Envisioning a 🌍 That Centers Love, Hope, And Our Humanity

Two concepts keep emerging: love and community

Around this time of year, the nation reflects on the life, legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the countless other warriors for justice whose actions, big and small, have impacted the policies, practices, and change that we still feel the effects of today. That history feels extremely present in this time, as I have been reflecting on the last year of Roots ConnectED’s work. Two concepts keep emerging: love and community.

Over the last 5 years, we’ve built a profound conceptual framework for love-building. To build this life-shifting framework we studied research, used our personal lived experiences, and tapped into our collective work over the last decade and a half. We recognize that many harmful systems, structures, and ideologies are slowly disintegrating. But we are interested in the work it takes to create something new and we know that this only happens with love and in community.

Change happens in our own quiet spaces of reflection and introspection, but it manifests in spaces with and alongside others.

This year we were in classrooms and conference halls, leading professional development spaces and one on one coaching meetings.  We were in meetings both zoom and in person, and we re-launched our Institutes, bringing together over 10 school teams to our learning site in Brooklyn to learn about building anti-bias culture and curriculum, and inclusive practices.

We built alongside one another. We engaged in countless conversations with people from varied backgrounds and beliefs. We centered our hope on our shared humanity.

Our hope for the year is to continue to build upon the momentum from this year, offering spaces of connection, healing, building, and visioning of a new reality.  I have a very strong feeling that spaces of community will carry us through the upcoming year. 

Warmly,
Sahba Rohani
Executive Director