Re/Membering Our Future

2021 1

Exhibition Features page 3

re/membering our future

About Free Minds Free People & Education for Liberation Network page 4

page 5

FMFP Organizers 2007-2021

Black Women at the Helm

Rest in Power

page 10 How

We Get Free

Assembles, Plenaries, Rad PD

page 14 Youth

Power!

Young Activists

National Student Bill of Rights

page 20 Whose

City? Our City!

Chicago, Houston, Providence, Chicago,

Oakland, Baltimore, Twin Cities, virtual

page 43 Build

Our World (Liberation Line)

The sticky notes scattered throughout this document were written by participants attending the in-person exhibit (formerly called 12 Years Free!) at FMFP 2019. Their comments helped to flesh out the stories of FMFP. Other artifacts from 12 Years Free! are selfie signs folx wrote, snapped and posted.

#FMFP2021 #FMFPhomecoming #FMFPunlearning

Publishing of re/membering our future in this format was made possible by the PEAC Institute.

#FMFPtshirtchallenge

2

re/membering our future Twelve years into Free Minds Free People it seemed time for us to collectively reflect on our activities, inspirations, and influences–and to imagine our community into the future. was created for FMFP 2019 to exhibit artifacts from previous conferences collected by the Documentation & Evaluation Committee and others. By day two of the exhibit the curatorial team (Jamilyn Salonga Bailey, Brian Ford, Gabriela Fullon, Adeola Oredola, Susan Wilcox) was already committed to making it a permanent feature of FMFP. Since the exhibit will carry on in-person (once we are again free to roam) and continually hone the FMFP story, they renamed the exhibit re/membering our future.

12 Years Free!

The concept of re/membering our future comes from some of our Indigenous elders who animate a “radical remembering of our future” and the Akan concept of Sankofa (to go back and fetch it). Like a tree with deep roots, we remember our future to help us continue to imagine and grow into our liberation.

As Toni Morrison said, “Narrative is radical, creating us at the very moment it is being created.” Everyone who has ever organized or participated in FMFP is a custodian of our historical narrative. The first exhibition was designed as an interactive experience that invited conference participants to add to an archive and to revisit it to see the footprints left behind by others. Since this year’s exhibit is virtual, please visit the FMFP 2021 Whova conference site to leave your stories, questions, unlearnings, new learnings, and feedback and/or use the 2021 hashtags (see page 2).

re/membering our future would not be possible without the labor, wisdom and commitment of

FMFP organizers and participants (2007-2021) and without the contributions of Thomas Nikundiwe, Curtis Acosta, Keith Catone, Robin Owens, Leigh Patel, Bree Picower, and Teffanie Thompson White for contributing FMFP artifacts and recollections.

3

Free Minds Free People (FMFP) is a bi-annual national conference that brings together

teachers, young people, researchers, parents and community-based activists/educators from across the country to build a movement to develop and promote education as a tool for liberation. Since 2007, FMFP has been held six times in six places that are listed below alongside the Indigenous people on whose lands we gathered: Chicago (2007, 2013) - Potawatomi, Miami & Illinois; Houston (2009) - Karankawa, Sana, Atakapa-Ishak & Coahuiltecan; Providence (2011) - Narragansett; Oakland (2015) - Ohlone; Baltimore (2017) - Piscataway; and Twin Cities (2019) - Ojibwe, Dakota & Sioux FMFP is hosted by Education for Liberation Network and planned by volunteers from across the country in a highly collaborative, consensus-building process. In non pandemic years we meet in person for a planning retreat in the city where the upcoming conference will be held, then reconnect in person 10 months later at FMFP. This year our planning and conference has been virtual.

Education for Liberation Network (ELN) was founded in 1999 by Charles

Payne (a scholar of urban education, school reform and social inequality).

After moderating a panel at an American Educational Research Association conference on liberatory education, he, Lisa Delpit, Theresa Perry and others decided to work together to combat the isolation many of them were experiencing doing liberatory work in academia. ELN began as a listserve to convene its members, with Charles as the Director. In 2006, he convened Tara Mack, Mariame Kaba and Susan Wilcox to help him think through a strategy to revitalize ELN, and Free Minds Free People was born.

Tara went on to become ELN’s first paid executive director, a position supported by an advisory board that has steadily comprised over 85% BIPOC people. ELN’s mission also expanded to actively support the development of individuals and groups practicing liberatory education, and to connect educators with activists, locally and nationally. After Tara’s departure in 2013, Thomas Nikundiwe, became the next executive director. He was known to describe ELN as generating power from the ground up and as punching above its weight. FMFP 2021 marks the first days of ELN’s newest executive director, Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price.

Okaikor showed up to our interview process, graceful and with intentionality and a depth that we knew we needed but didn’t know what form it would take until we imagined working alongside Okaikor. We are honored to continue this centuries-long

ELN currently has more than 1300 members affiliated with:

work with her. - ELN Board

K-12 public schools Local & national youth organizations (Chicago Freedom School,Youth in Action, Young People’s Project, Philadelphia Student Union, Baltimore Algebra Project, Make the Road New York) Teacher organizing groups including New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE), People’ Education Movement (Los Angeles) & Teachers for Social Justice (Chicago) Policy organizations such as the New York Civil Liberties Union & Justice Matters (CA) College & university professors including from University of Minnesota, University of San Francisco, University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University 4

5

FMFP Organizers 2007-2021 Curtis Acosta Heidi Affi Alexandra Ahn Qui Alexander Keisha Allen Lindsey Allen Elizabeth Alvarado Marielle Amrhei Lauren Anderson Adam Angel William Carlos Angulo Katie Arevalo Jr Arimboanga Annika Aristimuno Jaime Arteaga Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price Margarte Austin-Smith José Avilar William Ayers Natalia Bacchus Binta Bah Jamilyn Salonga Bailey Xian Barrett Emily Bautista Mark Bautista Morriah Beatty Nyla Bell Kristina Berdan Gabriel Berumen Swati Bhargava Kaylah Blake Nikki Blunt veronica precious bohanan Mahogany Bosworth Jennifer Bradley Matt Bradley James Bragg lyssa Brandon Tizoc Brenes Rose Brewer Kisha Kilam Brooks Jamia Brown Tracy Buenavista Tanja Burkhard Juli Burnett Adam Bush Caitlin Cahill Patrick Camangian camill.williams Nawal Casiano Christopher Castro Kakeena Castro Keith Catone

Maria Cedillo Barbara Cervone Christina Chaise Teddy Chao Marlie Chatelain Tom Chen Anita Chikkatur Marisa Chock Olivia Chung Roger Chung Cory Cochrane Jackie Cody Kimberly Colbert Leticia Contreras Monét Cooper Kristin Cox Natalia Cuadra-Saez Ben Dalbey Maia Danois Erica Davilla Asia Davis Nikita Davis Qasim Davis Kip Dawson Juliet de Jesus Alejandre Cati de los Rios Chela Delgado Shiv Desai Hana Dinku Ana Claudia dos Santos Sao Bernardo Erin Dyke Kitrell Edmonds Sophea Ek Andrew Ensley Lars Esdal Ashley Escobedo Jennifer Etienne Christina Duncan Evans Damian Ewens Keno Evol Nicole Farley Kei Fischer Brian Ford Jillian Ford Tanya Foster-Demers Alejandra Frausto Gabriela Fullon Cortez Gabriel Norma Garces Sarah Garton Riyaz Gayasaddin Liza Gesuden 6 Jay Gillen

Marla Goins Ayala Goldstein Trey Gonsalves Shannon Gonzales-Miller Mart Gonzalez Isioma Grant Daren Graves Alexis Gray Jonothan Gray Salina Gray Ale Gtz Eric (Rico) Gutstein Sarah Ha Pat Halle Jonathan Hamilton Sharim Hannegan-Martinez Angela Harris Nick Henning Mia Henry Adriana Hererra Perhamus Daijah Hill Ellissia Hill Brian Horn Ellie Hutchinson Rebecca Irby Hannah Jacoby James Jackson Melanie Jackson Adrian Jami Jennifer Juarez Marsha Jean-Charles Brandon Johnson Brooke Johnson Cephus Johnson Jennie Johnson Katelyn Johnson Teena-Marie Johnson Brandy Jones Denisha Jones Marcel Jones Vanessa Jones Twan Jordan Jeremiah Joseph Ezekial Joubert Jennifer Juarez Mariame Kaba Sarah Kadden Muneer Karcher-Ramos Mark Kasen Adrinda Kelly Kayla Kelsey Harper Keenan Lara Kiswani

Brad Kohl Patricia Krueger Shyama Kuver Woody L Kristy Luk Lady Brion Chris Landauer Roxanne Lawson Alexa Leboeuf Bowie Lee Elisa Lee Jesse Leidel Audrey Lensmire Jordan Leonard Ro Lin JL Little Tarilyn Little Brian Lozenski Tsedenia Lozenski Rene Ly Julian Lute Tara Mack Rahsaan Mahadeo Joanna Maravilla Antonio Martinez Jarred Martinez Ricardo Martinez Annie Mason Crystal Mattison Imrul Mazid Morna McDermott Cassandra McKay Rudy Medina Erica Meiners Amattulah Mervin Anton Migiletta Marie Mokuba Jason Moore Rayshon Moore Theresa Montaño Daniel Morales Asadullah Muhammad Jessie Muldoon Brett Murphy Amanda Najib Aaron Nakai Sandra Nanita K.C. Nat Turner MK Nguyen Ngan Nguyen Ludmila Nicolia Thomas Nikundiwe Rachel Nyirenda Shirley Odufunade Israel Okunlola Bukky Olugbemi Adeola Oredola Joel-Lehi Organista-Estrada Natalia Ortiz

Gema Ortega Monsurat Ottun Robin Owens Damon Packwood Lilly Padia Malaika Parker Michele Parker Njeri Parker Leigh Patel Bennie Patterson Charles Payne Kendra PeloJoaquin Carlotta Penn Marika Pfefferkorn Tracy Pham Bree Picower Alex Poeter Nicole Polizzi Jody Polleck Farima Pour-Khorshid Stephanie Price Isaura Pulido Lisa Putkey Sunney Qazi Alice Ragland Thato Ramoabi Vi Ray-Mazumder Javonie Regis Cecily Relucio Kelsey Rennebohm Aja Reynolds Alejandra Reynoso Kenyatta Riddick Rachel Rischhoff Ivan Roberts Leidy Robledo Abigail Rombalski Bashi Rose Kesh Tiara Ross Gloria Ross Susan Smith Ross Camika Royal Brooks Rubin Aldrich Sabac Maymuna Sabree Raquel Saenz Elsa Saeta Varee Saetang Babatunde Salaam Albert Saldan Zakiya Sankara-Jabar Ana Claudia Sao Bernardo Sowmya Sastri Ruby Schlaker Samuel Seidel Carlos Serrano Carla Shalaby 7 Emine Sharma Maryland Shaw

Jessica Shiller Samia Shoman Nuhu Sims Neha Singhal Alissa Skinner Joy Sokolower Vanessa Steele Jaime Stevenson Carmine Stewart Stony David Omotoso Stovall Johnae Strong Jessica Suarez Leyla Suleiman Mustafa Sullivan Victorius Swift Dulari Tahbildar Kisa Takesue Annie Tan Molly Tansey Valerie Taylor Willa Taylor Ashley Terada Annie Terrell Angel Tibbs Chris Tinson Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales Tavin Tobin Ashley Triggs Lorena Tule-Romain Eli Tucker-Raymond K.C. Nat Turner Chinyere Tutashinda Carol Umanzor Duaba Unenra Irene Ushomirsky Carolina Valdez Erica Valliant Edgar Vargas Kaliyah Vernon Christina “V” Villarreal Tammie Vinson Michelle Veras Tonya Walls Shaun Walsh Roderick Watts Megan Wells Teffanie Thompson White Kharyshi Wiginton Susan Wilcox Collique Williams Terrion Williamson Asif Wilson Talia Winningham Heather Homonoff Woodley Jason Yoon Emile Zeren Any omissions or errors are accidental.

Please let us know if you are not listed or want your name removed.

Black women at the helm In movements and struggles, past and present, the labor of Black women has often been invisibilized and relegated to the margins of the narrative, when their work was central to progress that was made. While over the years, FMFP has been organized by people from multiple races and genders (and those for whom no gender cateogiry fits), without the leadership of Black women FMFP would not be where it is today.

Listen to the first episode of the Free Minds Free People Podcast, FMFP History 101 featuring two of our founding organizers, and check out the two-part episode, Teaching in the Time of COVID: Lessons from BlackWomen Educators featuring the new executive director of Education for Liberation Network, Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price, with Belinda Bellinger and Lisa Kelly.

Primary organizers of Chicago 2007 (left to right/top to bottom): Marsha Jean-Charles, Cassandra McKay Jackson, Tara Mack, Njeri Parker, Javonie Regis, Susan Wilcox - Mariame Kaba is not picture

Black Girl Magic is a rallying call of recognition. Embedded in the everyday is a magnificence that is so easy to miss because we’re so mired in the struggle and what society says we are. — Ava Duvernay 8

rest in power (2021) Thomas Nkondo Nikunduwe - On 4 July 2021, our beloved Thomas transitioned from this world. Partner, Brother, Son, Friend, Thomas was truly ELN/FMFP’s North, our South, our East and our West. When Thomas was interviewing for the executive director position, already a member of our network, he said, “We can do so much more, build and leverage connections for young people to thrive and create freedom. I’m talking Civil Rights movement level.”

Thomas taught us, most often in quiet ways, that relationships mattered above all else. He showed us how a collective is deeply different than a community. He taught us the how of everything-- how we are with ourselves, how we are with each other, how we are with equity and inequity-- is everything. He taught us that liberation work is centuries work, and that makes what we do today no less urgent. He taught this with few, carefully chosen and timed words. How Thomas spoke and moved was a constant source of liberatory learning.

Thomas’s love and consideration were other worldly. He impacted innumerable lives, and he held much space for so many. Thomas and his soulmate, his partner, his other self, Carla Shalaby, wrapped our network in a caring blanket, with tools. Tools for education to be wrenched back from racist capitalism and colonialism. Tools for dealing with harm in movement spaces. Tools to think about every action and our values. Every day, Thomas and Carla, along with family, Izaac and Akenna, created a space where freedom overshadowed control and surveillance.

Thomas immigrated to the U.S. from Tanzania via The Netherlands when he was 8-years-old, growing up in Lansing, Michigan and later attending Michigan State University. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a secondary school teaching certificate, Thomas spent time in Baltimore (BAP!), Uganda (Peace Corps) and Boston as a math teacher, teacher trainer, youth organizer, and researcher. While in Boston he earned a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Thomas returned to Michigan where he lived in Detroit with his two sons and partner. He joined the Grace Lee Boggs School Community in 2012 when his younger son started at the school and was on its board from 2018 on.

We will always hold Thomas, his gentle and wise ways, and his family in our hearts.

9

(2017) Victorious Swift was a 19-year old architecture student, boxer and mixed martial arts fighter, tutor and student organizer with the Baltimore Algebra Project, and performer when he was killed on his way home. In the face of his shocking and senseless death, his comrades at BAP carried on as lead organizers of FMFP 2017 with heavy hearts, as did the FMFP community at-large.

Victorious Swift

(2017) Antonio Nieves Martinez was a bonafide activist scholar, a founding member of the People’s Education Movement, a former council member of the Association of Raza Educators, board member of the Education for Liberation Network, and FMFP organizer (Chicago 2013, Oakland 2015). With his partner Jerica and his daughter Huitzil, he was involved in creating restorative educational spaces in the Holyoke community of Western Massachusetts where he was teaching prior to his passing. He also established popular education programs to challenge societal issues of inequity and neoliberal narratives.

(Source: https://edlibrising.com/2017/07/19/celebrating-thelife-of-antonio-nieves-martinez/)

(2012) Matt Bradley was an early enthusiast of FMFP, bringing young people to Chicago in 2007, and over 40 young people and activists from Salt Lake City, Utah to Houston, Texas by bus in 2009. He also helped to organize subsequent FMFP conferences.

Matt taught at the University of Utah, developing the Honors College Social Justice Scholars Program, the Social Justice Think Tank, and an early college course focused on the social construction of race at AMES High School.

Matt co-founded the Mestizo Arts & Activism Collective in Salt Lake City, Utah, which continues to this day (maacollective.org). FMFP organizers were excited to bring the conference to Utah in 2013 and were deeply saddened by his passing just as planning was underway.

(Learn more about Matt in Vue featuring ELN & FMFP: http://vue. annenberginstitute.org/issues/34) Matt Bradley

10

Antonio Nieves Martinez

11

How We Get Free Free Minds Free People was created to build a movement to develop and promote education as a tool for liberation. This is done by connecting people of all ages to new knowledge and skills and to people across diverse educational settings.

The initial approach was through an opening plenary followed by two days of workshops. By 2010, organizers were thinking about how to more intentionally build in movement work.

They wanted to identify issues of local and national concern around which our community could organize and manifest substantive change.

Plenaries continue to be our homecoming and where we set the conference’s context, but since the third conference our program has included assemblies and RadPD. Following are assemblies, plenaries and RadPD themes and presenters through the years.

Assemblies An assembly is more than a gathering, it is a convergence of forces, organizations and people, who are in the social movement struggle for systemic social change. It is not only about convening a critical mass but also for thinking, analyzing, affirming, synthesizing everyone’s ideas, experiences, recommendations, goals and objectives for action. It is an inclusive process with everyone coming to terms and moving toward action.

Since 2011, FMFP has invited organizations and individuals working on a specific issue within education for liberation to organize an assembly for participants to build toward national connections and collective action. Our assemblies are modeled on the US Social Forum People’s Movement Assemblies. For more information on assemblies see http://peoplesmovementassembly.org

cultivating freedom

The list of assemblies follows.

Organizers incorporate participants’ feedback while reflecting on their own

2011 Ethnic Studies

experiences toward cultivating a space in which difficult teachings and learnings can

National Student Bill of Rights

occur. In collaboration with Project South, Teachers 4 Social Justice and Chicago

2013 Ethnic Studies Call to Action

Freedom School, they crafted a Guideline for Healthy Dialogue to support the use

National Student Bill of Rights

of honest, respectful language. The guide

Social Justice Teacher Education to Resist Neoliberalism

grew out of issues raised by participants who had experienced microaggressive or

“Academics Gone Wild”: Scholar/Activists In the Education Policy Arena

more directly demeaning interactions.

Following the recommendation and mini

Building a Radical Adult Education Movement

teach-in from a 2019 presenter, organizers posted a solidarity statement on the FMFP website to bring attention to a current international labor issue.

12

Igniting, Supporting & Sustaining Social Justice Unionism

Plenaries

Journey to Justice

A plenary is a common feature at conferences used to assemble all of the participants. The typical format is a keynote speaker or a panel presentation. FMFP plenaries have similar elements but emphasizes dialogue that is intergenerational, intersectional and interactive.

Our plenaries have not generally featured a solo speaker but are designed as a conversation to frame the year’s theme, bring out the local context, and help ignite our community for the days and activities ahead.

Organizing Resistance to Teach For America & Its Role in Privatization Transforming Community Violence & the School-to-Prison Pipeline 2015 Social Justice Unionism; Ethnic Studies National Student Bill of Rights 2017 Educate, Embolden, Empower: The Road From Birmingham to Baltimore and Beyond

2011 Charter Schools featuring Barbara Fields and Michelle Fine - moderated by Leigh Patel

The Ethnic Studies Movement The Fight For Equitable and Excellent Funding for Maryland’s Public Schools

Civil/Immigrant Rights featuring Vincent Harding and Antonio Albizures-Lopez, - moderated by Adeola Oredola

2019 National Student Bill of Rights

2013 Jitu Brown with performances by Kuumba Lynx and Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools Save Public Education,Defend Our Schools: Two Parts of the Same Struggle featuring Sean Acre, Karen Lewis, Karran Harper & Sharon Snyder - moderated by Keith Catone

Families United for Justice Social Justice Teacher Unionism: Organizing for Power 2021 Abolition + Disability Justice Healing + Decolonization

2015 Truth and Ancestral Wisdom featuring Jeff Duncan-Andrade Resisting State Sanctioned Violence in the Context of Genocide featuring Alicia Garza, Erica Huggins, Andrea Smith & Imani Ditz Maestra, luchando, también está enseñando!: Consequences and Community in the Beautiful Struggle Challenging and Resisting Colonialism within and Across Communities Youth Organizing: Lessons from Baltimore and Beyond

Ethnic Studies +International Solidarity

We gon' be alright.

Do you hear me, do you feel me?

We gon' be alright.

– Kendrick Lamar

13

2017 The Love to Liberation Pipeline: Disability Justice & Solidarity featuring Talila Lewis and Dustin Gibson Water is Life featuring Mama Lila Cabbil, Tabor White Buffalo & Ziad Abbas Radically Healing Schools and Communities featuring Farima Pour-Khorshid, Christina “V” Villarreal & Cory Green Our Title is a Secret ‘cause the Government is Watching (Youth only) featuring Cesia Celero & Yaslin Machuca

RadPD RadPD (Radical Professional Development began at FMFP 2011 to provide an immersive experience for classroom teachers to sharpen their political clarity and add tools to their repertoire to take action for educational justice.

Through interactive workshops, they examine issues facing K-12 students, educators and communities, and have the opportunity to grow and build with educators across geographic regions and grade levels. RadPD takes place the day before FMFP opens and is usually hosted by a local school. Participants pay an additional registration fee to attend that comes with the latest edition of Planning to Change the World: A Lesson Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers (first published for 2009-2010 school year by Education for Liberation Network & NYCoRE, and currently in a partnership between ELN & Rethinking Schools).

2019 School-to-Prison Nexus and Abolitionist Teaching Afro-Futurism, Futures and the Radical Imaginary Ethnic Studies Now! Use Your Voice to Get What Students Need (Youth only) 2021 Connecting Sites of Carceral Logics and Practices featuring Rahsaan Mahadeo, Camille Fair, Peter “Comrade Pitt” Mukuria, Dustin Gibson & Talila “TL” Lewis A Conversation on Healing + Decolonization featuring Ashley Sarracino, Dr. Andy Nez, Steph Cariaga, Trisha Moquino & Stacey Gibson

2011 Teachers Are Destroying America: Frameworks Undermining Public Education and What We Can Do About Them featuring Bree Picower

Organizing Nationally for Anti-racist, Decolonial, Liberatory Ethnic Studies featuring Jody Sokolower, Awo Okaikor Aryee-Price & Lara Kiswani

Panel discussion featuring NYCoRE 2013 Racism, Privatization & the Attack on Public Education featuring Brian Jones, educator and activist in New York City, doctoral student in urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center, member of Movement of Rank & File Educators (social justice caucus of the UFT)

14

2015 Featured Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, San Francisco State University, Asian American Studies Department with Mahalaya Tintiangco-Cubales; and Shawn Ginwright, San Francisco State University, Africana Studies Department 2017 Lessons From the Resistance featuring Camika Royal, Loyola University of Maryland, Co-Director, Center of Innovation in Urban Education 2019 Confronting the Oppressor from the Inside Out featuring Jamila Lyiscott, Assistant Professor of Social Justice Education, University of Massachusetts-Amherst 2021 ALL Black Lives Mattering in Class featuring Dominique Williams, Abby Rombalski, Lisa Kelly & Madelyn Morrison Challenging our classroom pedagogy at the intersection of abolitionism and disability justice featuring Elisa Lee, Aja Reynolds, Bree Picower, Ki Gross & Maya Henry

Our desire to be free

Being in Right Relationship with Land, Water and Our Bodies featuring Mariana E. Ramírez, Cindy Mata, Steph Cariaga, AnMarie Mendoza & Sara Díaz-Montejano

has got to manifest itself in everything we are and do.

– Assata Shakur

Connecting our Ethnic Studies Classrooms through Transnational Solidarity featuring Liza Gesuden, Raquel Saenz & Farima Pour-Khorshid

Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the worlds you cannot live within.

— Ruha Benjamin

15

Youth Power!

Free Minds Free People has always endeavored to center youth, particularly Black and youth of color, because they are most directly affected by the nation’s inequitable public education system.

They are not leaders of tomorrow, but capable activist and organizers now.Young people help to organize, host and facilitate FMFP and take advantage of the different opportunities to explore, exchange and envision together.

Through educating the community on LGBTQ issues, the young generation can create a world where they would want to live. Through engaging the older Southeast Asian generation, young people can educate and create dialogue with them on the topics of sexuality and gender identity and come to a mutual understanding and support for change. Involvement in seaQuel develops young people’s leadership so they are able to create the change they want to see in their community. Our generation is the generation of change, and through our work, we will make a difference for our community.

Young Activists/Free Young Minds The Young Activist workshop track was launched in Providence 2011, renamed Free Young Minds in 2019 and went back to Young Activists in 2021. What has remained constant is offering workshops designed for and often by youth. For FMFP 2021 the planners of this track organized Freedom Fridays, weekly multi-medium events for young people ages 5-12. (See page 15.)

Kathy Vang, Southeast Asian Queers United for Empowerment and Leadership

We know how important

@ PrYSM An excerpt from Vue, published by Annenberg, that featured Education for Liberation and FMFP. (http://vue. annenberginstitute.org/issues/34)

children are in fighting for a world where there is justice, care, and love for all people, all other living things, and for the planet. We need your smarts, creativity, imagination and energy!”

-Freedom Fridays organizers

16

17

Asked to reflect on their experiences planning Providence 2011,Youth in Action alumnae shared these thoughts:

...helping to plan FMFP was impactful for me because I was able to take on responsibilities on a very large scale for an impactful project that I knew would

What I remember most about my

reach people that I work closely with in

FMFP organizing experience was

the community. . . .it was interesting to

being listened to. I also remember

see how many pieces went into planning

feeling like I was an integral part

an event like this. I have participated in

of the success of the conference;

conferences in the past but never really

holding such responsibility inspired

understood the intricacies necessary

me to continue to engage in similar

to bring a project like this into fruition,

work following my tenure with FMFP.

from logistics, to coordinating food, to

. . . FMFP instilled confidence in my

running tables, and check in, to parking

ability to lead efficaciously and think

etc., I found it to be stressful, but the kind

critically about the lived experiences

of positive stress that fuels someone’s

of the conference participants.

passion and brings visions to life.

Throughout the process, I never felt

– Michaelle Larracuente

as though my opinions or thoughts weren’t valid because I was always

The strategic planning retreat to be

regarded as equal by the folks in the

specific was the highlight for me. Going

room. I am forever grateful for the

around the room of locals and finding

experience. . . . Using the FMFP as a

out what made our city special and what

model, in college, I felt empowered

would leave the biggest impression

me to develop the first ever student-

when visiting Providence, allowed me to

led conference at my undergraduate

really appreciate the little big city I grew

institution. This conference, similar

up in. . . . . It was incredible to see a

to FMFP, has a central focus of

conference from the ground up. It’s very

social justice education and youth/

easy to show up to a conference, go to

adolescent empowerment. The FMFP

panels, and leave but organizing each

conference also further solidified

component is a challenge and reward

the value I placed on education as

in itself. . . . . The FMFP partnership

a significant entry point for enacting

allowed me to network with individuals

widespread social change. I carry

from all over the country and that spilled

the skills that I learned in FMFP

over into my adult life. I still keep in

in my role as a higher education

contact with individuals that planned the

professional, as a graduate student

conference [and] use those skills . . . .

at a highly selective institution, and

in New York to create a collaborative

as a budding scholar-activist.

network to end the epidemic of HIV.

– Brandy Jones

– Christopher Castro 18

national student bill of rights The National Student Bill of Rights (NSBR) started at Free Minds Free People in Houston in June 2009. During a youth strategy meeting, participants decided to develop a national bill of rights as an organizing tool. Representatives from Oakland, Providence, Baltimore, Chicago and Salt Lake City continued to meet by phone throughout the following year.

In June, 2010 they organized a People’s Movement Assembly at the US Social Forum to share with each other and other youth what they had accomplished on the local level. At FMFP 2011 in Providence they held a national gathering for over 250 youth from over two dozen cities, and NSBR as further expanded and the idea for a National Youth Vote Campaign was developed.

NSBR is not a legislative bill, but its organizers think it should be. They understand a much larger effort will be needed to involve thousands, even millions of young people and their communities.

National NSBR Taskforce co-chairs Niqua Douglas & Jamal Jones Organizations on NSBR Task Force Project South - Atlanta, GA Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP) - Baltimore, MD Boston-area Youth Organizing Project (BYOP) - Boston, MA Sunflower Community Action - Wichita, KS Youth United for Change (YUC) - Philadelphia, PA Coleman Advocates - San Francisco, CA Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ) Additional support provided by Education for Liberation Network, Californians For Justice

fb.com/groups/96854348156

@NSBRmovement Information on NSBR was adapted from: https://nationalstudentbillofrights.wordpress.com/the-rights-weshould-have/

NSBR targets youth ages 13 to 24. Older people can join the Adult Allies support committee. The voting process will help define a national youth vision for education justice and what needs to happen within our communities and schools to create educational justice and a social justice youth movement in the US.

Check out the Report Cards on NSBR on the FMFP 2021 Whova conference site!

19

Right to Free Public Education

The right to a free public education shall not be denied or abridged on account of race, gender, disability, ethnicity, religion, poverty, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, place of residency or immigration status.

Right to High Quality Food

Right to Study Curriculum that Acknowledges &

Students and youth shall have the right to employment, to support themselves while they are in school and college.

Students and youth shall have the right to healthy, high quality food regardless of wealth, poverty, or place of residence.

Right to Employment

Addresses Youth’s Material and Cultural Needs

Students and youth shall have the right to study curriculum that acknowledges and affirms the ongoing struggle of oppressed peoples for equality and justice, and that addresses the real, material, and cultural needs of their communities.

Right to Free Day Care for Children

Students and youth with children of their own shall have the right to free day care for their children.

Right to Safe & Secure Housing Right to Free College Education

Students and youth shall have the right to safe and secure housing.

Students and youth shall have the right to free college education

Right to Free Public Transportation Right to Freedom from Unwarranted Search,

Students and youth shall have the right to free public transportation for the purposes of education, employment, family and community needs, or recreation.

Seizure or Arrest

Students and youth shall be secure from arbitrary police searches and seizures and from arbitrary arrests and detentions without warrants.

Right to Physical Activity & Recreation Right to Restorative Justice

Students and youth shall have the right to physical activity and recreation of high quality regardless of their wealth, poverty, or place of residence.

& Peer Evaluation

Students and youth shall have the right to establish systems of restorative justice in schools and communities, shall not be excluded from educational opportunities except by a jury of their peers, and shall not be charged for crimes as adults until the age of 18.

Right to Safe & Secure Public Schools

Students and youth shall have the right to safe and secure public school facilities of equal quality regardless of wealth, poverty, or place of residence.

Right to Arts Education

Right to Free Health Care

Students and youth shall have the right to participation in arts, music, dance, drama, poetry, and technology of high quality regardless of wealth, poverty, or place of residence.

Students and youth shall have the right to free health and dental care, including quality public health and preventive care.

20

21

Afrofuturism speaks to our moment because it alone – not the ahistorical,

These difficult battles are

apolitical corporate precogs at TED

strengthened by a very long view

talks; not the fatuous Hollywood

that sees our role as protecting the

franchises that have nothing to say

present, the future, and the 7th

about our times–offers a mythology

generation. – Tom Goldtooth

of the future present, an explanatory narrative that recovers the lost data of historical memory, confronts the dystopian reality of black life in America, demands a place for people of color among the monorails and the Hugh Ferris monoliths of our tomorrows, insists that our Visions of Things to Come live up to our pieties about racial equality and social justice.

– Mark Dery

Our position from the present create what [the] past and future looks like, what it means at every moment. We determine what meaning and what relationships both dimensions of time have to our present moment.

– Rasheedah Phillips

… the map of the new world is in the imagination …

– Robin D.G. Kelley

Future is already here but it hasn’t been distributed equally.

– William Gibson

We will make our own future text.

– Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo

You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.

– Angela Davis

You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the mad[people] of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. We must dare to invent the future.

– Thomas Sankara, former President, Burkino Faso 22

Whose City? Our City!

FMFP is unique if for no other reason than its shifting location. Each city lends its flavor to How We Get Free activities, to site visits, to how it builds community, and to what has become an annual tradition–the Thursday night jump-off featuring the artistry of local performers and FMFP participants. Every 2 years a different city has the chance to show out and bring folks into their educational, political and cultural landscape.

national impact

Beyond the conference space FMFP has played an important role in cultivating and sustaining Ethnic Studies nationally over the last seven years. In Providence 2011, a feature presentation was on the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in Tucson, AZ, a well-documented struggle that has shined light on the educational power of strong ethnic studies programs. In 2012 educators in California gathered to organize an initial plan to create movement toward the implementation of Ethnic Studies in California and for a National Assembly held at FMFP 2013. And following Chicago 2013, educators in Arizona and California planned for the next national assembly at Oakland 2015, a practice that continued in advance of Baltimore 2017 and which included educators from Minnesota. Providence 2011 was also significant in helping FMFP to promote the viewpoints of our expansive community through a partnership between ELN and VUE. FMFP has also been introduction to ELN for most of the current Board members, and their interests and local work is brought into ELN and FMFP.

growing FMFP

Attendance at FMFP has steadily increased since 2007 when about 300 people attended and engaged with 40 workshops, to 2017 when we had 1000 attendees and 100 workshops. Our highest draw, 1200 participants, was at the 2015 conference in the Bay Area. Participants consistently say that they acquire new skills, strategies, and perspectives at FMFP, and find a community in which to share their work and combat feelings of isolation. According to one teacher, “Participation in the [Oakland] conference both helped to rejuvenate/reground me in continuing education for liberation work in a very hostile environment as well as supporting me in connecting to a larger network to accomplish more.” FMFP also helps to sustain participants’ activism over time. In Houston 2009 young people claimed space that sparked the idea for a National Student Bill of Rights, and at subsequent FMFPs (2011, 2013, 2015) galvanized support to more fully develop and organize for the adoption of this statement.

Freedom is acquired by conquest, not by gift.

It must be pursued constantly and responsibly.

Freedom is not an ideal located outside of man;

Check out the FMFP website to see photos from past conferences.

23

nor is it an idea which becomes myth.

It is rather the indispensable condition for the quest for human completion.

– Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

2007 Primary organizers

The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, Chicago Freedom School, Education for Liberation Network, University of Chicago Center for Urban Improvement

Chicago

context

Chicago was chosen as the host city for the first Free Minds Free People since it provided access to a meeting space, funding and local organizers committed to our dream.

The New York City team, half of whom were youth, contributed significantly to its planning and facilitation. None of the conference organizers were sure what to expect, but when 300 youth, educators, activists, and organizers showed up, they knew they had created something. The offering of FMFP was connecting those in the struggle for educational justice a space to come together, to learn and teach, to be inspired and rejuvenated, and to find a political home.

Main Site

Little Village/Greater Lawndale High School Numbers

About 300 participants

ancestral lands of the Potawatomi, Miami & Illinois 24

Welcome to Free Minds Free People! Over the next three days you will have the opportunity to talk, share ideas, debate and build alliances with teachers, youth, researchers, community-based educators, college students and parents from around the country. This unique event breaks down many of the barriers that fragment our communities–the barriers of age, if race, of geography, of occupation.

Where else can you find in one place Native and African American educators discussing cultural education? Teenagers presenting research on undocumented students’ access to higher education? 1960s Freedom School teachers and students sharing experiences with contemporary Freedom School educators? High school students teaching teachers math? Our methods and practices are divers, but we share a commitment to educating ourselves and our communities to build a more just world.

The idea of a national conference first took root more than a year ago at a kitchen table in Durham, NC where a group of activists and educators were eating crab cakes (a la Charles Payne) and talking about the recent resurgence of interest Freedom Schools and social justice education. Soon afterwards a planning team emerged with a group of organizations from New York and a group of organizations from Chicago. Chicago, home to a rich variety of Education for Liberation work, seemed like an ideal setting for a national convening.

Free Minds Free People is about more than swapping ideas and experiences. One of our goals is to talk about what comes next–how we can help each other get better at this work and how we can get more people involved. On Sunday you will be able to help us define the future of Education for Liberation. Our success depends on our ability to build longterm relationships and connect work across the barriers that divide us, As Che Guevara said, “Education is the property of no one. It belongs to the people, they will have to take it.”

This weekend, we take it.

Peace,

The Conference Organizers

25

2009 Primary local organizers

Robin Owens & Teffanie Thompson White

houston

the strengths

Highlights of Houston 2009 were the conference’s friendly intergenerational vibe & energy and the diversity of participants, workshops and activities. Some workshops were so popular that participants wanted them to be presented more than once. Having people of color in leadership and grassroots facilitation was recognized and some of the specific activities participants liked were the neighborhood tour, Town Hall meeting for youth, the poetry slam, and art-making.

Participants appreciated that there were opportunities to connect researchers with on-the-ground work, to expose youth and staff together to what’s going on in larger social justice world and across the US, and to learn new concrete strategies (mapping, media as a SJ tool, PAR examples, etc.).

Main Site

Houston Convention Center Numbers

About 400 participants Context

In Houston in 2009, the organizers worked hard to make sure there was something for everyone. They wanted youth to feel inspired to take their work to the next level, they wanted educators to stay committed to social justice efforts in their classrooms, they wanted activists and organizers to learn from the many generations of leaders who were gathered at the convening. In short, they wanted us to engage, exchange, and experience. Coming off the first conference and going to a new place while honing the plannoing process was a scary, but exciting step. The National Student Bill of Rights was born in Houston 2009 at a youth-only town hall meeting.

I will remember how the students perceive their schools, and give some space for that in my classroom. (teacher, New Mexico)

The networking aspect—the ability to connect with folks with various resources. The ideas for implantation of social justice curriculum to empower high school students. (teacher, New York) It was a great conference. I loved it.

ancestral lands of the Karankawa, Sana, Atakapa-Ishak & Coahuilteca 26

the Womp Womp

It was like we all had something in common and we shared our struggles and achievements. Inspiring. (high school

Lowlights of Houston 2009 were related to logistics (e.g., keeping participants informed of conference activities, poorly organized website, limited lunch options), the location at a conference center, and quality of coordination. There was insufficient local information, hands-on and physical activities, volunteers, and financial support for presenting groups. For some participants there were too many workshops, but there was also a request for more—more people with disabilities represented, more emphasis on movement building, more interaction with the local community, and more research based presentations. Assigning levels to workshops (i.e. intro, in-depth etc.), offering an introductory session for people new to education for liberation, and having a youth a keynote speaker were also suggested by participants.

student, Utah)

FMFP was really awesome. I’ve been to a lot of conferences, but this was one of the most positive, diverse, energetic and action oriented. Thank you! [I got outside my usual network—met more diverse folks, especially those who are organizers. (Community-based educator/ organizer, Mississippi)

It feels like a big family cause everyone is on the same page. [Now I’m] more aware of what’s happening so I’m more considerate about things. (high school students, Texas)

The professional diversity of the professions of people who attended and presented (students, teachers, professors, community activists) was the greatest strength. (college/university

would we do the same?

faculty, Texas)

The death of Michael Jackson took over the news as folks were rolling into Houston. His music was a steady soundtrack throughout the conference and many FMFP participants danced into the night at a club that had an impromptu tribute to him. Had information revealed in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland been known in 2009, would folks have celebrated MJ?

27

Welcome to the 2009 Free Minds, Free People Conference, Texas Edition.

After many months of planning and implementation, we are ready. This conference will have something for youth, for teachers, and for activists and organizers.

For Youth...maybe you're expecting a party and a lot of fun at this year's conference. We are too, but it's more than that. We're going to get together and work on stuff that matters to us. Maybe some of us aren't sure if we even want to show up, but we're coming anyway and who knows, maybe this will be an important turning point for us. Free Minds, Free People has something for you.

For Teachers...maybe you're expecting the same old sessions, speakers, and workshops. We're not. Expect to leave here knowing that you can implement a social justice framework in your classroom and in your community. Free Minds, Free People has something for you.

For Activists and Organizers...there are multiple generations of leaders coming to this conference who are creating solutions to the challenges they're facing, and we're going to connect, create, and share. Free Minds, Free People has something for you.

Get it through your head...we're here to engage. We're here to exchange. We're here to experience. Whether you attend all the workshops, hang out in the film room, or make connections with people via the Late Night DiaLOUNGE, the Poetry Slam, or the Town Hall Meeting, we hope that everyone takes a call to action back to their communities, AND that we all get together again in 2011.

Texas Local Planning Committee: Brandi, Earl, Juan, Michelle, MJ, Robin, Sharee, Teffanie, Valencia.

28

2011 Local organizing CBO

Youth In Action (YIA)

providence

excerpts from the Vue*

Since [YIA’s] inception, youth have played key leadership roles at every level of the organization, making up the majority of YIA’s board of directors and running all of our community programs.

[They] re part of every decision, from approving our budget to choosing the color of paint on the walls to hosting the 2011 Free Minds, Free People conference this past summer. (Adeola

Main Site

The Providence Career & Technical Academy Numbers

About 700 participants Context

Oredola)

The Providence conference saw the most engaged youth planning process to date.

Members of Youth In Action were key planning team members throughout the entire process, including Christopher Castro who invited participants to be “ready for real education! For action! For fun!” The first RadPD happened in Providence, as well as organizing spaces that would in later years become assembly spaces. The National Student Bill of Rights began to take real shape at one such youth-only organizing space, and Young Activists workshops were launched.

The most important thing I want our community, the youth, our educators, and all the amazing people who are at this conference today to know is that the work we are doing, it’s already work that has started, and it’s up to us to go on with the work. It’s up to our generation to lay down the foundation and to keep going for the future generations, for our youth to keep going with that work that was started with the Black freedom movement in the South, with Dr. King, Malcolm X, Dr. Harding, and such. It’s our right to be educated, and it’s up to us to use education as a form to liberate ourselves. (Antonio Albizures) * Vue featuring ELN & FMFP: http://vue. annenberginstitute.org/issues/34)

ancestral lands of the narragansett 29

the strengths & takeaways

It gave me a sense of new inspiration to spread liberation across my city, state, and nation.

the greatest strength was bringing so many diverse and incredible people working with youth who are working for social justice together.

Has helped validate my approach and inspire me for my first year of teaching.

I think that the conference did a better job than any other conference I have been to of being truly inter-generation and not tokenizing youth.

It gave me the freedom to say “hegemony” and “oppression” and “colonialization” in public.

Amazing organizing/justice work.

Amazing youth leadership front and center.

I will incorporate what I have learned and experienced into the classroom and community I work in. Thanks for the ideas and the inspiration!

it brought together people from many parts of society and allowed me to meet people I wouldnt generally have the chance to meet.

I have matured my connections with colleagues to spread the word, increase the awareness, and deepen the support for our cause in AZ.

In Lak’ech

The conference made me realize the extent of the power we have in numbers.

If I do harm to you,

The conference has given me a greater understanding of the educational problems in this country along with the tools and hope I need to help solve them.

Si te amo y respeto,

Tú eres mi otro yo.

You are my other me.

Si te hago daño a ti, Me hago daño a mi mismo.

I do harm to myself.

If I love and respect you, Me amo y respeto yo.

I love and respect myself.

Curtis Acosta adapted this “timeless Mayan precept” into a larger poem called Pensamiento Serpentino., and used it to celebrate his class’s collective humanity in his Tucson’s MAS courses.

Learn more in the Vue.

30

Free Minds, Free People 2011, Welcome to Providence!

I am so excited to learn, grow, and move forward with all of you. My first experience with this conference was in Houston and it really changed me. I left inspired to be a more active community leader, and committed to bringing FMFP to my hometown. Fast forward two years--after a big retreat, lots of creative ideas, endless fundraising, and a million conference calls---we are READY! By the way, this is not your typical conference.

There is something for everyone at FMFP. All of us on the planning team worked really hard to make it the best conference ever. I hope you are ready for real education! For action! For fun! Most importantly, I hope your experience inspires you to join the Education for Liberation movement so we all can work together to better schools and communities.

Sincerely, Christopher Castro, age 18 Co-Chair, Youth In Action Board of Directors p.s. A big THANK YOU to the planning team and everyone who helped make FMFP 2011 possible!

31

2013 organizing team

Tara Mack, Bill Ayers, Mia Henry, Xavier Maatra, Erica Meiners, Njeri Parker, Alex Poeter, Isaura Pulido, Aja Reynolds, Kesh Ross Main Site

Uplift Community High School and The People’s Church

In addition to teacher labor issues, school closings were Chicago of primary concern for youth and their families. These issues, and community responses to them, were central to the conference. The first national Ethnic Studies assembly took place in Chicago 2013 and has continued at every FMFP since.

Numbers

Called to action

About 1,000 participants

The verdict that found George Zimmerman not guilty of killing Trayvon Martin was announced during FMFP 2013. The decision rocked participants, but in true FMFP fashion, called them to action. From the FMFP blog (Megan Wells, July 14, 2013):

Context

Salt Lake City, Utah was chosen as the site for FMFP 2013. But after a promising planning retreat there and a few of months of working on the conference, the local team expressed their discomfort about what they perceived as a process that undermined their best efforts. FMFP organizers with a history of planning together were surprised by the critique but took it as an opportunity to improve collaboration. They had to also very quickly find a new host city.

This is not how we thought it would end.

A beautiful, inspiring, movement-building gathering has been rocked by last night’s news of the “not guilty” verdict in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Many FMFP-ers joined with local efforts an emergency rally that was held last night in front of Chicago’s City Hall demanding justice.

As we close the 2013 Free Minds, Free People today with assemblies, considering next steps on a variety of educational and racial justice

Coming off an exciting and invigorating issues, people are organizing. What are our next steps given this travesty of justice? How Chicago Teacher Union (CTU) strike do we turn our rage at the devaluing of black in the fall of 2012, the organizers were and brown lives into action? There will be a rally thrilled to bring the ever-growing FMFP today at noon at Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington). community back to Chicago. One of Many FMFP attendees will be going there after the hallmarks of the CTU strike was the today’s activities are finished. A town hall for involvement of parents and young people in youth will take place at 3 PM at the struggle, which tempered Young Chicago Authors (1180 N. ancestral lands of the attempts to pit teachers Milwaukee Ave.).

Potawatomi, Miami against students and parents. & Illinois 32

the strengths & takeaways

It has given me confidence to speak up.

FMFP is increasingly becoming an important check-point and destination for education justice activists.

It galvanized me to taking local actions, not just talking about it.

Our youth learned so much and have begun to think critically about issues that affect them yet they didn’t think about, like incarceration

I was remotivated and recharged to The learnings from the conference will be shared with colleagues in higher education to develop collaborations that impacts public education.

[There was] plenty of inspiration to continue my work as a radical educator.

It has given me reason to work harder because I see that there are many driven, intelligent people working on these issues.

It inspires me to increase my focus on social justice in all my work and my reading list has grown exponentially.

It will help me become a stronger activist within my community and work for social justice.

I can take these ideas back with me and move forward; specifically, i will be able to take back tangible examples and modify them for our area.

It shaped our students minds on what they could do in their school

[FMFPis a] great opportunity to learn form and share with and meet educators from all over the country and different intersections.

[I will] continue the fight for restorative justice in my career. I plan to take what I’ve learned back to my colleagues and (hopefully) build a movement here in Detroit.

I gained tools to bring to my organization and a strong sense of how much work i need to do to check myself as a profesisonal working with young adults.

The collection of workshop topics and diversity of attendees are what really makes FMFP a special space.

From every session I attended, I took away something that I will use in my work.

33

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the 2013 Free Minds, Free People conference in my beautiful city of Chicago, Illinois.

We are the home of the Chicago Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Wolves, and Fire. Our city is beautiful and has wonderful neighborhoods, parks, and schools. We have strong communities that come together to fight for justice.

We fight for education justice and peace in our communities. We have some communities with better schools, parks, and more resources. Our communities are divided because some are low in income; some have boarded up houses and litter on the ground as if they’re deserted. Another problem is the schools.

Chicago has the most school closings in the history of America. If our schools are closed, teachers will be unemployed and the students will be forced to learn in over-crowded classrooms.

In this conference, you will learn to strengthen the communities and schools. Join us in our fight to stop violence, gain peace in our communities, and to fight for education justice. Welcome all to Chicago!

Asean Johnson, age 9 Marcus Garvey School

34

2015 Local organizing CBO

People’s Education Movement - Bay Area and a local team whose names are listed in the FMFP Organizers 2007-2019 display.

oakland

the strengths

It was organized well and the workshops held covered SO many interesting and engaging topics. I was actually bummed that I couldn’t somehow attend more at the same time!

Main Site

Laney College

The people. The centering on the experiences of people of color. The workshops. The spaces for relationship building.

Numbers

About 1,200 participants Context

I think the greatest strengths of the conference are the honoring of youth voice and connection between community and traditionally academic/ ivory tower work.

FMFP moved to the West Coast for the first time and participants got to feel that Oakland swag. A home for Third World Organizing, the organizers asked us to take seriously the call for decolonization, starting with the decolonization of our minds.

Cultural night was a hit with youth from all across the city performing the night before the conference started. With 1200 attendees the conference was held at a community college, rather than at the high schools in most previous conferences, to accommodate the growing FMFP community.

The keynote speaker was amazing.

He really pulled everyone together as well as the opening ceremony. It made it feel more like friends all learning together and spreading knowledge cross organizations rather than sitting in a lecture with strangers.

The human and solidarity component.

This space feels real, authentic, and raw - characteristics that can get lost in our work as we focus in on one area or get caught up in the system. Its a beautiful and unique place that is a touch stone for why we do what we do for our schools, young people, and communities across the ancestral lands of nation.

the Ohlone 35

The conference was so phenomenal!!

I love the positive vibes and hopeful vibes of the conference. I really appreciated the emphasis of exploring Oakland!! It was so deep to take a moment of silence for Oscar Grant when we were at Fruitvale. I looooooved the activist art space at the school! Also, the talent night was such a powerful space! The sense of community was incredible! Also, I am not a youth but I was really happy to see a track for young people. I will be bringing younger folks to the next conference!

Innovative ideas on how to manage anti oppressive conversations [for example] bring in Black Lives Matter movement into the Curriculum.

There were some awesome curricular ideas that I will try to implement myself when I begin teaching my own classroom. I will also follow up with a couple connections I made.

The impact it will have is every organization I end up in, I will take my teaching and incorporate what I Learned statistically creatively to create the change my community needs.

The art workshop at ARISE was very meaningful to me; it put me on to a new form of art creation-- of spiritual healing-- and I hope there is another aspect of that for the next conference.

wooooo, as a white woman I guess its my main source of knowledge for the work I do. It influences everything I do, every conversation I have, and any direction I think about taking with young people, organizers, friends, allies, etc.

the takeaways

motivation and inspiration for work we have already started around school to prison pipeline and policing in our area

The teens from our nonprofit (Give Us The Floor) who attended really enjoyed it and were inspired by it. They want to attend it next year and are eager to be a part of similar events and workshops.

It was a great opportunity for them!

This conference feeds my soul, it helps me realize how important this organizing and work are in my local community. I am glad I met someone from my home state and was able to bring other teachers from my state to the conference too.

I have already reached out to some of the presenters I saw and it also put a fire in my belly to focus my teaching on working towards justice.

36

Greetings from Oakland, California! We are excited for Free Minds Free People to find “Home” in the West Coast for the very first time in FMFP history!

Oakland has a deep historical legacy of struggle and resistance, which continues to fuel the organized resistance inside and outside of schools here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The focus on ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, human trafficking, and the impacts of gentrification are at the forefront of national efforts, and Oakland is an opportune place to see communities reclaiming and resisting in the face of systemic displacement and dispossession. Even more, the SF Bay Area is a model region for education reform across the country – from food justice, environmental justice, restorative justice – Oakland is one of the major hubs of these struggles. By joining us at FMFP Oakland 2015, we can learn from one another and unite the struggles for educational justice in the larger historical struggle for racial, gendered, and classbased humanization and the liberation of oppressed people. We look forward to building and connecting with all of you!

37

2017 Local organizing CBO

Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP) Main Site

Loyola University Numbers

About 1,000 participants

The greatest strengths of this conference was the variety baltimore in workshop offerings that appealed to different people in the education justice movement, the various different plenaries and conversations that occurred and the consistent centering of young people of color in all the spaces.

I loved all the youth involvement in planning and the conference itself. I loved that it wasn’t in one the cities conferences always go to. And I thought everyone worked well together. Lots of high energy; lots of amazing workshops; strong plenaries.

context

If FMFP 2015 asked us to think deeper about decolonization, the 2017 conference asked us to get gritty with the theme of Fighting for Our Lives. The murder of Victorious Swift, a FMFP 2015 participant and member of the Baltimore Algebra Project, brought that realness into stark relief. The conference rallied around Victorious and his mother, Mama Victory, with the We Are Victorious frame. Radical healing was not just a plenary session, but a conference value and objective.

Diversity of workshop topics, led by youth, youth presence, loved learning about Baltimore, school and community organization connection, after hours activity especially the culture night and protest, felt like a space that was for and run by people or color -- didn’t feel like a white space, most presenters and speakers were people of color.

the strengths The keynotes were powerful. When Victory began preaching like the elder she was about her son Victorious and no one took her mic or was trying to get her to calm down. She was seen and honored and she saw and honored others, too. Loved the generous array of workshops. It was so hard to choose!

The people! The folks who come together, and their voices, are always so inspiring, exhilarating, and life giving and just on time every 2 years.

I think that that the conference provides a strong sense of solidarity for its participants. I really thought the restorative circle and ancestral lands of radical healing ideas added

the piscataway 38

a welcome balance. I learned a lot about becoming a more effective ally and a better teacher.

at a Historical Black College/University Perhaps I missed it...but I would have loved to have seen more of the richness of Baltimore/Maryland’s historical role in liberation reflected in the workshops, etc.(ie: Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Reginald F, Lewis and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum etc...). It would have been great to have ways to formally connect with participants who are in similar roles and/or other conference presenters in order to make more meaningful connections.

It’s a democratic and highly collaborative process that centers youth and people of color. There are few if no conferences that feature facilitators with such an age and sectoral range, and where there is opportunity for learning, joy and reflection. Planning is also designed to echo programming, and more than not achieves this goal.

To me, a great conference is one where all of the participants walk away more informed & enlightened on issues that matter to them, and thus better prepared to do their work.

My impression is that FMFP may be informative for those new to the ed justice landscape and who are 1st time attendants, but for everyone else I suspect that FMFP is primarily a space to connect with like-minded people and affirm one’s commitment to ed justice.

The latter is wonderful & important, but I think we can, and urgently need, to do more.

the Womp Womp I think an opening that enabled people to land, to agree to some basic agreements, to connect openly, to set intentions, would really help. . . . It was intense for the first thing to be the story of victorious... i’m happy his presence and story were brought in. just suggesting the timing could be different, so people can land first and then receive that info and dedicate the conference to him. even a welcome, an opening, some time to land and connect, and then the story of victorious, would have helped. . . . no time to digest or even pause with those stories. . . . . also would have loved some opportunities to harvest learnings and make more connections postworkshops.

I wondered if the experience could be deepened by having this conference

39

Greetings from Baltimore, Maryland. We are enthusiastic and eager for the Free Minds, Free People conference to find its way to Birdland! We are very happy to be this year’s host city.

Baltimore has a very deep and rich history of being entrenched in struggle. This is especially true for young people in schools of poverty, particularly students of color. These students are routinely disarmed by the institutional racism of white supremacy. By joining us in Baltimore for the conference, we have an opportunity to learn from one another, build bonds through networking, and connect our efforts on a national level.

Us Baltimoreans will expose our guests to the ins and outs of a typical young person in the city of Baltimore.

In 2009 at FMFP, young people from across the nation gathered to draft a document that describes a set of students’ education rights which they believe should be federally protected.

This document is the “National Students Bill of Rights” and has served as a banner under which a number of modern social justice victories have been won. Among these rights is the right to safe and secure public school facilities, as well as the right to free college education free childcare for students. It is evident that the system currently in place for the protection of students’ rights within school buildings is not only ineffective, but detrimental to the education and physical safety of the students. In the absence of protection for students’ rights, we allow one for profit industry (school police) to prepare and package students for inherent violations of their rights. Each NSBR violation experienced by a student detracts from their ability to actively engage with their education. Simultaneously funding is pulled from schools and poured into prisons.

As a result the path these youth take is diverted: postsecondary education is replaced with prison. While this issue is well known, there is currently no effective method for communities to intervene in this process. Therefore it is our duty as young people, educators, and community members to publicly denounce these structures. Baltimore youth and our allies have provided, and will continue to provide young people and communities with resources to combat and counteract the constant violation of our rights. We will continue to speak out against these injustices. Through this continued support of our communities, we will produce an equitable educational experience for young people of color in schools of poverty.

In doing so we, the youth of Baltimore City, will create an environment where students are not afraid of being assaulted by individuals meant to protect them. We look forward to building, working, learning, and fellowshipping with you with all of you in the name of THE STRUGGLE!

40

2019 organizing structure

Twin Cities assembled a local group of conference planners whose names are listed in FMFP Organizers 2007-2021.

twin cities

Main Site

From the Underbelly with Ruha Benjamin, professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab and author of the books People’s Science and Race After Technology, among other publications.

Meet Marika Pfefferkorn:Twin Cities Change Agent and Disruptor - Marika is an interdisciplinary, cross-sector thought leader and change agent.

University of Minnesota Numbers

About 1000 participants

A Fertile Ground for Change: Grounding FMFP in the Twin Cities with Dr. Brian Lozenski - Brian is an activist scholar and Professor Urban and Multicultural Education at Macalester College and ELN Board member.

context

FMFP 2019 conference centered imagination with the theme: Getting Free Imagining Freedom. As 2011 keynote speaker Dr. Vincent Harding liked to say, “I am a citizen of a country that does not yet exist.” The Twin Cities conference asked participants to look back and look forward to imagine education that does not yet exist.

the takeaways Formal feedback from participants was too low (only 11 people completed the survey) to capture the conference’s impact and lessons. We do know that following FMFP 2019, the local organizers formed ELN Minn, becoming the first official local chapter of Education for Liberation Network (ELN). As host of FMFP, ELN has at least two main goals: 1) to support local liberatory activities and people organizing them and 2) to connect local work to national movement building. The formation of ELN Minn is a realization of both aims.

The FMFP Podcast crew helped to set the table for our Twin Cities gathering. Check out these episodes: Fertile Grounds for Change: Grounding FMFP in the Twin Cities with activist scholar Rose Brewer. Rose is a long time member of the FMFP community and a professor of African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota.

ancestral lands of the ojibwe, dakota & sioux 41

the Womp Womp Historically, FMFP has not given enough time or put in the necessary work to develop authentic bonds with Native American activists, educators, scholars and organizers doing liberatory educational work. With FMFP 2019 taking place where Native American organizing has a long and powerful history, the local organizing team wanted to ensure their voices would be represented at the conference. They also understood that longer term relationships were critical but hoped to use FMFP as a means to begin true collaboration.

Unfortunately, this did not come to be.

In the aftermath of FMFP 2021, some ELN Board members are working with Indigenous comrades on a Native Educators initiative. As well, one of the themes for FMFP 2021 directly addresses our historical shortcoming by pairing Healing & Decolonization as one of the themed weeks (see page 31).

The visitors list from 12 Years Free!

Part of the mythology that they’ve been teaching you is that you have no power.

Power is not brute force and money; power is in your spirit.

Power is in your soul.

It is what your ancestors, your old people gave you.

Power is in the earth; it is in your relationship to the earth.

– Winona LaDuke 42

In this period of sustained challenges to our humanity, it is with great enthusiasm that we announce the 2019 Free Minds, Free People National Conference will be held in Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota. The FMFP Twin Cities conference will be about imagining educational possibilities— ensuring a vibrant youth presence, honoring the region’s deep Indigenous heritage, and centering transnational and multiple communities of color. Minnesota occupies Dakota and Anishanabek land.

It has been and become home to many Indigenous peoples.

The conference will take place on sacred and stolen Dakota land, where communities continue to fight each day for survival. Indigenous justice and land rights are a core component of the educational struggle that confronts us.

The often untold Minnesotan history of resistance, yesterday and today, will deeply shape the conference landscape. The 2019 Free Minds, Free People Conference will build from the amazing gathering in Baltimore (2017) to envision a different way of doing/being educational freedom work. As the conference has always done, we will bring multiple communities together building new possibilities, uniting us toward the education we deserve. In 2019 we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the African & African American Studies department at the University of Minnesota, as many other universities across the country share similar anniversaries. An important aspect of the conference will explore the state of ethnic studies nationally from Pre-K through Ph.D., in an effort to continue the legacy of those who have struggled so that we can know our rich pre-colonial heritages and honor our ongoing resistance to colonialism and imperialism. Together, we will struggle as youth, teachers, scholars, community, activists, and visionaries, and together we will fulfill the promise of education for liberation. See you in the Twin Cities in July, 2019!

43

2021 organizing structure & process

In light of the global pandemic, ELN surveyed the FMFP community in spring 2020 to assess interest in having some form of conference during our regularly scheduled year (2021), or to hold off until the following year when travel would likely be more feasible. The consensus was to host a virtual event and not skip a year. A small group of planners then came together in November to figure out an approach for envisioning FMFP’s design and invited some of FMFP’s long time organizers to design FMFP 2021. After imagining different flows from a week-long to a two-week event, the organizers eventually decided on a monthlong conference. See the FMFP website for a list of some of this year’s organizers.

and unlearning. This virtual gathering will include some virtual events and activities open to the public, and some programming for a specific participants, like Young Activists and RadPD. It is organized around four themed weeks (see graphics below). Each one is focused on an issue FMFP/ELN has done well and one it needs to more fully advance its learning and practice, and includes our regular mix of plenaries, workshops, and assemblies.

Conscious of Zoom fatigue, our offerings are fewer in number. Creative community and cultural spaces will help evoke the FMFP homecoming vibe.

Main Sites

Whova (main platform) with Zoom & YouTube Numbers

Registration is ongoing as of this “printing.” context

The collective vision for FMFP 2021 is to welcome our community home to an energizing, love-filled space of healing, connectedness, and of necessary learning we carry our geographies with us, honoring the ancestral lands of the Indigenous people where planners & participants live 44

Welcome to Free Minds Free People 2021!

We open by honoring the Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands the Free Minds Free People community has previously gathered — the Potawatomi, Miami & Illinois (Chicago 2007, 2013); Karankawa, Sana, Atakapa-Ishak, and Coahuiltecan (Houston 2009); Narragansett (Providence 2011); Ohlone (Bay Area, 2015); Piscataway (Baltimore 2017);and Ojibwe, Dakota and Sioux (Minneapolis 2019).

And we honor those lands from which this year’s planners and participants are joining.

We welcome people of all ages and from all racial, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds, those who are LGTBQIA2s+, those whose gender is fluid or who live outside of any binary or gender label, those whose first language is other than English, and those who are living with disabilities, visible or unseen.

We welcome people who are most affected by mis-education, undereducation, school pushout, school-based surveillance, culturallyirrelevant curriculum and other forms of educational injustice, particularly BIPOC youth.

We welcome parents, K-12 teachers, activists and organizers, and people working in higher education impacted by and/or working for education liberation.

We welcome and honor our ancestors and living guides from whom we marshal wisdom, direction and strength. Áṣẹ Free Minds Free People 2021 is a homecoming, a space for our community to gather as we do every two years for self- and collective expression, and for growing in liberation and love. In this moment of a global pandemic and relentless racialized violence, our need for healing and connectedness is all the more vital, as is the necessity that we unlearn ideas and ways of being that undermine our liberation.

Where every two years FMFP is hosted in a different city with the local organizers curating our place-based experience, this year’s virtual space means we bring our geographies with us— our multiple, intersectional identities and the places that shape them.

The Planning Committee spent time asking ourselves, what is the opportunity of gathering virtually? What can we create newly or differently that we might not do so in person? For one, we could make it longer and more leisurely, allowing folx to pop in and out as little or as much as they like. With a bigger window, we could also have more than one theme for the conference. We eventually decided on four intersectional themes that paired a strength of FMFP and Education for Liberation Network with an area we are working to strengthen, to better show up for and push conversations forward into more evolved understandings.

Although we will be physically distant, we trust FMFP continues to be a space for social deepening. Between the heady dialogue in workshops and plenaries, make sure to take in those spaces designed to feed our spirits and free our bodies. Please also take a moment to read our Community of Care Statement (on the FMFP website) written to anchor our emphasis on being in right relationship with each other.

In love and solidarity, The FMFP Planning Team

45

46

Build Our World Another

world is not only possible, she

is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.– Arundhati Roy 12 Years Free! included an artmaking activity to engage participants in freedom dreaming. They used markers and fabric to create a strip for a communal liberation line. The strips were later sewn together into several larger pieces, which are pictured on the next few pages.

This activity is inspired by Climbing Poetree co-created by Alixa Garcia & Naima Penniman.

To learn more: http:/www.climbingpoetree.com 47

48

49

50

51

2021

52