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In celebration of Black August, TMI Project presents Black Stories Matter: Freedom Fighters, a 2-session drop-in true storytelling workshop. Freedom Fighters is a Black-led space for Black folks to explore the ideas of resistance and liberation in a true storytelling workshop facilitated by Kiebpoli Calnek, Dara Lurie, and Micah.
Participants are welcome to sign up for one session or both.
Each session is free with a suggested donation of $20.
SESSION 1
(Unlimited enrollment)
Monday, August 22 (7:00 - 9:00 PM, EST)
Online via Zoom
SESSION 2
(Space is limited to 12 participants, masks are required)
Monday, August 29 (7:00 - 9:00 PM, EST)
Good Work Institute
65 St. James Street, Kingston, NY 12401
Black August began in the 1970s to mark the assassination of George Jackson, the imprisoned Black Panther, author, and revolutionary, during a prison rebellion in California. It is a time of reverence to honor political prisoners and freedom fighters. The Movement for Black Lives states that, “Black August is an acknowledgment and commemoration of the countless organizers, activists, and freedom fighters who sacrificed their freedom and lives in the struggle for Black liberation.”
One definition of Freedom Fighter is a person who takes part in a Black resistance movement against an oppressive political or social establishment. For this workshop, this may include people who have taken part in a Black resistance movement in any number of ways: rest and pleasure activism, mutual aid, health care, food and/or media justice, education, policy change, and beyond.
Participants will write and share personal stories about fighting for racial justice, or an experience in which their own lives have been impacted by the work of freedom fighters. Together, in a Black-led space for Black folks, we will celebrate the past, present, and future Freedom Fighters who are dedicated to abolition and Black liberation.
Kiebpoli Calnek
They/Them/Theirs
Kiebpoli Calnek is a non-binary, trans-masculine, queer Black creative, born and raised in Lenapehoking/ New York City. They've generated nuanced performances and artistic direction seeped in poetic elements for over two decades. They focus on narratives that reflect the cultural fluidity of Blackness, queerness, and the mental health industrial complex, through relationships interwoven with spirituality, current events, and sociopolitical issues. Their social enterprise, Black*Acrobat, produces interdisciplinary programming sharing stories of, for, and with fringe communities, celebrating authentic visions and a spectrum of viewpoints through research, access, and collaboration. kiebpoli.com
Dara Lurie
She/Her/Hers
In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Dara is an author and manuscript coach. She received a B.A. in Film & Theater from Vassar College and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Hunter College. Dara grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and migrated in the early 1980s to West Berlin, Germany, where she tended bar, wrote and performed in the theater while living in different communities of squatters, Green Party activists, journalists, teachers, and social workers. Her first book, Great Space of Desire; Writing for Personal Evolution, is a memoir and creative guide for writers wishing to tell their own stories.
Micah
He/Him/His
In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Micah serves as the manager at GWI’s (Good Works Institute) Greenhouse Kingston, a yoga teacher at Mudita, and creator of DAY 1 (a New Year’s Day community event). He is on the board of Wild Earth (a non-profit Wilderness School), Radio Kingston, The Center for Creative Education, and O+ (a nonprofit health and wellness festival for artists and creators). He also serves as City of Kingston’s Art Commissioner at the Kingston Farmers Market.
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