One of the things I've learned during the last year and a half is that we must keep connecting and that we CAN...regardless of the barriers. One of the ways I've been continuing to connect in community is by quilting together my own schedule of learning experiences and workshops held by organizations like Embrace Race, the Abolitionist Teaching Network, and more.
One of my recent experiences was taking a workshop called "5 Ways to Use Art to Raise Anti-Racist Kids" facilitated by Jen Bloomer and Stephanie Garma Balón through Radici Studios. It immediately resonated, and I gained insight about how to thread art through our practice while also working toward our racial justice goals. It was beautiful. So...in the spirit of continuing to connect, I sent Jen Bloomer an email:
I wanted to thank you both for "5 Ways to Use Art to Raise Anti-Racist Kids." There is so much about your sharing that resonated with me and inspired me. Anti-racist work is the heart of our household, and we even started a small organization called Reading Is Resistance with a similar focus to yours but with an emphasis on curating anti-racist/anti-bias reading experiences for kids.
So, I mostly wanted to say thank you for what you're putting out into the world. And secondly, I wonder if you'd ever be interested in connecting to see if we have synergy in the world of anti-racist work for families and kiddos. I'm always looking for like minded folx doing work with families and was overjoyed to stumble upon what you are doing.
In kindness and solidarity,
Zapoura
And from this email, a follow up Zoom, and some synergistic planning emerged a connection and... a workshop ! We're calling it Stitching Together Anti-Racist Community, and it's focused on the intersection of books and art to further our anti-racist practice for ourselves and in our families or classrooms. Find out more here. We hope you'll join in and start connecting with us!
Commenti