Resourcing ourselves amidst chaos - Engage with one of the following somatic practices or work with a practice that works best for you and your body.
Brief somatic centering practice to feel more present, connected, and open.
Somatic practice to resource our imaginations and settle our nervous systems.
Shaping Change - Select one of these two articles about the shifting landscape of philanthropy to read prior to the retreat.
Navigating contradictions and inconsistencies to operate within our entrenched structures while reimagining new ways of creating equitable and regenerative support systems is our work. How might we learn from the natural world about change?
Building off a political analysis of left organizing, this article argues that we must rethink current philanthropic models to better support the incubating, developing and supporting strategy on the left.
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT WELLNESS + PRESENCE DURING (Y)OUR RETREAT
LISTEN: NC’S SOFT VIBES
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Here’s a curated playlist of delicious sounds from some great minds, mouths, and banjos of BIPOC North Carolinians. It’s mostly a folky, moody mix with some fun surprises sprinkled in. Listen during a midday walk, as you prepare your favorite meal this week, or when you just need a reason to hit a lil 2-step✨
TUNE IN: Kifu Faruq’s Meditation on Changing Our Connection to Darkness
Community herbalist, badass grandma, powerful healer, and so much more -- Kifu Faruq was a beautiful being in this realm, and is now a beautiful ancestor. As so many of us continue to process what it means for Kifu to be gone from our immediate orbit, Kifu’s meditation is still so resonant.
coLAB and the larger WE is so grateful to have witnessed Kifu and be touched by Kifu’s incredible laughter, wisdom, healing practices, visions come to life, and land stewardship here in North Carolina. We love and remember Kifu. ashe.
Access Note: The English version starts at the beginning. The Spanish version starts at 5:25
TUNE IN: Soothing meditation with grief doula, medicine woman gina Breedlove that invites us back to our breath, body, and the power of a pause (audio only, 4 mins)
PRACTICE: Here’s a yin yoga practice with Rosana Rodriguez from Yogiando NYC. The practice is shared in spanish + english. (60 mins)
WATCH: Season 1, Ep 2 of High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. In Ep 2, "The Rice Kingdom,” Stephen Satterfield visits the Carolinas and looks at the human cost of rice. Stephen goes whole hog with Gullah chef BJ Dennis and those preserving Black culinary traditions!
WATCH: Linda Beatrice Brown talks about her book, “Belles of Liberty: Gender, Bennett College, and the Civil Rights Movement” (22 mins) Brown reminds of the critical organizing by students from Bennett College in the Greensboro desegregation movement. Did you know that Greensboro was the last major city of size in North Carolina to integrate even though they were the first to experience desegregation sit-ins?!
PLAY: Make Music From Your Doodles On This Experimental Virtual Sound Board
IMAGINE THAT?!: Radically Reimagining Future Through YES’s Climate Fiction Series: Rooted in Diaspora by Sanjana Sekhar
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Invitation to Reflect and Create:
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What feels hopeful and promising about this story?
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What kinds of grief feel connected to these stories for you?
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The year is 2077…Where are you? Where are your people? What are you and your community radically tending to and harvesting in this future? What has been lost and grieved? What has been returned and celebrated?
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EXPLORE:
History of Oakland Virtual Walking Tour
“This virtual tour takes you through some of the city's gems, highlighting stories, living histories and cultural landmarks that have often gone unrecognized. Developed as part of the City’s Cultural Strategists in Government (CISG) program, the tour aims to celebrate Oakland’s diverse history and culture by exploring our vibrant past and present.”
