 Good evening. My name is Leslie Wingo. I am the president and CEO of Sanders Wingo Thank you for being here this evening. So let's get started last January I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting my friend and colleague Mark of DeGrove with my passion for equity inclusion and diversity and Mark's incredible leadership of the LBJ Foundation We began to engage in conversations around race and history and how we can encourage others to be in action to create positive change within our communities This change he and I both envisioned moved beyond tough conversations And would give people practical solutions in this historic moment of racial justice Over the last 12 months with the help and feedback of so many people and organizations In austin and the surrounding areas. We are honored to have you join us for the for the fifth of for the fifth of six, excuse me Virtual conversations on creating a path to racial equity I would be remiss if I didn't take if I did not think the teams at both the lbj foundation Sanders Wingo are incredible partners and of course each of you for engaging in this critical dialogue and making central texas a more equitable place for each of us One exciting opportunity I would like to share with you is that each of you are invited to continue this conversation With the central texas collective for racial equity as they will host the path to equity the aftershow Every tuesday at six o'clock on facebook live. You can sign up and find additional information on event fright We are about to get started and as we move through our discussion I invite each of you to drop in questions in the q&a function at the bottom of your screen We will do our best to answer as many questions as possible Now it is my honor to introduce this evening's guests who are from creative action And for those of you who are not familiar creative action is an austin texas based nonprofit arts organization Dedicated to inspiring creativity unlocking potential and transforming the lives of thousands of students every year Through a suite of in school after school and community programs creative action helps students of all ages Become creative arches courageous allies critical thinkers and confidence leader confident leaders Their creative programs Their team of skill professional teaching artists help you parents and the community find their voices and stand up to racial injustice Through theater film and visual arts and within their organization They are passionately committed to being an anti-racist organization dismantling white supremacy And institutionalizing equity justice and belonging and all aspects of their company Tonight's conversation will be moderated by executive director of creative action karen lachelle Thank you karen and the entire team from creative action. We're happy to have you Thank you so much for having us leslie. We're really excited to be here tonight So as leslie said, my name is karen lachelle and i'm the executive director of creative action And I use she her her pronouns and i'm sharing my pronouns tonight as will everyone As a way to establish an inclusive and respectful environment Well, we're really everyone will be referred to in whatever way aligns with how they identify So i'm thrilled that tonight we're joined by a group of incredible creative action young people And educators to discuss racial equity and racial justice And talk about how at creative action we really inspire youth and the community to take a stand At creative action, we really believe in the next generation and we know firsthand That young people provide us great hope for the future So often in history, it really is young people who have helped solve problems who've helped bridge communities and fight for systemic change Like youth like the youth who started march for our lives movement to advocate for gun safety or Greta thernberg who's fighting for climate change or most recently amanda gorman the youth poet laureate who Offered us all visions of hope and unity Those those all come to mind, but the truth is there are incredible young people brimming with passion and Fight for justice in their hearts in every school and the more that we really listen to the next generation about what they want What they feel what they envision their lived experiences the better that we really are so I'm really pleased tonight to have many of my wonderful colleagues and some of our young people here And I'd like for them to introduce themselves. So don, would you introduce yourself, please? Good evening. I am dawn burnside. I use a pronouns black woman I am the senior director of racial justice and Equity Racial equity and social justice long title at creative action I'm responsible for making sure that each employee is treated equitable And I help create opportunities for black artists Hi, my name is natalie good now and I use she her pronouns I am a school based program director at creative action and in my role I direct the programs that take place in schools and during the school day On zoom these days, but of course not under different circumstances We also lead teacher professional development and workshops for parents and caregivers So that they can be in the know about all the great things we're doing during the school day Hi everyone, my name is mickey johnson and I use she her pronouns. I am a 19 year old young black Mexican woman I was a part of the creative action team programs for all four years of high school and I'm now coming back as an intern Um, I right now in my internship I've been focusing on the power of youth voice and just getting those connections and the communications started Hi y'all, I'm louisa nahar. I use she her pronouns I'm 19 and I am an alumni of creative actions teen art collective called color squad And currently I'm a first year bfa student at the smfa at tufts university in boston Thank you guys. Well, thank you for being here for this conversation. So tonight's conversation will be kind of a fishbowl where we'll really talk about creative action and And tell you a little bit more about how we work and how we're really Trying to impact the community and we're going to give you three things that we're really going to focus on that We think are essential to allowing the next generation to make our world racially just safer and healthier for all But to really get it started this evening I want to start with talking to our young people who have been nice enough to To join us this evening and I want to hear from each of them and about their journey and and kind of where they're coming from So Mickey and louisa, I know that you are both Incredible activists and artists and you've been a part of creative action programs for Many years creating art that speaks to a variety of social issues And I know for both of you in your work, you've taken a stand for racial justice So can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your lived experiences and why this work is so important to you? Mickey could could you start us off here? totally So as I said, I want to introduce myself. I am a young black and mexican woman So all my life I've heard stories of how my family has been just mistreated solely for the color of their skin My grandfather would have to eat his tacos in the school bathroom because the kids would make fun of them Or even when my grandma was getting her driver's license. They said you pass as white Do you want me to put that down for you so you don't have any troubles? um, so just my whole life i've been faced with all of the Unjustness of our world So this work has always been important and I've always wanted to make a change because no one should have to Lie about themselves in order to feel safe So that's just a little bit of why i'm here today and doing what i'm doing Thanks, mickey. What about you louisa? Yeah, so I kind of I grew up I'm i'm mexican and I grew up with a brown dad, but i'm very white very white passing and so I kind of grew up seeing my With an emphasis on my own privileges versus how he's treated within everyday society. And so I think I've always been passionate about addressing inequities that I see around me and I think that's A similar feeling to a lot of young people at this time So don and natalie you're both educators and community activists really fighting for racial justice. Can you tell us a little bit about Your own journey and how you really came to blend art and activism and youth education all together natalie. Could you start us off? Yeah, absolutely Well, I grew up doing theater as a young person and then when I went to college like a lot of young people I got more politicized For me it kind of started with learning about Chicano theater and that led me to The Chicano movement and Chicano feminism and just kind of a whole world of different social justice issues And at that point I got really curious really like hungry. I would say To learn more about how what I knew as a theater artist could make a meaningful impact on these kinds of issues So I started exploring how original works of theater could Inspire dialogue about important social issues and I really sought out just everything I could find that could help me learn how to be a dialogue facilitator And help people who have really different opinions on polarizing issues have generative conversations together And then after I graduated I started working with creative action and Creative action really invest a lot into training their teaching artists. So that's where I really Picked up the skills to merge what I was exploring with theater and dialogue Facilitation with working with young people and got to learn more about Interactive theater programs like theater of the oppressed and theater and education the kind of work that we do in the schools Got to learn about more arts mediums all kinds of things And then I think the last kind of point on the journey that pretty much brings me up to where I am now is that I got to a point where Just having dialogue about social issues didn't feel like enough to me and I really Wanted to feel like I was more involved in making a tangible change so I started volunteering with different campaigns that were organizing to shut down Immigrant private immigrant detention facilities where the detainees are treated really poorly and just different kinds of campaigns and movements that are about stopping mass incarceration and the detention and deportation complex And what I and I was really lucky to get to go back to school to kind of Explore like how movement building and organizing happens also and read a lot about that too And of course it should be no surprise I learned that all the skills I had been building up to that point in theater dialogue facilitation working with youth Were really vital in that setting too. So that's kind of how I got here and and what we'll be informing the perspective I'm sharing tonight Thanks, Natalie Don I'd love to hear from you and about your your personal experiences and your journey Um much like Natalie. I grew up Learning about these things. I mean just living right. I grew up in Harlem, New York And it's like it's with the mecca of blackness. So it's what it showed the Harlem Renaissance It showed everything about fighting for justice. It has not been an option So just diving deep into that especially in college. I learned so much about Where I grew up and how impactful it was for the civil rights movement I mean just using art and I always had a passion for youth development So um working at creative action kind of used my passion for youth development Also my fight for social justice to bring it together. Um, and now we call it autobism, which is my favorite word So that's kind of how I got here to do both things So like I said tonight, we we've thought of really three specific takeaways that we would like to share with you that We think are really useful for people to think about how to advance racial equity and really think about How the next generation can be a real a real part of that So the first thing that we're going to talk about Is really about talking to young people about race and differences at all ages We really believe that if we talk to young people about race and racism Even from an early age that they'll develop the skills Vocabulary and confidence necessary to really talk about race throughout their whole lives Because not talking about race and racism doesn't make it go away. It only makes it more difficult to address and dismantle So we really want to normalize talking about changing our culture and building a racially just world So let's start off with this topic. Um, Mickey tell us a little bit, you know, you're a young person You're you've just been through school recently. You're just a recent grad So tell us a little bit about, you know, how did race and racism come up in your home? How was it something that your family you addressed and talked about and was that different than kind of what you experienced at school? Totally, yeah kind of like what I mentioned before like My whole life has been a discussion about race and racism There's never been a moment where it wasn't relevant to myself or my family and it was never like Um, it was never like, all right. They turned a wage now. It's time to have the talk, you know You just grow up seeing the injustice and obviously that starts conversations with your adults nearby and So it's just always been something that I've been aware of at at home But in school it was very different in school. We never spoke about race unless we were learning about slavery and how black people were enslaved Um, or unless it was February and it was black history month, then we were like a holiday um, so school showed a very different kind of perspective and I want to say that that's the right perspective um It's just a completely different story if you don't talk about it at home like I did Then you really don't get Any knowledge whatsoever So, yeah, it's it's an interesting thing to compare the two Yeah, I'm just kind of thinking about how race was brought up in school and racism specifically um kind of I feel like racism was definitely taught as a past issue that was Solved with the civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s when that's clearly not the case and so um kind of like borrowing from this the concept from michelle alexander of like preservation through transformation like I think There is not like we weren't taught a lot about systemic racism and how like there are structures in our political socioeconomic systems that enable certain oppressions and That's just like not taught about I think it's taught more as like on the individual level Rather than institutional Don can you talk a little bit as an educator about why you think it's so important that we really do address race and racism with young people? Yeah, so I believe race is a part of everything As much people like to say that it's not and things are not about race It's a part of everything that happens decisions laws however Things are done in this country is centered around race so and unfortunately Black people of color have the the lesser favorite part of when things are about race So you have to talk about it because it's not you can't get away from it You can't move away from race. You can't run away from it You can't say that you don't see it because it's a part of every part of life Um, so it's critical to get them prepared early, right? You have to start talking about it so they can know about it Especially kids of color so that they can be prepared for things that happens as they move forward in this world Natalie do you have any tips for adults in regards to just you know How to talk to young people about race and anti-racism and what have you really seen As an educator and as a parent really be effective Yeah, absolutely Well one thing we we like to share with parents and educators in our work is that You you can there's it's never too early like you can start this with really young kids Some experts even recommend like starting when kids are infants because even when they can't understand you at least you're practicing You know, so then it'll never feel weird to you Um, but even with really young kids you can do things like just helping them notice What's going around the going on around them just modeling how you might name it So even with pre-k kids You could do something along the lines of when you're reading a picture book together If there's representations of you know, diverse folks in the book talk about oh, look at all these different skin colors Isn't that beautiful that people come in so many different colors? Like oh, which one looks more like my skin? Which one looks more like your skin? Which one looks like chocolate? Which one looks like honey? So just kind of make it fun and playful and remove this weird Taboo around it. There's nothing bad about having different skin colors, of course And naming that and then also really important That's just a stepping stone in a lot of ways to helping them notice and name the inequities and the injustices that are around them because Of course, it's there as don was speaking to So this could be things like Oh, have you noticed that when we get our groceries from the grocery store and people are doing bringing You know doing curbside pickup and people are bringing us our groceries Have you noticed that they the people doing that usually have darker skin? Or have you noticed that in a lot of movies, especially older movies the main characters have lighter skin? They're white Things like that and it doesn't have to all be one big awkward conversation and actually it's probably better if it's not We can just drop in little observations here and there and ask questions, you know just Uh, oh who benefits when things are like that? Who's harmed? Do you think that's fair? Why or why not? How do you think that should be? And also, do you know why that is? Do you know why it came to be and and they might not know but when they express interest then we can help guide them to kind of developmentally appropriate Books media things like that and I think it's important to I think it older Like if mimicky said in school there was just a holiday and slavery, right? So black history didn't really just start with slavery and it's sure doesn't end with that, right? So that needs to be very clear of how we're you're going about race Because it seems you know, it's very narrow-minded And very short stops about what it is So you have to do your due diligence to go out and find the information About race so that you can teach your kids the proper way Are there any other kind of you know must do don't do sort of things that you know Anyone else wants to kind of throw in to to make sure that we share with the audience Yeah kind of adding to that Talk how we were talking about how it's just like a holiday at school black history month Well when it was started it wasn't to be like all right February is the only time we will talk about These people it's it was to reflect on everything that you've learned of everyone of all colors From the whole school year and it's interesting to see how that isn't how we do it now So my vote is that we go back to its intention But just to kind of reiterate like don't just teach me That my entire Dad side of the family is just slaves. Like that's not who they are. That's not who we are And definitely don't teach me that racism is over That's kind of like a trend that I've seen throughout elementary middle high school That whenever you talk about racism in your social studies class, they talk about like it ended But it's still very Like prevalent and relevant to us today because I mean you see it in the news And oftentimes people like people I know even like some members of my family We just don't watch the news because it's so saddening But when you don't watch the news and you don't let yourself see the horrors of the world Then you just kind of act like it's not there, which can also be harmful But that's just a little bit Thank you mickey Well, we're going to move on to really our second takeaway for the audience tonight and the second thing that we really want the to to convey is How important it really is to listen to young people and and why we really need to center young people's voices in our Conversations about race and racism and this really means listening to them talk about their lived experiences and taking it seriously because The truth is that young people are really the future and they will be the most impacted by social change and they offer An untarnished passion that can really drive us towards racial justice and racial equity so Thinking about that You we can all kind of hop in here, but Natalie, you know tell us a little bit more like Why is it so important when we're having these conversations about race and racism to really listen to young people and center their voices? Yes, thanks for your patience and Went got my power went out. I was on my phone's wi-fi, but i'm back here um, so as we've touched on young people have the right to weigh in on the the future that we're shaping for them since the decisions we're making now Are gonna affect them more than us really But also we need to hear from young people I find that people in general young and old tend to listen to messages about social change Better when they come from young people. I mean young people don't really want to be lectured by adults. They tend to hear Things better from other young people and also for adults. I think that sometimes when a message comes from the mouths of babes So to speak We just hear it better sometimes not always, but sometimes I think we we try to be on our best behavior when we know that young people are watching us Yeah, I definitely agree with that Natalie. Um Mickey, I mean why as a young person Why do you think it's important that people take you seriously and do you feel like Adults do listen to you right now in your life? Um, I'll kind of like what Natalie was saying I think it's important because like We haven't been tainted by The horrors of the world yet. Um, we still fight very strongly and feel very passionate about injustice and we can very easily point out when something's Not fair. Um, so we haven't We haven't been stuck in a world of just cruelty for so long that we feel like At anything we do won't change it. Um, we We strongly believe in ourselves Um, that we can make this change Um, so it's important to just kind of as an as an adult listening to us or maybe on the verge of listening to us Just to kind of like think to yourself like okay. Hey They May actually know what they're talking about Like just because what we say might not be the norm or might be might not be what the tradition is It doesn't mean that what we're saying doesn't have truth to it and also like when I know as a young person that Um, has lived through mental health and I know a lot of people in my generation are also struggling and fighting against mental health Um, it a big part of that comes from feeling like where you don't have control over your life Um, it feels like everyone around you like you're developing into this young adult and as soon as you turn 18 Everything legal says you're an adult now But unless we're treated like adults We just still stuck and we feel like we don't have any control and that can definitely Not do some good things for you So the moment that adults start listening to us Not only are our spirits lifted and we feel like we actually have some self worth and some self power And some self confidence. We also realize Hey, what I think Is worth doing and worth saying and worth talking about So it's as an adult you have a lot of power to just kind of honestly to shape us and give us like To let us know you can be who you are Um, because there's a lot of people in the world telling us that we can't be So it's important for you as an adult to make sure that we understand that What about you luisa tell us like when when you find you're in a space where adults are really listening to young people Like how does that make you feel? How does it change the experience for you? Yeah, I think very similar to what mickey was touching on and like how it validates our own identities I think it's really important to include youth voices in the conversations of race inequity and stuff because that then promotes the idea that racial racial justice and Injustice is a cross-generational Issue and it doesn't just affect adults it affects all of us So don tell us what are some of the ways that adults can really Be sure they are listening to young people and kind of have their pulse on what what's happening for young people in our communities Social media, right? Um, that's where those young kids live, right? They have social media brains They make impacts they write, you know, and they don't just use it for entertainment all the time They use it for, you know powerful messages. So you you listen to them on the platforms that they're using There's another example. I just saw a video of a school district in washington dc Where kids went to the school board because they wanted better bathrooms and better school lunch for their school for their school districts And they did polling and they talked to their peers and they went to that school board and they demanded it So you have to listen to them, but they did that all through social media, right? They use what they have so follow kids You know follow influences, you know, you listen to what they're saying on those platforms So the third thing that we we wanted to focus on tonight that we think can be a useful strategy for A pathway to racial equity Is very close to home for all of us at creative action because it's very central to really who we are And that is that we really believe that you should use our use creativity use self expression as strategies to advance racial justice and we really believe that because We we know and from from looking back in time that social change most often really does begin with cultural change And to advance racial equity we can think about the media that we consume and we can and create As ways to further our conversations about race we can Be intentional about the books we read the media that we watch the cultural events that we attend To make sure that we're you know, really Including a diversity of people and that differences are celebrated and Additionally, we could be thoughtful about Choosing media that honors the excellence of black indigenous and people of color So for us creativity is a really a critical component of how we envision Standing up for racial justice. So don I've heard you talk a lot about The history of art and the civil rights movement We know that you know, what we're doing at creative action is nothing new And what other organizations are doing is nothing new So tell us a little bit about how art has impacted the fight for racial justice over the years and and why art has been such an important tool I remember waking up on saturday mornings my grandmother playing james brown and black and i'm proud right So that was a staple in my household and that was just a song But it wasn't just a song It was about standing up and being proud to be black right because it wasn't a time Where you could always be proud because we were at a block We lived in neighborhood where ronald ragan said was a first black in america, right? so Being in that in drugs and all the things in crime was was associated with blackness, right? So that song put a sense of pride inside of my family Listening to that Also, you know writers like haughty cullen and you know in a home renaissance just showing up and using their art forms to make a Stand my angela lynx and hughes, you know books reading when reading wasn't thing that we could we should be we could do Right like we couldn't read So those art forms helped us, you know take a stand and continue to fight so Art is can change the world And not just policies but change how you move to help you continue the fight, right? So we necessary didn't we change policies with civil rights movement But the art is got the people the power to keep moving Because of those songs like i'm black and i'm proud to give you strength and power When you just wanted to give up but you kept moving because you know that you're black and you're proud Thank you don Are there any shows or movies or anything right now that That you've been watching or that you see that you think or we might want to tell the audience about that are great to Check out that can be inspirational or Kind of give people ideas So my favorite show right now is black ish. It's on abc. Um, it's turned to the run It's almost like a modern day customizable haughty show, right? It's around a middle class black family, but they talk about issues, right? My daughter and I watched that all the time It's one of her favorite shows as well and it gives you it talks about the history of blackness I mean, it's funny and but it's informative, right? So that's one thing that we use a lot We're actually reading this new book. Um, we're going to use um at our new I'm at our black history kids. They had the carver museum l's um l's mirror written by babu blake son Elijah, so we're going to use that we're going to use those books, right? We're going to um There's some macho maxis a powerful movie, right? Um, so those are some things that you can you know watch Like I said social media. There's a tons of things that's out there that we can you know use And a lot of things are free now So there's no reason to not be able to see things because we're in a pandemic You can watch movies past movies and you know read books that you wouldn't even have time to read before Thanks Don So luisa you're an incredible artist and you're an activist and you have been a part of so many really cool Projects through your murals and it's your own personal artwork that I've been able to see which has been incredible Could you tell us about a specific project that you've worked on that? Really does address race and and issues around racism and and why you think your art was really the the strategy that you wanted to use to address it Yeah, so Um, I think art, you know It has the power to inspire and it has the power to change The normalities of our society and I think a lot of the times Or are normal what we perceive as normal is White and so I think that's why art has such a powerful um It's such a powerful part of inciting in Racial change as well. And so I think one of my murals I did a few years ago with creative action and color squad Was on katalpistry in the east side of austin and I'm pretty sure everyone's pretty familiar that east side is going through some major gentrification for like the past 20 or 15 years and so in this mural what we really wanted to focus on was celebrating the Historically black and latin next community that was there and but also presenting them In that community in the present and in the future of that community as well and so Yeah, I think art has is just really great at um kind of Breaking down seemingly like complex or overwhelming Like parts of our world and um injustices and making them a more consumable um thing to take on Mickey tell us a little bit about what you what you're doing right now and what you're working on and how you're really Standing up for racial justice through your art through activism and what you're up to uh, definitely, um, so Uh, I believe it was 2019 Um, I can't believe that was like two three years ago But noa and stefanie from creative action They told me about the national deals for community arts education and how they throw an annual national young artists summit Now for the first two years it was in person and for my first year it was in person But this past year it was digital like what we're doing now Um, and basically what that is is a summit for only young people um, I think our age range was 14 to 24 And it's where just young artists gather and celebrate each other and celebrate their work and showcase their work Um, and just be like hey, this is my art. This is what I'm passionate about. This is what I'm doing And oftentimes like a lot of what we got was art using was art being used for activism And that wasn't in our parameters. It's just what everyone's doing and what everyone's passionate about and this past year's summit was called um Young art revolution from along that. Um, it was like a revolution And it was really interesting to see just how everyone came and everyone like I have never seen a response As big and as passionate as it was and this is from across the nation And everyone and it wasn't just the young people. It was their parents. It was their adult accomplices Everyone was just saying how can we be involved? How can we make sure this runs how we want it to go? Because this is so important to ourselves and we know it's going to be really important for our audience So, um, if you want to check that out anyone watching, um, that's another way that you can kind of I've been looking at the chat and these questions But that's another way just to kind of get started is by looking at the national young artists summit and just looking at your community organizations like how creative action is for us Thanks mickey So natalie tell us, you know a little bit more about art as as why you know A strategy you use and kind of the thing you you go to as you're trying to really impact racial justice and racial equity Yeah, absolutely. I have a lot of thoughts on this question So i'm going to try to run through it pretty quickly But as we've mentioned cultural change the first step towards broader social and political change We can't convince people to to make a big change in how we do things in the world if we can't imagine it first and communicate it in a understandable way like luisa was talking about but also in the inspiring and compelling way that really touches our hearts and captures our imaginations Art heals it helps us heal from the effects of oppression It helps us overcome fear find courage find strength. Reminds me of what don was speaking to Art experiences help us build community in a really powerful way, which is so important because No one ever makes big revolutionary changes alone It also gives us a space to rehearse for the world that we want to make together and kind of try out some different ways of being together And try to see what what do they really look like sound like feel like we can put them in our body and even try acting them out in theater, of course And also I I think i'm not seeing different types of change as um Is as being so separate as I did at one point But even in like what some people think of as the real change Like the marches and the rallies and the sit-ins and protests and those kinds of things Even in those kinds of situations Bringing the artist's tools to that work really makes them more effective because if you've planned this big Protest and you're only going to get a few little news clips or a few photographs in the news We want to make sure those photographs or these clips are really, you know Sharing the message we're trying to get across effectively And so if we kind of think of the whole action with some aesthetics in mind, we can do that so much more powerfully um and lastly A point that I think is really relevant to our focus at creative action and our focus today Is that the arts They're an outlet that is always accessible to young people I think many young people who want to make an impact on the world Sometimes wonder, you know, if I can't vote if I don't have a bank account If my parents don't really want me out marching because it's not safe like what can I really do? But the arts are always available to young people And they're actually a really uniquely powerful way to make a change especially coming from young people So that's something we really need to help make the world into the one that young people deserve Thanks, Natalie Well dawn luisa mickey any of you do you have any other final thoughts or anything else you'd like to share? before we move into our q&a section of the Of tonight's event I definitely do. Let's hear it. Okay um kind of also talking to like Artivism and using art for activism and just all of that. I mean, I never Thought about it like for a while. I just did art because it makes you feel good, you know It's a way to express yourself um, but like If you look around and like look at The cultural changes and just social changes that's happening art is always there Like there is not like one movement that has not used art even going back like decades like people have used their language and poetry and songs To ignite change and I mean back in like during the woman's march We had those hats like that's a form of art too or even like during the presidential races You wear your buttons and you have these like posters done by artists So art is really everywhere if you look for it. So um, just as an artist yourself don't Don't say that like what you do can't be used for this if it's something that you're interested in because even like a simple Instagram post of like a little doodle can start Someone thinking like it's all about like getting the conversation going Um, but yeah, I wanted to share that And that should be taught in schools. I mean that should be taught in schools. That's how you teach kid about race Thank you Don So we're gonna take some questions from the audience We have a first question and that is If a young person wanted to get involved in Making art to stand up for racial justice, how could they get started? And i'm just gonna throw this out there and let any of our panelists Take the the question How could a young person get started today? I mean, I would say just do it, you know, just do whatever feels natural comes to you and I have a how it works and then You know, keep going. You just have to start Exactly. Yeah Even if like I was a part of the theater program So like even theater and like something that seemed just entertainment or even music Like no form of art can't be used for change So just find what you enjoy doing and figure out what message or what uh like Movement you're passionate about and then just see what comes naturally to you Okay, we have another question. Um How do we work to bring in individuals into the movement who are not necessarily interested in change? And they don't really see racial injustice as a problem and are comfortable with their socioeconomic status and privilege So how do we bring those folks in? I think I I have some thoughts about that um One thought I have is to not expect it to be quick and don't expect it to be a one-time conversation and an overnight change Um And I've found some ideas from the world of deep canvassing Uh inspirational and helpful for me. Um, I couldn't try to summarize them But you should probably like google deep canvassing to try to get a better summary of it um, but some of the first steps are um Asking them about their perspective and really listening really listening thoughtfully and intentionally um active listening which could be really hard for you So you might need to kind of like psych yourself up have a buddy who you can debrief with afterwards um, and then Also, let them know like well, I think about it differently and this is why and just explain your point of view and when you do that uh Don't rely too heavily on facts and figures like sure you can bring in a few data points or whatever, but But don't make that the main part of your argument like really connect with them as an individual and talk about how this affects you as an individual and hopefully this is someone you have a relationship with and they they care about you as an individual, um, and then thank them for having the conversation and go to your debrief buddy and and Scream if you need to if it was hard for you And also, don't like don't spring it on them like kind of you know Don't confront them at the dinner table in front of everybody like set it up ahead of time Like hey, is there a time when we could both kind of hear each other out on where we're coming from on this? I would also say use resources like undoing racism or beyond diversity. Um, those trainings really I saw some transformation happen in both of those trainings for people who were not even thinking about it. Um, So use your resources Also, just real quick. Um, this made me think to our power privilege and oppression workshop And the question that like always comes up is like, how do I deal with people when they're being like difficult like that? And something we would always say is like Ask them why they think that way like go right down to like the core of the discussion and the Problem that's what's happening and oftentimes when you make people think about why they're so comfortable on their privilege Or why they don't see the oppression that's happening then they start to connect the thoughts Thank you guys Um, we kind of touched on this a little bit, but I think there might be some you know, even more specific Specificity we have a question, you know at what age should a child be able to start the conversation about racial equity? It's never too early. You can just take it way down um, like my son is three and Uh, I do point out the the colors of skin in the books we read and um, and I Talk about the colors of skin in the movies and tv show we're watching and I try to not bring too much like heavy emotion to it and just be like Do you notice that in toy story almost all the characters have light skin? That's silly That's so silly. They should make movies where they show everybody like you and me and daddy and people with darker skin all colors I think that's what they should do and then we just kind of move on because these three He doesn't have much attention span for it, but just try to do it kind of on a regular basis Um, and I did that kind of stuff when he was you know, like one and two I don't know that he really Fully understood what I was saying, but it doesn't hurt to for you know, you as a parent or caregiver educator to get in the habit of doing it Um, okay, so how can our educational institutions remove implicit bias in our curriculum, especially in early childhood development? It's a big question What are some what are some ways? Trainings courageous conversation about race. Um, you know really Taking the time to train your teachers to to understand history to really Understand that there is a bias. I guess you got to start there, right? And understand that curriculum is not fair. There is no equity in education So start with changing curriculum knowing that it's not designed for all kids and knowing that all kids don't Think differently. I mean to do think differently. So, you know, understanding that you have differences and Culturally and you know educational levels. So there's so many steps to take But you got to start out by knowing that there is some You have to you have to start out by knowing that there's no equity in education right Thank you Don Okay, we're going to go on to another question And if anyone thinks of anything for these other questions as we go We can certainly kind of jump around a little bit, but This might be a good question for look for mickey and louisa. Um, the question is Do you have any recommendations for social media influencers to follow? Like is there anybody that you are You like to follow that you think is inspirational or educational or can kind of help Help in our pursuit of racial equity Let me look up some people are following and I'll like drop them in the chat Excellent. That's great. That's a great idea Yeah, and if we also we can follow up after this too I know we were going to put together some resources of other organizations that Also use art as a strategy for for standing up for racial justice Don did you have do you have any ideas or natalie for particular social media? People on instagram tick tock etc to follow that Can be inspirational I think somebody just dropped in the chat amanda gorman, which is a great one Yeah, I think we talked to oh, there's more ideas in the chat. Yeah, y'all check out the chat It's it's got lots of good stuff. Thank you chat for helping us. Yeah Um, great. Great at thunberg posts funny things. Um, I feel like dawn might be more savvy with social media than me So I'm gonna pass it off to you Well, I think it's wherever you are right so because my stuff might not be for where you are right So whoever you're into yes, macho obama, um, you know, whoever, you know, stacey adams Whoever you're interested in where you are you got to follow because you know my following might be taste might be not the same And also just like look at your for you page on tick tock I mean so many people like tick tock has brought just normal kids to To the spotlight and like we said like we have things to say and they're saying it So if you see that someone's like they said a funny joke or did a funny dance Then look at their page and see just kind of flip through because I don't think there's one person that I follow that Haven't said something like haven't been someone to listen to um, and like that being said also it made me think about when we were asked about the age to start talking about uh race um There's also this question that often comes up It's like at what age should we take youth seriously? And I know we were talking about like turning 18 and when we start being considered adults But that's not that's there's no number for when you should take kids seriously If there's a five-year-old that's I don't know doing an interpretive dance about Then the news then listen to that kid like you don't this is my favorite thing to say But you don't pay your plumber because there's some 45-year-old person you pay your plumber because they fixed your pipes So you if they're saying it it doesn't matter their age just listen to them Thank you mickey. I like that Um, I sounds like the folks who are watching can't necessarily see the chat So I'll just kind of shout out a few of these that have shown up for some different social media folks to follow um Rachel Cargill Layla said and Lainei veneer, so um I'm sure there's a place we can continue to post these afterwards, but those are a few that just kind of popped up All right, we have another question. This one I think is really interesting. So Why are adults so afraid to talk to their children about race? Why is it such a big scary conversation for so many adults to talk to their kids? What do you guys think? Can I answer as a youth? Yeah, absolutely Honestly, I think it's because it's uncomfortable The nation and whether that be the powers that be the whatever it is We have made race Something uncomfortable to talk about while that shouldn't be a thing like Racism shouldn't be a thing within itself, but because it is People with privilege. I mean, I know I have some privilege myself and even I have like Uncomfy feelings when we talk about serious topics But it's just If you're uncomfortable, then you should probably talking about it Like if you feel that then no, you're doing what you should be doing Because honestly that that's just how it is at this point in time. But yeah, I think that's why it is like, I mean Any serious conversation is uncomfortable and as a human I think we tend to steer away from that feeling Yeah, I think Sometimes people think if they acknowledge race then that in itself is racist And I hope we've just made it clear tonight. That's not the case That's it's actually anti-racist to go ahead and acknowledge race and the impact it's had on our lives So we can do something about it and I think also Particularly for folks caring for young people of color We have a lot of our own baggage around it and we have a lot of painful memories and It can be really hard to think about ushering the young people We love so much into a world that is prepared to be so cruel to them So sometimes we have to really work through some of our own baggage I think and maybe I should just shift to i-language because I feel like I know perfectly well This is something my my son needs for me to be able to navigate the challenges that he faces in his life but And you know now we're at a point where we're critically analyzing toy story or have you but But I really did have to kind of push through some stuff and like learn some new Coping mechanisms of deep breathing and stuff to just work through the grief and the fear and the rage that I had Um, I just saw someone comment on the chat. They don't want to mess up their kids Um, but I think you do your kids a disservice if you don't talk about race Because then they learn in in other places and then you're not prepared for the conversations not prepared for the emotions You're not prepared for anything and neither are they so you have to get past yourself and talk about it And how you want to you know, how do you want to navigate the conversation? And all you how you want them to hear it outside if you don't talk about it Now one thing I would oh you go making okay, um And just coming from my own experience like my parents censored a lot as a kid and a lot of that was fruitful and it was a good thing because When you're young some things are just too hard to know is happening Like you don't want to go to sleep every night knowing that there's like real bad guys out there You want that to be some fantasy world? Um, but at a certain point Censorship as you can see in the media Becomes bad. So you just like as a parent and I say this because I'm a big sister to three younger brothers and so I just see that Being a sister that there's a lot of things that I'm like, I don't want you to know that yet. Like, why do you know this? like no, um, but also I have to think about my life and just For them like am I doing them a disservice are we doing them a disservice by not letting them know the truth of just The harsh parts of the world like yeah, the world was great. The world was beautiful So if you're wondering like should I tell them these bad things? Just make sure you balance it out with all the good things, too Oh mickey, you read my mind. That was exactly what I was going to say Yeah, when we do dip into those rough things like we can build our capacity to face hard things by Really Experiencing and cultivating as much joy as we possibly can and and yes, we need to share stories of racial injustice but we also need to share stories of black indigenous and people of colors resilience and beauty and joy and just Boost that like pump up the volume on that as much as possible Yeah, that's why that that black and i'm proud song really done, you know kind of you know It's stuck in my mind for so long because it made me feel proud of being black and not as a media Looking at tv would make me feel like i'm ashamed or i'm you know less than So you have to find joy Well speaking of joy and hope and and kind of some of the more positive things I mean, what are some things that you see going on in the austin area right now that give you a sense of hope and joy for That you know for our area and kind of moving in a More positive direction. Is there anything that you've seen? That makes you feel hopeful and good Honestly just right now in the chat Um, I don't know if we can call out who said it but someone said that their 10 year old daughter is listening in too Like what that's amazing, but that's why I was like like thank you so much for that. That's awesome It makes me so happy Yeah It's okay don't you go Well, there's some amazing organizations um in austin that's doing some stuff like six square um They're doing some amazing things in the community. Um, austin justice coalition You know, you just there's some things that's happening that is um bringing joy and and Greatness to the black community. So you just have to look out and see what's happening, but there is joy There you have to follow it Yeah, I was just gonna say creative action I mean, it's been so great and like giving me the tools to like Start addressing these these topics and like I don't know finding my own voice like as an artist and combining that with like other parts of my identity as well and like not know like Figuring out that those it doesn't have to all be separate parts of my life and I don't know. I've just been completely grateful for what creative action has done for me as a young person going into this world Well, we're grateful for you luisa and for you mickey and for you don and for you natalie and for all of the vulnerability and passion and insight and wisdom that you bring every day to all of our work As well as tonight. I hope it's been a really Great conversation for everyone out there to hear and kind of listen in on I know that it was it was wonderful for me to Just get a chance to talk to everybody about these topics and for us to really think about how we can be intentional with the way that we Engage young people and topics around racial justice and include them as we as we stand up We are gonna wrap up for this evening. I know there is a post show Um opportunity to kind of continue the conversation and I think the link is is out there Please visit creative actions website. We have a lot of really incredible Programs that are going on that teens can get involved in The families can participate in Don's hosting an incredible black history month event in a few weeks We have a music and movement event We have all kinds of really cool things that you can use to engage young people and learning more about Racial justice and how to stand up So, thank you so much