Meet Christina
Christina Lane is a proud born and raised Harlemite and is dedicated to giving back to the community that has greatly impacted her as an artist, journalist, and individual. Raised by her grandmother on 114th Street between St. Nicholas Avenue and Lenox Avenue, she lived and went to school in Harlem until she was about 17 years old. With relatives and friends throughout the neighborhood, Harlem has always felt like a big family. And as a tomboy, Christina would often be outside, jumping Double Dutch, racing, and playing sports, “I always was like a runner, so I would race against anybody. And I had this guy, like an older guy that always wanted to race me. And he would never admit to this day that he lost plenty of times. His name was B.A., but I used to call him Slow B.A.. He used to call me Slow Christina because we used to just, like, have this battle.” Her memories of lessons, love, family, and laughter are embedded in the streets as she continues to forge her own path.
One of the many places that holds her favorite memories is Central Park, 110th Street, where she would spend time with her father. She still has vivid memories of watching him sell movies on VHS and DVDs on 111th Street and Lenox and 111th Street and Fifth Avenue. And as an artist himself he was a major influence on her as well. Christina is a visual artist, she explains, “I customize, like, jackets. I do murals. I actually have a mural right now, on 125th street between... Lexington and Third Avenue…It’s a project [that’s] a part of the Uptown Grand Central, and it was the grand scale mural project. So I was selected out of like hundreds of people to actually create my own murals. So that was amazing.” She was able to involve people in the neighborhood in this project by having the boys from the Table of Kingz mentorship program help paint the background for the mural.
“It really means a lot to be from Harlem and… know… [the] historical context…. I really love Harlem. It’s crazy. Like, it sounds like [I’m talking about] a person.”
Her value of community shines through in her work as an artist and journalist. Reflecting on the start of her career, she says, “They had a show called All Eyes On Me TV that they used to produce in Hunts Point at the center called The Point CDC, and they have a big theater, and it was similar to 106 & Park. So they [interviewed] people in front of a live studio audience. And I remember going one time, and [my good friend], Donjai, was actually one of the hosts. And I was like, 'I want to do that.'” After speaking with the producer Chill Will, she became a co-host and would interview both up and coming and influential artists in Harlem, “I think we started that in 2013. And I think our first interview was, like, Fred the Godson, God bless the dead.... We were really interviewing people before they were who they are now. Like, we had Neek Bucks. We had Puma from Black Ink, we had Walt. We had so many people. When I look at, like, where they are now, it's crazy.”
Inspired to improve her craft, she attended Lehman College after learning about their broadcasting program from a friend. Christina would go on to excel, double majoring in Film and TV and Africana Studies, studying abroad in Ghana, receiving the Gilman scholarship and the Chancellor's Global Scholarship, and graduating with honors in 2018. Throughout her college career, she maintained several internships at networks like BronxNet TV, BET, MSNBC, News 12 and attended a Bronx journalism workshop where she met her mentor, Nicole Johnson, who was a reporter with PIX11. After, she worked as a production assistant for PIX11 in 2020 and continued progressing in her career, conducting interviews, corresponding for All Harlem World, and creating her own wearable art fashion brand, Christina’s Lane. Currently, Christina is a freelance journalist and case manager for a supportive housing organization, while also continuing to build her brand. Originally, she only majored in media but was inspired to continue in Africana studies after taking a Black music class with Mark Christian, the chairman of the Africana Studies at the time and now a mentor of hers, “His influence and just me loving Black culture and learning… really played a part.” Harlem being a historical and cultural mecca for Blackness gave her the desire to learn more about history as well. She says, “Just saying that I'm from Harlem, it just really means a lot to me…. Knowing the neighborhoods and going up 116th street and knowing that Malcolm X was on these avenues and these streets and just really walking these streets…. It really means a lot to be from Harlem and… know… [the] historical context…. I really love Harlem. It's crazy. Like, it sounds like [I’m talking about] a person…. I [want] to say something that Dapper Dan said. He said, 'People outside of New York always want to be like New York, but people in New York always want to be like Harlem.' That really stuck with me. I think I should get that tatted,” she laughs.
Ever since Christina was a teenager, she made it a point to be active in her community and although she no longer lives in Harlem she is always in the neighborhood and finding ways to participate in community activities. She says, “I just always feel like if there's something going on in Harlem, I need to be involved. Definitely if it's something Black. Like, if there's something Black... I need to be involved with it.” She recalls being in high school, when they first started doing fashion shows on 125th Street in front of the State Building, and instantly wanting to be involved. “I always feel like, 'Well, how can I be a part of the parade?' You know, stuff like that. And it's easy…. You just go speak to the people.” She strives to be involved in the community, “I'm always [at the Milbank Children’s Aid Society]. Like… teaching art to the youth, and… majority of the time, I do it for free. I'll go decorate their bulletin board for back to school. I also partner with a lot of nonprofit organizations, like Harlem Fashion Week. I've done… art classes with them…. So [I] did a couple of things [with the non-profit Where Hope Lives With Us] at Milbank. I always try to bring things back to Harlem.” Christina has organized back to school drives and drives for first time mothers at Milbank, gathering donations from people in the community and giving everything for free. Lane has found community through putting herself out there and encourages others to do the same, “That's the only way that you're gonna get to know the community that you're in. It's by getting involved.”
“I could definitely come to Harlem and feel comfortable with who I am. So that really means a lot. Being comfortable in my skin, in my community. I mean, [it doesn’t get] better than that.”
Harlem has impacted her immensely, “I mean, it will continue to influence me. Just the richness, like our rich history that we have here, you know. The Harlem Renaissance…. I love to read about that and I love to look at old Harlem. I love to see how Lenox Avenue used to look back in 1950…” She carries Harlem with her wherever she goes, “Last week, I was… rushing to the train station. This guy was like, 'Oh, I know you ain't from the Bronx. You gotta be from Harlem.' And I'm just walking…. I don't know him from a can of paint…. For him to just hit it straight on, and I'm just walking down the block, like, regular, that was crazy…. I feel like I really do embody Harlem…. No matter where I go, where I am, I'm always gonna rep Harlem to the death of me. I need to get it tatted. Seriously. Like, I just really love Harlem no matter what,” she laughs. Christina will continue to give back to the community she loves, donating her time and pushing for improvements within the neighborhood. What she truly desires is affordable housing for the people who have been born and raised in the community, businesses who value Harlem and make an effort to give back to organizations like Milbank Children’s Aid Society and P.A.L., and kids getting back outside, learning to jump double dutch, and creating memories at block parties.
Her story is still evolving, she says, “I feel like my Harlem story is never ending, but I definitely feel like my Harlem story is about my community, about the impact that I want to leave on my community and the people in it…. Because I always just want to pour into my community as much as I can.” She says, “I could definitely come to Harlem and feel comfortable with who I am. So that really means a lot. Being comfortable in my skin, in my community. I mean, [it doesn’t get] better than that.” The sky's the limit for Christina and the “fly, historical, and everlasting” Harlem.
