Amir Rabiyah - "The Gathering" Men's Story Project, UC-Berkeley

Amir Rabiyah lives in Oakland, CA and is a poet and performer. He received his BA in Women's Studies from Portland State University and his MFA in Writing and Consciousness from the New College of California. He worked for nearly ten years with at risk youth in homeless shelters and group homes, where he provided case management, crisis intervention and led social justice-based writing workshops. Currently, Amir is a Student/Teacher/Poet with UC Berkeley's Poetry for the People. His poetry and prose was published in Mizna, Riffrag, Tea Party Magazine, I Saw My Ex at a Party, and he was a finalist in the Cutthroat Magazine's 2008 Joy Harjo Poetry Contest.

The Men's Story Project (www.mensstoryproject.org) is a replicable community arts & dialogue project in which local men critically - and publicly - explore social ideas about masculinity for the purpose of health and justice. The MSP mission is "to strengthen social norms that support healthy masculinities and gender equality, and to help eliminate gender-based violence, homophobia and other oppressions that are often intertwined with masculinities, through ongoing events of men's public story-sharing and community dialogue." In each MSP production, approximately 15 local men share stories about their own lives, highlighting stories that are less often heard; breaking silences on issues including sexism, racism, homophobia, and violence; celebrating men's beauty and strength; and stimulating discussion on what contemporary masculinities can be all about. The project started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• transformation