July 2023

Liberation practices refer to movements that aim to promote collective rather than just individual action. They require the strength of the community and its members to fight for issues that affect themselves, and each person acts as a “bone” in order to move the ‘body’. Liberation practices aim to empower individuals to change by recognizing […]

For this blog post, I decided to share reflections for the reading on liberation practices. When looking at the forms of different practices, it reminded me of conversations I have been having with organizations such as Detroit Disability Power. The Advocacy Director, Eric Welsby, had discussed with me the organizations plans to develop a program

Hi all! At week five in the DCERP program we are now over halfway done with our fellowship and honestly it does give a lot to reflect on. I have interacted from many people within the DREAM of Detroit organization and community, I have gotten to meet very interesting people outside the organization and are

I’m learning a lot about the kind of qualities that are appreciated in a person who does community-engaged work. The qualities that I’ve noticed are resiliency, compassion, grace, adaptability, positivity, creativity, critical thinking, affability, and discipline. These character traits come to mind in each leader that I meet at my site and beyond. The people

After reading Liberation Practices, it highlights the necessity to collaborate on systemic or collective issues to work towards all-encompassing solutions. It is so important to consult and build counsel of various identities and backgrounds as they each offer a changing perspective based on their particular ways of processing the world or internalizing an issue. The

Assalamu Alaikum (peace be unto you) everyone, For this week’s blog post I interviewed one of my mentors, James Phillips, who has been with Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center the most time out of all current employees. Below is a transcript of the interview. Q: Can you start by sharing a bit about your background

Now that we’ve spent more time at our sites, we’re beginning to become more familiar with the work of our non-profits, the daily routines and our mentors’ roles in their communities. There is still much to learn, of course, but it is reassuring to be comfortable with at least some of the tasks we have

Hello again! Today I chose to talk about the reading about liberation practices and how they relate to self-care and activism. When I think of liberation, I think of historically oppressed groups coming to understand the roots of their struggles and coming together to share information, resources, and ideas for change. The reading mentions storytelling,

I may be naive, but I didn’t expect to be reaching out to people so frequently — and in such a variety of forms — this summer. Today, for instance, I attended one Zoom meeting, picked up between 4 and 7 phone calls, and sent and received over 10 emails. Such back-and-forth can be overwhelming