My day to day would consist of primarily computer work which I did mostly at the Antioch College library. I met with Kevin each week on Mondays to check in and discuss the course of action and content I would work on, which included:

• Surveys: I researched how to launch a survey to the public as well as surveys to donors (financial contributors), recipients, and committee members of The Fund. I formatted these surveys and sent out three of them. 
• Bulk Mailing: I learned about how to go about bulk mailing and developed price estimates for public mailing The 365 Project may choose to send out in the future. 
• Presenting Survey Research: I sorted through and presented the survey results with a list of conclusions and suggestions that could be gleaned from them. I made a list of suggestions for how their website could be updated to make it more accessible for people to apply. 
• Writing FAQs: I developed FAQs for how The Fund operates and a statement detailing the global conversations about eligibility for reparations and the debate about direct payment as a form of reparations. 
• Fundraising theory and approaches: I made suggestions about fundraising and provided reference to a framework of Community-Centric Fundraising. 
• Educational Research and Resource List: I made resource lists for learning about the history and current initiatives about reparations, both detailing the case for why reparations are owed and how different reparations initiatives (governmental and local grassroots) are organizing.
• Reparations Music Playlists: And I won’t forget to mention one of my side projects I am proud of which was compiling songs and music videos on reparations for education and positive vibrations! You can find those here: Listen and watch on Youtube or listen on Spotify. 
• I also plan to follow up on writing a couple letters to the editor for the Yellow Springs News to provide a snippet of educational content and invite folks to contribute financially to The Fund, as the founder, Susan Harrison, does periodically. (This aspect of reparations work is something I feel a bit stuck on and would like to get support and experience in building skills around. I have recently met with Susan about how she frames her writing. She usually centers it around statistics or events that show how the racial wealth gap is still an ongoing issue, despite misconceptions against reparations, often arguing that “slavery was long ago.” Now it’s up to me to commit and follow through with writing.)

This co-op has aligned with my personal educational goals in that it has allowed for me to do the work on a local level that seeks to contribute to the collective project of accounting for the impacts of ongoing cycles of racialized violence. It has allowed me to learn about how I work, how to manage my time and create a routine – how 30 hours of independent computer work a week is something I can do but may not want to do again at this caliber because I recognized a strong desire for some more face-to-face interaction and body movement. This co-op has allowed me to value how I show up in the world since it came about based on my specific interests, basic background knowledge of reparations, and my passion for the subject. 

I learned to trust myself more, recognizing that, even though I can feel like I am falling short of “doing enough” or working as efficiently as I can, “not doing it right” or at risk of causing harm in the process of trying to contribute to repair – I know I am operating from a place of integrity, as well as a place of openness to receive feedback, take responsibility for my actions, and shift accordingly as I move forward. This co-op has also allowed me to learn more about the scope of reparations organizing through time and across the globe. There is still much to learn and much to do! And the work is urgent. Violence targeting Black and Brown bodies and colonized peoples across the globe continues, violence that hurts us all whether we feel close to the impacts or not. The work goes on. Onward!

The M.C. Richards’ program is a 1-year, project-based, hands-on art program in upstate New York for young people age 18-35 at a school called Free Columbia (https://www.freecolumbia.org/). I joined in the third year of the program in Fall 2022. We started in a circle. There were probably about 20 or 30 of us including the 5 new students, the teachers, past students, and local community members. This was the first year that all of the new students lived together in the house that sits right next to the studio. Behind the studio is the new wood fired kiln which was built by the students from the previous year. This was the first year there would be such a focus in on ceramics. 

Our schedule was as follows:

9AM to 9:50AM  Monday through Thursday THROUGHOUT THE YEAR – MORNING CLASS: 

Discuss readings on M.C. Richards’ book “Centering”, reflect on how we experience color, light, consciousness, and dreams, and learn about ceramic glaze chemistry.

SPRING CERAMICS: PLASTER MOLD-MAKING:

We measured and cut cardboard, covered it with canvas and plaster, we covered it in oil and put plaster/canvas strips around the inner mold to make the outer mold. We then made a large slab of clay, pressed it in and cut it to fit the mold, fused the two sides together and let it dry before taking the mold off. Some of this process is shown in the images below.

1:15-2:15pm Thursdays THROUGHOUT – BIOGRAPHY CLASS WITH LAURA SUMMER:

We had a weekly check in with Laura summer, the director of Free Columbia. We talked about our life stories and we etched designs into pieces of rubber to make stamps, representing vignettes of our life journeys. 

2:30PM to 4:30PM Tuesdays and Thursdays – AFTERNOON ROTATIONAL ART/NATURE CLASS:

FALL AFTERNOONS: Impressionism/mindful drawing. We started with drawing black fabric against a white wall. We were instructed to squint our eyes to draw the shadows and to draw all the spaces at once, not just one part of it. We then drew each other wearing a big coat with a light set-up to create drama and constrast with shadows. Proceeding this, we were invited to go outside and look at the spot we wanted to draw for 20 minutes. The assingment was to be present in experiencing being there before we even touched the paper with the charcoal. 

ENDING CEREMONY:

We ended in circle. We each made an altar of our work and shared it with each other, our parents, and community members. Our teachers shared highlights of our year and we all told stories of our times together. Each person who was there recieved a pot. One at a time, we ceremoniously smashed the pot as a practice of honoring the process of letting go and beginning anew, creating again. With flower crowns, photos, hugs, diplomas, wood-fired pizza and wood-fired ceramics, we wrapped up our year of experimental communal art making.