Respair, A Return to Hope

At midnight, people in my condo cult de sac, stood on their balconies and cheered, shouted ‘Happy New Year’ and fireworks across the water went off.

I cried.

Such a feeling of relief, a sigh, a hope, a belief that we had made it through a year of unimagined days.

It was not a ‘hard’ year for me, I am an Ambivert – and the introvert part of me was perfectly happy staying at home, creating, hiking, not feeling the pressure of having to be social.

The shocking part of 2020 for me was that I had anxiety, anxiety about the future, the future of everyone, the unknowing.

These people, who I had stood across from, on our decks and clapped at 7 pm for our essential workers, saw each other for the first time in a way I had not for over the 10 years I have lived in my condo.

It is at midnight on the changing from 2020 to 2021 that I feel a collective release, a sigh of letting go, a cheer of hope and it made me cry; a cry for the grace I have learned to embrace in hindsight of 2020.

As a noun, respair means “the return of hope after a period of despair.” As a verb, respair means “to have hope again.” Although both forms are rare and obsolete, they seem ripe for reviving.

Happy New Year 2021

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It’s is my story and I’m sticking to it !

It’s is MY story and I’m sticking to it!

Hope you listen, share, and enjoy!


You find it on any podcast / music platform.


Thank you to this wonderful UK based Podcaster.


All comments and likes help her exposure and ratings. No ads, no sponsors.

Just sharing extraordinary stories

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/airing-cupboards-extraordinary-stories-ordinary-people/id1466475261

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3DHAE2KvL0qfYwMo3yB4Mv

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-airing-cupboard/e/78840092?autoplay=true

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Creativity and Constraints

https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/videos/how-limits-can-boost-your-creativity/p08qhyr1?playlist=made-in-partnership-with-the-open-university

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Question Mark Clouds Fine Finds

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Oh, Canada

Beautiful!
I wish I had been exposed to more of this growing up in Canada.
Education via Tik Tok
Get it where you can ❤️

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“She’s one of the great known-unknown artists of the century.”

For a while now, museums and galleries have been assiduously scouring the past, looking to highlight artists who weren’t given their due in their lifetime, particularly women and people of color. The constant question is: What did we miss, or gloss over too quickly?

“With the clarity of hindsight, we can see who’s left out, how incomplete the stories we have told are, and how exclusionary they are”.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp did it all: Installations, textiles, costumes, abstract art. Nearly 80 years after her death, an online gallery show commemorates her talent (and a major museum exhibition is coming).

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/arts/design/sophie-taeuber-arp-exhibition.html?smid=em-share

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Making Sense

Sometimes the only thing that makes sense to me is making art.

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Resources Resources Resources

Anti-racism Resources

WFTV UK has put together some links to resources and information on anti-racism, including tools for parents to use with their children.

Feel free to circulate with your friends, family, and colleagues.

ARTICLES TO READ: 

  • “America’s Racial Contract Is Killing Us” by Adam Serwer – read here.
  • Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement (Mentoring a New Generation of Activists – read here.
  • “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas | NYT Mag – read here.
  • The 1619 Project (all the articles) | The New York Times Magazine – read here.
  • The Combahee River Collective Statement – read more
  • “The Intersectionality Wars” by Jane Coaston | Vox – read more
  • Tips for Creating Effective White Caucus Groups developed by Craig Elliott PhD – read here.
  • “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Knapsack Peggy McIntosh – read here.
  • “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi | Atlantic – read here.

BOOKS

FILMS & TV SERIES TO WATCH:

  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • Explained – The Racial Wealth Gap (Season 1, Episode 3) – Netflix
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent
  • King In The Wilderness  — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

VIDEOS TO WATCH

  • Black Feminism & the Movement for Black Lives – watch here.
  • “How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion – watch here.

 PODCASTS FOR ADULTS

RESOURCES FOR PARENTS TO RAISE ANTI-RACIST CHILDREN

Books

  • A is for Activist, Innosanto Nagara – hardcopy available here.
  • Anti-Racist Baby, Ibram X. Kendi – hardcopy available here.
  • Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson – hardcopy available here.
  • This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on how to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work, Tiffany Jewell – hardcopy available here.
  • Young Gifted and Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past and Present, Jamia Wilson – hardcopy available here.
  • Embrace Race – 31 Children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance available here.
  • Knights of – publishes diverse children’s fiction book which you can find here.
  • News From Nowhere – anti-racist booklist available here.

Podcasts

  • Integrated Schools podcast episode “Raising White Kids” with Jennifer Harvey – listen here.
  • Parenting Forward: podcast episode ‘Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt – listen here.
  • Raising Free People: Fare of the Free Child podcast – listen here.

Articles

  • PBS: Teaching Your Child About Black History Month – read here.
  • Pretty Good: Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup – read here.

Coaching / Training 

EDUCATION TOOLKITS & RESOURCES 

  • Medium: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice – read here.
  • Anti-Racism Project – learn more here.
  • Jenna Arnold: teaching resources – read more here.
  • Rachel Rickett: anti-racism resources – read more here.
  • Factual Atlas: Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism – read here.
  • Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac – read here.
  • Showing Up For Racial Justice: educational toolkits available here.
  • 100 Year Hoodie: “Why is this happening?” — an introduction to police brutality – read more.
  • Zinn Education Project: teaching materials – read here.
  • Respect Me: Addressing Inclusion’ guidance – read here.
  • Anti-racist Educator – find all tools here.

CHARITIES YOU CAN DONATE TO

  • Show Racism the Red Card – an anti-racism educational charity that uses workshops and training sessions, among other resources, to educate on and combat racism. To donate, click here.
  • Runnymede – a registered charity and think tank that aims to “challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate and policy engagement”. To donate, click here.
  • Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – named after Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was murdered at the age of 18 in a racist attack in southeast London. The trust is an educational charity, which was created “to tackle inequality in all forms” and is committed to “transforming the life chances of young people and improving the world in which they live​”. To donate, click here.
  • Stand Against Racism and Inequality (SARI) – provides support for people who have suffered hate crime, including attacks that were racist, homophobic, transphobic and/or sexist. To donate, click here.
  • Kick It Out – an organisation in England that uses football in order to promote equality and inclusivity. To donate, click here.
  • Stop Hate UK – originating in 1995 following the murder of Stephen Lawrence, Stop Hate UK is an organisation committed to supporting people affected by all forms of hate crime across the UK. To donate, click here.
  • Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) – based in Scotland, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) is an initiative that is dedicated to combatting racial discrimination and harassment across the country. To donate, click here.
  • Discrimination Law Association (DLA) – works to improve equality law by bringing together a range of individuals, including discrimination law practitioners, policy experts and academics. To find out more, click here.
  • Race Equality First – for more than 40 years, Race Equality First has worked to raise awareness of and fight discrimination and hate crime in Scotland. To find out more, click here.
  • Black Lives Matter UK (UKBLM) – a coalition of Black liberation organisers across the UK. The organisation has set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe, with a target of £500,000. To donate, click here.
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Under the kitchen table

Set in New South Wales, Australia, this is a story about a young family, a jacaranda tree, a kitchen table and learning the importance of letting go… ———-Music: Hot October by Wood Spider from Free Music ArchivesCopyright: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States https://crea…
— Read on www.buzzsprout.com/348590/3368515-under-the-kitchen-table


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Creatives in the time of a Pandemic

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