 good evening how are you all doing I'm glad to hear that you're in a nice cool place and this is a cool place to be this is our 2019 urban bush women summer leadership culminating summer leadership institute culminating performance by the participants and it's the it's a way that they embody the learning the research the things that have come up for them as a part of the learning of the summer leadership Institute we work with an organization people's Institute for survival and beyond that steeps us in learning around the workshop is understanding and undoing racism and it steeps us in a deep understanding of what that is and where we hold it in our bodies and in our hearts and our minds and we want to get to the undoing we are in the undoing and the and the urban bush women's workshop entering building an exiting community which is about the values that we hold when we come to community and all of that is grounded by our topic this year which is when black women plus prevail we all prevail when black women plus prevail we all prevail so this is a very exciting I'm always excited by this we have ten days and so somewhere around the fifth sixth day we start to take all of the learning and look at how it how to bring it into performance and we work from the assets in the room which is why everything that you see has been created come from come through the participants and faculty and staff for the summer leadership Institute who bring in light light light so without further ado women first of all I gotta just say there's parts you know we need your energy in the performance so and sometimes that's a silent with witnessing and sometimes that's the ad not and sometimes it's just loud and we need and want all of that from you so we invite you to be with us in performance thank you very much before beginning part of being the essence of life from where life springs forward motivation to the ancestors we call out the names to remember those who have laid this path for us who have sacrificed so that we can prevail ancestors from ancient times and from times past the great ones who we know and remember well when we call out those names we will say I say after calling but patient to those ancestors who are familiar to each and every one of those aunties the mom place here amongst us we will call their names and say I say I say we will now pour in the waiting to come again sir we prepare a place for them as they have prepared a place for us I say I say I say oh secret home she became black woman all black woman but black woman let's see secret she home secret home black woman all she needs is all she has black woman but black woman watch her fly carry the dreams of our fathers and our mothers deep ration to the next collective for the Maxine waters Nikki Giovanni a Crenshaw for Alicia Garza Patrice Colors and Ophel Tometi for Adrian Marie Brown is for the women the altar of science Lucy and Betsy and Anarka Westcott for Sachi Barton and Henrietta Lacks this is for our grandmother's and forebears and owner judge for Mamie Till for Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Raiders for Barbara Jordan and Audra Lorde for Ntozaki Shange and Octavia Butler are you ready to take the collect call for reparation it's real fast I got your mom and your auntie they got some doubt some fear you got this thing racial sorry baby you see we are deep illusions deep if you put your ears out to the ocean she still whispers our name this is Monita you got about one minute left to this call and but I am listening to okay I need you to pull down from the Google I need you to do what I need you to research and continue to share our stories of resistance but the movement continues they want us to do stuff we got to meet and Jenny what about you I'm like we're alone on my own, individual story, I'm really sorry I'm really sorry I'm really sorry I'm really sorry this is a white group come on. Did I miss something? we've got to do something we've got to come up with something about a generalizations of jure already white community I really don't know what I'm talking about. I don't know what I'm talking about. Well, we have to be clear. What are the rules? We have to be clear about the conceptual framework. I mean, look, for 40 or even 50 years, there's been a serious body of work. We're talking academic scholarship about like this, they call it white studies. And you don't know what that means. That's fine. We need some ideas. Should we sit? We can talk about it. We can sit. I mean, sometimes it's really weird. Okay, structure. A plan. The last time we met, we were talking about being in half the ball. Holy. Wait, wait, wait. Why did we eat inside the bubble? Listen, I've got a better idea. I've got a better idea. I've been thinking a lot lately about dissociation. I think about that too. I see it. I think about my head being really disconnected from my body. Almost like it's on a spring, and that spring is going up to the ceiling, and my head is floating up there to the ceiling. Are we trying it? Are we talking about it? I can't see it. Trinket wrenching. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. Take me to the water. I see it. Take me. I'll hold your weight any longer. My legs. My feet. My stomach. My lungs. My lungs. My body. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. I see you. so that others can hear it. When everyone else gets to say, no, no, no, no, no. Heavy, heavy, dizzy, eyes gloss over seeking rescue, sun on back, stomach extended, I carry. I carry. We carry too damn much. Dust, wipe, cook, clean, run, wait, walk, too slow, too fast, easy. It's chins, bodies, but wear on my hands when I need support. Because it looks repeat, resist, rise, and repeat. Resist, rise, and repeat. But this cycle is not for me. To your requested meeting, when I already told you I'm not available today. To your, sorry to bother you on your day off, but... To your, don't you want to help these boundaries called my ba... That is how you do. Ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding-a-ding. Oh-pa-ba-pa-pa-ta-ta-ta-ta. To your, don't you want to help these boundaries called my ba... Di di di di di di di di di di di di di di di di di di. Oh, I got a Harshenie, my aunt Grower, on a chair. The ocean, drink, and your mother, your sister, and the child bearer, and the child, and the child. Tell me, how do you think the pain seems? You don't really know me, so don't ask what you knew. Let's just go flowin' and I just do what I do. Got my goons in my head, goon goon, so you know I say truth. I just strive to the sky, I see blue around you. And we, not going back, just that direction of being black. That's loyalty, can't you see? That's loyalty, can't you see? That's loyalty, can't you see? This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light.