Last week we took a pause in our Deschooling Release Party to address everything that was happening with the protests and related feelings. That same week another life, that of Rayshard Brooks, was taken by violent police officers. It feels necessary to take some space and talk about it, and we’re gonna take however long we feel is needed. As we talked about in the last episode, these disruptive times make us more reflective, but also can fill us with emotions that can turn/become overwhelming. In order to provide more communal spaces and healing resources, Akilah is offering more invitations and tools that can help with breaking the patterns of oppression, in resistance, from a space of love, education and self-care. The main message in this episode is this: discussing and sharing is important, but action is vital to our capacity to thrive.
WHAT WE DISCUSS
Akilah brings up the differences between Black Power and Black Lives Matter. Is it enough by appealing through a sense of humanity and reasoning? What to do when we are being shot down both emotionally and physically? Is it more of the same over and over again?
The dynamics that we are experiencing right now are filled with emotions that can be overwhelming and painful. Akilah talks about the importance of being aware of our capacity of resistance and the relevance of speaking out, listening and connecting; the importance of trusting our dynamic selves to hold multiple truths, to feel multiple feelings, and in all of that, to find and center our joy.
Akilah gives a love shout out to ACLmosaic, a wonderful community started by Nancy Tilton and Tomis Parker (members of our make-it-happen family on patreon).
Monique, a single Black mom is raising her son Pharaoh who has sickle cell and other chronic illnesses. They shifted to unschooling and their lives changed for the best, you can go back to episode 6, (Reclaiming and Learning) to listen to their story.
Elle and Miriam from Cleverly Changing Podcast invited Akilah to chat about unschooling and deschooling. Elle, one of the two hosts, also has a child with special medical needs, she created a sickle cell coloring book for kids. This as an empowering tool answers to how sickle cell affects the body and many other questions on the topic. Purchase your copy on Amazon at bit.ly/scdcoloringbook.
Aja from She Said, We Shed also recently had Monique on her show, talking about the ways they are re-mothering themselves and how that shows up in their parenting, as they commit to their own raising free people practice with their children. Monique and Aja have a lot in common, being single mothers who are raising their Black sons very differently than how they were raised, and are still on their own healing journeys in the process.
We talked about things you can listen to, now let’s talk about a few things to watch and read:
Dr. Sundiata is an Independent Educator, Anti-Oppression Activist, and Social Sustainability Facilitator. He penned a piece that he calls the realest shit he ever wrote. You can read it here.
Sundiata and Akilah also created a deschooling guide for supporting self-directed children: How to Focus on Learning. Decolonizing from schoolishness towards a more liberated minded approach to support adults in their deschooling process.
Another valuable resource is Akilah’s book Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work. Signed hardcover edition is now available. Publishers said since we’re out here selling pre-orders, let’s offer something special. Enter the coupon code unschooling for a 40% discount. When you go to the webpage to pre-order, you’ll see the “format” dropdown menu where the default item is the paperback. Click that dropdown menu and then select the “Signed hardcover” format.
LIBERATION WALK
- Organizations like Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund are organizing collective help for Atlanta’s BIPOC families affected by COVID-19 – Please donate.
- Join our Facebook group.
- This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp.com. In our Black and in broader BIPOC communities, self-care, community care, mental health care—the need and means to prioritizing these—are encouragingly increasing in conversation. Maybe you, yourself, have been thinking about what’s interfering with your happiness or preventing you from achieving your goals. In Akilah’s search for that, she has found that s Betterhelp.com has been a great resource for her mental health. She was able to center her preferences and only choose from mental health professionals who, at base, wouldn’t seem to be in conflict or out of context for my particular beliefs and preferences. Explore for yourself, and use this link Betterhelp.com because Fare of the Free Child Podcast subscribers have 10% off in their first month. #sponsored #verified
- Support the show at patreon.com/akilah
