[ON HOLD UNTIL AT LEAST DECEMBER 2024] Sustainable BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour) Resistance - Sunday Sessions (1-4pm EDT/12-3pm CDT/11am-2pm MSDT/10am-1pm PDT/5-8pm GMT)
Having facilitated 5 iterations of free virtual Sustainable Resistance for BIPOC Folx workshops for Scarborough Arts (in addition to Adapting Like a Hermit Crab to Survive Multiple Experiences of Marginalization, BIPOC Disability Justice (Un)Learning Journeys, and Navigating Grief in BIPOC Solidarity), this earlier Sunday series will now be offered as a Pay-What-You-Can service, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.
The first 12 sessions will mostly follow the 2023 Sustainable Resistance for BIPOC Folx schedule of readings by BIPOC authors, aside from replacing the reading on Rest, during which, ideas will be accepted for our future sessions:
Access Intimacy – Mia Mingus
Case against Hope – Roxane Gay
Anger as Resistance – Audre Lorde
Forgiveness of Self – Daniel José Older
Rest, Not Resistance – Trey Washington*
Love for Self & Community – Alicia Elliott
Spirituality – Lama Rod Owens
Grief - Hari Ziyad
Mutual Aid - Regan de Loggans
Futuristic Possibilities – Octavia Butler
If you have not attended my arts programming, you can expect that I give registrants the 1st 5 minutes to arrive before getting started with slides, but continue to let folx in until the session ends. Generally, materials are emailed at least a few days in advance, and utilize some media to illuminate an issue of significance to BIPOC folx, including poems, essays, articles, media clips from TV shows, movies, documentaries, etc., during which attendees are welcome to engage on their terms, i.e. with no expectation of being on camera, communicating verbally or in the chat, etc. Around the halfway point, a 15-minutes break is facilitated, after which participants are invited to explore an individual or collaborative writing prompt during designated quiet time of 10-20 minutes. Once the timer ends, participants are invited to share what they wrote, and/or discuss how the process went for them. Throughout the workshop, my approach is consent-based, i.e. folx are encouraged to read slides, share feedback, etc. and only those who volunteer to do so, are invited to engage, as there is no pressure to participate beyond one's capacity.
This $50USD Individual Rate is based on my skills from over a decade in such roles as Mental Health Therapist, University Instructor, Wellness Counsellor and Coordinator, Accessibility Advisor, Writer, and Equity Practitioner, in combination with 2024 CARFAC rates for Artist fees, which values workshops that are less than 4 hours at $500, plus $400 for up to 8 hours of preparation time.
If able, please pay-it-forward, if BIPOC, and sponsor as many spots as able if white, so that folx in financial precarity as a result of racial capitalism may benefit, as aligned with Disability Justice, Transformative Justice, Racial Justice, Health Equity, Progress, etc., i.e. Sustainable BIPOC Resistance.
Especially if you may be new to thinking critically about the need for mutual aid in BIPOC LGBTQIA+ communities, and how to invest in that for the survival of your more marginalized loved ones, I would encourage you to explore my latest hermit crab essay, Sustainable BIPOC Resistance - Purchase Bingo.
I crafted it to help folx navigate Pay-What-You-Can offerings. Our final discussions in Navigating Grief in BIPOC Solidarity got me thinking about how complicated our relationships can be to our finances, as I am regularly surprised by how often those who cannot afford to contribute feel badly for an unavoidable reality, while those with the means to do so embody comfort with not contributing financially, so I tried to think through my own historical and ongoing challenges as well as those shared by participants, loved ones, etc.
My hope is to eventually bring in enough income to be able to afford BIPOC ASL interpretation services for all of my virtual arts programming, so if you are able to contribute less than $50 to support Sustainable BIPOC Resistance, that can be sent by PayPal.
*Please note that no refunds will be provided for services, but if life gets in the way of participating in the purchased session, BIPOC folx can attend a subsequent session for free.*
When entering payment information, please include the email address at which the Zoom details should be forwarded, and you will receive an email as I work to reconcile crip time alongside capitalism, i.e. in a few hours to a few days, depending on pain, access to treatment, available resources, etc.
*If a free spot is needed, please submit your email address, and Zoom details will be provided without any request for further personal information.*