audiences with cultural access needs. The Kokuromotie symbol calls us to a collective commitment — removing barriers and ensuring every person, regardless of ability or circumstance, has full access to the cultural life of their community.
Cultural Preservation
We document, celebrate, and transmit folklife traditions — ensuring that the wisdom, art, and practices of our ancestors endure. The Sankofa symbol teaches us that we must reach back and gather the best of what our past has to offer in order to move forward with purpose. In FACT carries this principle at its core — honoring where we come from as the foundation for where we are going.
Social Change
Folk art and cultural tradition are powerful tools for healing, advocacy, and transformation. We use them intentionally. The Aya symbol — the fern — represents endurance, resourcefulness, and the defiant ability to thrive in the most difficult conditions. In FACT is rooted in the belief that communities who have survived adversity carry within them the strength and creativity to transform the world around them.
Our Journey
Milestones & History
First Annual Willingboro Kwanzaa Festival Founded by Karen Abdul-Malik.
In FACT, Inc. incorporated in Willingboro, New Jersey
First Grant Awarded to Organization by the National Storytelling Network for Family, Fun, and Folklife Series.
Burlington County Grant from New Jersey State Council of the Arts first awarded.
Virtual programming during COVID-19 — community storytelling series
Library of Congress — Community Collections Grant Awarded
Tale of Two Tastes foodways event series launched
Notes to Self Traditional Healing Event launched
New Jersey Council for the Humanities Grant Awarded
Youth Group initiated
MidAtlantic Arts Cultural Sustainability Award recipient
Made History — Soul Line Dance Celebration at the Library of Congress
NEA Big Read Grant Awarded
Arts Guild Partnership established supported by the NJEDA
Get Involved
In FACT, Inc. always welcomes volunteers, collaborators, and community partners. Whether you want to help at an event, share your cultural knowledge, or support our mission financially — there is a place for you here.
Contact Us to Volunteer