As most celebrated our nation’s independence and liberty, too many Black folks know all too well of the myth of freedom that was sold to them. Now some of us Black folks so desperately want the myth to come true, and some of us just want to drink the kool-aid and eat some good BBQ, but the reality is our true liberation won’t come until we begin to intentionally build the beloved and liberated community we hope to live and thrive in. Freedom is not about a day of fireworks, but the collective work and actions of a people willing to break the chains of oppression toward a more just world. Thankfully, this past week I was able to see a small glimpse of what this work and action could look like during a week-long Collaborative Redesign Studio Workshop.
During the design studio experience, a collective of 100 unique educators and discipline-specific experts joined forces to redesign WHAT and HOW our children come into knowing… knowing who they are, knowing how they exist in the world, and knowing where and how they belong in it. In one conversation, we discussed de-centering traditional power structures and systems (elected officials, government) as the sole vehicle of civic engagement toward group-based leadership models and communal power which resonated with the most radical push to defund the police and invest in the people. I don’t know if we are ready for this yet, but this was powerful work for me because for the first time there was celebration of difference and space created to center marginalized stories, voices and people where the old curriculum check the boxes, neutralized rich cultures and diasporas and made no room for restoration and healing. Each day, as I sat on Zoom calls working with phenomenal thought leaders from all over the world, I didn’t just hear the cliche buzzwords that flow in DEI conversations. I started to hear a new language emerge that pushed us closer to learning that truly liberates and heals. WOAHHH! We spoke of the enduring power for young learners in identity, community, autonomy, agency, and alternative narratives that would stretch beyond our own world view and transcend new worlds of knowing and being that were anti-racist and truly multi-cultural for future generations. As a Black Educator and a Teacher of Teachers, this really challenged my own views of what is the measure of quality learning experiences. As the central question on my blog asks, “ Are we there yet?” my new question is “Where is there?”. I now believe “there”must include more than cognitive and skill development. Our aim must be higher, where we strive toward education that liberates and heals. If we expect to build this beloved community of people and move past the myth and glitz of symbolic independence and freedom fairytales, then we must embrace learning experiences for the next generation that center their voices in ways that are rooted in identity, healing and restoration. I know this because far too many Black and Dark bodies disproportionately fill up our prisons, over represented in our special education or remediation classes, at higher health risk with lower life expectancies than their white counterparts and the list goes on. This is the vestiges of America’s continued bondage of Black and Dark people in this country that we never healed from the trauma. She has not let us go or in the words of W.E.B Dubois, “Black people stood but a moment in the sun…and then back toward slavery”. So how do we get back in the sun? Black and Dark people have been underexposed to their own histories and narratives that center discourse of restoration and healing. There is liberation in these narratives and exposure to them. So WHO is sharing these new and alternative narratives. If the history books erased those stories and academic learning purports to be agnostic of them, then we need the beloved community to show up. We need the beloved community ready to share these alternative narratives, share their time and share their love. We must forsake a world of “I” and “me” for one that is inclusive of “we” and “us”. Teach X is working to bring together this beloved community and our first step is hosting a Virtual Collective Conversation: Underexposed where we come together to understand our collective power on July 19, 2021 at 6PM. We also are launching our Underexposed Speaker Series where we will match teachers with members of our beloved community who want to virtually share their stories with our youth. We want to share our collective success and alternative narratives of victory that our history books don’t have. If you are ready for this next level of liberatory education, then we need you to join us and RSVP at bit.ly/underexposedtx because teachers can’t do this work alone…they need the entire beloved community to show up so that the 4th of July truly means freedom for ALL.
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AuthorEducator, student advocate and community activists. Archives
October 2021
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