The Baby's Laugh, Intergenerational Equity, June 2021

​THE BABY'S LAUGH: INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY
When a baby laughs that full belly, fall to the side kinda laugh, we remember our optimism in the sound of joy. We are reminded that we too were once an infant, a child, a teenager, a young adult. An elder; that we have both received and have given that exact joy. As we redefine what is important to us, the advocates of equity, we balance keeping what is good and inviting innovation as we continue the struggle for liberation as one. Join us as we place value and appreciation of our beautiful intergenerational nature.


July 7, 2021 Reflections on Learning (by Julia)
In June, we ask questions about time. Specifically we ask, "How will our time be talked about into the future? How will they remember us?" We begin by contemplating the real meaning of Juneteenth, including the lies (Black people knew about the end of the Civil War, they just couldn't enforce the new laws until 'Juneteenth'). Who tells the story belonged to the victor, but with the digital age at hand that future story-counting belongs to many. What will be so obvious to future generations that we simply don't see today? A perfect example: In one of the wealthiest cities in the world, we have grown used to folks sleeping in tents. How absurd will this look in the future? We listen when Zora Neale Hurston says, "There are years that ask, and years that answer." For us, this is a time that answers, but with better questions. May we be known for hope, for trying new things, for no longer accepting the status quo. Let us be known for a time that welcomed the power of the virtual space - how we were the first to ignore geographical community boundaries! We have the power to reinvent, to rediscover: we must. Ancestors present in our consciousness or not, we choose to reinvent by no longer passing along pain. We rediscover the value of family under one roof. We make new traditions. For our children. 
Or maybe no one will care: We know and care very little about the day-to-day lives of our ancient ancestors. Who are we but specks of sand? We are no more or less than them: our age shall too be marked by catastrophe. We are living in the death throes of a dying empire, do you feel it? Both an end and a beginning just as our ancestors began again. 
After our break, we came back to ask, "Who influenced this world view just shared?" We took all the time needed to feel their absence, to say their names in love and remind each other we are amongst the living. In living we struggle, it's how we know we are alive. Yes, we deserve the absence of struggle, but its constant absence doesn't make for an interesting or grateful life. Let us be known through the ages for finding joy in struggling together. We leave grateful for each other, fellow witnesses to this grand life. 

What we readin:
"We Lived Happily During the War", Ilya Kaminsky 
"The Turning Point", Fritjof Capra
"The Power", Naomi Alderman