Our committees are off to an inspiring start! We’ve had two meetings so far and staff are already reporting really great feelings about the people, the work, and the overall vibrations of the group. We have mostly been focusing on unpacking our own identities, values, and goals for the ways in which we hope to approach and maneuver through this work together. We are also exploring various ways to tangibly articulate what AS220’s racial equity lens actually looks, feels, and is like. We are drawing on examples from the Rhode Island Department of Education, Providence’s Racial and Environmental Justice Committee (REJC), AS220 Youth + Justice Alchemy. Last week Vatic Kuumba, one of our 6 guest anti-racist organizers, gave us a useful overview of the “collaborative governance spectrum”, a framework that is helping us to think about the ways in which we may want to see this initiative grow and AS220 more broadly as well. 

Every Tuesday during staff meetings, I (anjel) have been leading emergent strategy workshops. For the first three weeks, we focused on the concept of “harm” and how we all contribute to it. This really speaks to the quality of adrienne maree brown’s work, more so her ability to connect with people engaging in movement work. Another dope aspect about this workshop is that 6 of our staff members are receiving college credits through a new partnership that we have with College Unbound. Emergent Strategy is by far the thing giving me life at right now! <3