Tag Archives: book club

UPDATES – September 2021

Dear Community Members,

The staff of the Social Justice Center, which includes the Healing & Advocacy Collective, the Elma Lewis Center for Community Engagement, and Access, Equity, & Title IX welcomes you to the 2021-2022 academic year. We are grateful for your presence in this place, space, and time.

Included in this newsletter are some of the updates and offerings we hope to share with you, as well as a variety of resources and links should you be interested in exploring.

The month of September is one of excitement and transition. And yet, as we settle into the school year, we continue to be surrounded by change in many forms.

With love and gentleness, we remind you:

“All that you touch you Change;
All that you Change changes you;
The only lasting truth is Change.”
– Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

[Image Description: blue background with blue mountains. In all caps: SJC IS HIRING EMERSON STUDENTS. SURGE: STUDENTS UNAPOLOGETICALLY RESISTING, GROWING, AND ENGAGING. MORE INFO @ HTTPS://BITLY.LY/SJCSURGE]

Healing & Advocacy Collective

We warmly welcome Deborah Johnson and Lauren Brumfield who will be interning with the Healing & Advocacy Collective for the 2021-2022 academic year.

Deborah Johnson (she/they) is a Master of Social Work student at Boston College who loves talking about decolonizing mental health and creative wellness. Deborah is a multidisciplinary artist and yoga teacher, and in their free time loves adventuring outdoors (even if that means just staring at the clouds in the park!).

Lauren Brumfield (she/her) is in her final year of the Master of Social Work program at Boston University, and is especially interested in holistic healing from trauma and violence. In her free time, she loves trying out new recipes, listening to Phoebe Bridgers, and doing sudoku puzzles. She is so excited to meet everyone!

Deborah and Lauren are available to meet with individuals for advocacy-based counseling. You’re welcome to email advocate@emerson.edu to reach the Healing & Advocacy Collective.

[Image Descriptions: Black square with blue accents. A gray triangle that says “Sign up today” in cursive. Text says: 5-week series. Tuesdays: 12-1PM (ET) Sept. 28, Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Oct. 19, and Oct. 26. Under a green, white, and orange book titled “Care Work” is text saying: A Book Club Won’t Save Us: study, act, reflect, repeat.]

Staff, Faculty, & Grad Students: A Book Club Won’t Save Us – Fall 2021

What does principled struggle mean? More importantly, why does it matter? Staff, faculty, and graduate students are invited to join Samantha Ivery in a five-week series to begin a praxis of “study, apply, reflect, repeat.” Participants will meet weekly with the goal of:

  1. Taking personal responsibility for increasing personal awareness and knowledge of societal norms linked to systemic oppression;
  2. Developing critical thinking skills to integrate dissonant themes into practice;
  3. Building a repertoire of reflective practices; and
  4. Leaving motivated to repeat.

The first book of the Fall 2021 semester is Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.

“In this collection of essays…longtime activist and performance artist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all…Powerful and passionate, Care Work is a crucial and necessary call to arms.”

Register for A Book Club Won’t Save Us – Care Work

Students: Creative Cafe Meet & Greet 9/30 7pm

The SJC is launching a monthly conversation series open to all students focused on culture, entertainment, and politics that centers and empowers communities of color.

The Creative Cafe is an opportunity for students to broaden their artistic scope through the lens social justice while bringing creative ideas to life with the mentorship of faculty, staff, and industry professionals. Students will join a diverse group of creative scholars from different specialties for intensive workshops and discussions throughout the academic year.

Interested students are invited to a Creative Cafe Meet & Greet on Thursday, September 30, at 7pm in Walker’s Common Ground (10th Floor, 120 Boylston St.) featuring music, conversation, games, and a Creative Cafe overview presentation.

For more information, contact Jae Williams, Director of Special Projects, at jae_williams@emerson.edu.

Elma Lewis Center for Community Engagement

 

The ELC is excited to share new and ongoing collaborations with artists, youth, community organizers, students, elders and more in our communities. Join us September 15, 5:30-6:30pm for Happy 100th Birthday Miss Elma Lewis! The Elma Lewis Legacy Circle, some who knew Miss Lewis all 83 years of her life, will share stories, video clips, and family album photos in celebration of their relationships and work with Miss Lewis. This will launch our Kitchen Table Conversations: Celebrating the Life, Legacy and 100th Year of Miss Elma Lewis, a monthly live video series September 2021 – September 2022.

Links to join us September 15: Zoom Link or Facebook Live.

We are also excited to welcome a new ELC team member, Coco Rosenberg (they/them), Assistant Director of Youth Programming.

This semester, the ELC is also launching two new programs: Firewater Poetics, a monthly open mic poetry session hosted by artist and poet Letta Neely, and the Social Justice Solidarity Circles program. For more information about our work and opportunities to spend time with us this fall, please check out our website and stay tuned for this month’s email ELC Newsletter!

Nourishment & Connection

Facebook: @SocialJusticeCtr

Instagram: @SocialJusticeCtr

Emerson College: Social Justice Center

The Renewal Collective

We acknowledge the pervasiveness and impact of all forms of systemic oppression for women and gender-expansive people in Asian, Black, Latinx, Multi-racial, Native American and Pacific Islander communities, and because we believe that no one is disposable, we endeavor to create transformative spaces for individual and collective healing.

Join us this fall for our Monthly Intentions & Meditations on Wednesdays at Noon (ET) September 29, October 27, and November 17. This fall, Samantha Ivery, tamia jordan, and Tikesha Morgan will be leading these gatherings. Follow us on IG (@therenewalcollective) for inspiration, affirmation, joy, and Renewal Collective updates.

“We all deserve a place to land safely.” The Renewal Collective welcomes you to Boston and to the Emerson College community.

Radical Guide for Social Justice

Social Justice Center

UPDATES – SEPTEMBER 24, 2020

Dear Members of the Emerson Community,

This community update was written before yesterday’s ruling by Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, regarding the indictment of officers involved in the shooting and death of Breonna Taylor. In many ways, the content of much of this newsletter feels out of sync with this moment and what some members of the Emerson Community may be feeling or needing in this moment. Regretfully, there is no measure of consolation that I can offer to sufficiently address the pain that some of us are experiencing today.

I don’t know all of what happened in Breonna Taylor’s apartment that night. We may never know.

What I do know is that Breonna Taylor was not a suspect of a crime. She was an EMT who was working to save the lives of people during a pandemic.

What I do know is that she was sleeping in her apartment when all hell broke loose resulting in six shots being fired into her body.

What I do know is that she is one of a long list of unarmed Black people who have been killed as a result of state sanctioned violence.

What I do know is that I am grieving for her, her family, communities of color, and those of us who don’t have the privilege of safety while we sleep, run, drive or even breathe.

Today, I will grieve. Tomorrow, I will continue to work for change.

– Sylvia

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The Social Justice Center has a number of new programs that are available to the Emerson Community.

Panic & Patience Podcast – Building Community Through Art, Education, and Social Justice

The Panic & Patience Podcast series is hosted by Jae Williams, Director of Special Projects in the Social Justice Center. This series highlights the work of artists, educators, entrepreneurs, athletes, and community leaders as they explore issues affecting marginalized communities, and how we as leaders can create space and support efforts of change. “This is a space where Black and Brown folks can see themselves and their experiences reflected all of their inherit brilliance, fullness, and power,” said Sylvia Spears, Vice President for Equity & Social Justice. This series is anchored in an understanding that this work is an urgent ever-changing process of dismantling social constructs, unconscious bias, and systematic oppression, while also working to build for a future that encourages cultural humility, inclusion, and community growth. Panic & Patience is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. Season One is available at Panic & Patience on Youtube. Feel free to check out Jae’s personal Panic & Patience website: https://bit.ly/ourpanicandpatience

 
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Radical Guide for Social Justice
A collection of texts, videos, podcasts, and other multimodal materials gathered by members of the Social Justice Center as we work to deepen our individual knowledge and collective practice. We share this collection for those who are also interested in doing their own work for social justice. These topics provide an entry point for further exploration into social justice, anti-oppression, liberation, and organizing movements. As you expand your interest in any particular area, we encourage you to take an intersectional approach by exploring other topics as well. Visit https://guides.library.emerson.edu/radical
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Healing & Advocacy

We’re still available and can connect via email, phone, and through video calls! Some additional ways to connect are though:

Trauma Informed Yoga
Focused on listening to your body.
Wednesdays from 6-7 PM EST on Zoom
Register at: https://tinyurl.com/Y67j6RN0

Support Group
A space for folks to gather who have experienced PBIV.
For more information or to join, email advocacy@emerson.edu

What We Grow: An Intentional Practice Community
This Practice Community is an intentional 8 week-long space focused on growing self-accountability in our own lives through relationships and cultivating a beginning understanding of transformative justice. This group is inspired by the article ‘Dreaming Accountability’ by Mia Mingus, her work, and the work of BATJC, Just Practice, and many, many other femme, trans, and gender expansive communities of color who have long been rooting into practices of community accountability. For more information or to join, email advocacy@emerson.edu

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A Book Club Won’t Save Us: Study, Act, Reflect, Repeat
What does principled struggle mean? More importantly, why does it matter? Join Samantha Ivery, Director of Diversity & Equity Initiatives in the Social Justice Center, in a 4-week series to begin a praxis of “study, act, reflect, repeat.” Participants will meet weekly for a month to:
  • Take personal responsibility for increasing our own awareness and knowledge base of societal norms linked to systemic oppression;
  • Develop critical thinking muscles to integrate dissonant themes into practice;
  • Build a repertoire of reflective practices;
  • Leave motivated to repeat.
SERIES #1
Black Lives, Native Lands, White Worlds: A History of Slavery in New England (Jared Ross Hardesty)
October 6, 13, 20, 27 – AFTERNOON 12-1PM
October 6, 13, 20, 27 – EVENING 5-6PM
 
SERIES #2
See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love (Valarie Kaur)
November 10, 17 & December 1, 8 – AFTERNOON 12-1PM
November 10, 17 & December 1, 8 – EVENING 5-6PM
 
Registration: Click the links above for the dates and time slot of your choosing. Please contact samantha_ivery@emerson.edu for questions or more details.
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What we have been reading and thinking about…

The Four Parts of Accountability: How To Give A Genuine Apology Part 1
How To Give A Genuine Apology Part 2: The Apology – The What and The How
Mia Mingus is a writer, educator and organizer for disability justice and transformative justice. Read at https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com

A Conversation About Healing Justice with Cara Page
Cara Page is a Black queer feminist cultural/memory worker, curator, and organizer. She joins Isha Weerasinghe, a senior policy analyst focused on mental health and works on CLASP’s (Center for Law and Social Policy) youth team. Watch at https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1420060828384539
Connectfulness Podcast 010: Mending Racialized Trauma: A Body Centered Approach with Resmaa Menakem
Rebecca is joined by healer, author, and trauma specialist, Resmaa Menakem. Resmaa helps people, communities, and organizations find strength and healing that’s both holistic and resilient. Listen at https://connectfulness.com/episode/010-resmaa-menakem-racialized-trauma
The Deep by Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes
The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society—and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’ rap group Clipping. More info at https://www.riverssolomon.com/thedeep