Dangerous Memories: Dorothy Cotton and Juneteenth Teach-Ins For Action

In what ways can memory, history, and collective vision inform the necessary pathways that we must create in order to build multiracial democratic power? Where can we amplify a commitment to historical rigor within our practices of political education, as a necessary precursor to strategic action? What lessons of purpose, self-determination, and strategic resolve can we carry forward from our past into the fights of our present?

Colorlines invites you to join us and our partners in the fight for a just multiracial democracy, as we share, unpack, learn, un-learn, and create momentums of thinking and action, through a week-long series of teach-in discussions that honor the legacies of Juneteenth alongside the historic contributions of civil rights icon Mrs. Dorothy Foreman Cotton.

Colorlines, in deep collaboration with our friends from The Dorothy Cotton Institute, PhotoSynthesis Productions, The Institute for Common Power and movement partners across the country will contextualize our world through the exploration of historical and political truths. Each evening will begin with a political education session followed by a conversation with organizing leaders discussing their work, and conclude with practical steps on how to take action on key issues. 

Program Details

Day 1: Monday, June 19th, 7pm-8:30pm ET

• “The Long History of Juneteenth”
  • On the first day of our week-long teach-in series, we will ground ourselves within analyses of the historical origins and impacts of Juneteenth, and its enduring applications for today. 

• Hosts: 
  • Dr. Charlene Sinclair (Editor, Colorlines) 
  • Dr. Terry Anne Scott (Director, The Institute for Common Power)
• Presenters: 
  • Dr. Terry Anne Scott (Director, The Institute for Common Power)
  • Brianna Brown (Co-Executive Director, Texas Organizing Project)

 

Day 2: Tuesday, June 20, 7pm-9pm ET

• “The Legacies that Guide Us: Dorothy Cotton and the Formations for Collective Action”
  • Day 2 will feature a special early screening of the forthcoming documentary, “Move When the Spirit Says Move: The Legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton,” followed by a discussion about the postures, practices and applications of power that are needed to move us towards collective liberation.

• Host: Dr. Charlene Sinclair (Editor, Colorlines) 
• Presenters:
  • Laura Branca (Senior Fellow and Co-Founder, Dorothy Cotton Institute)
  • Tufara Waller Muhammad (Cultural Organizer and Political Strategist)

 

Day 3: Wednesday, June 21, 7pm-8:30pm ET

• “Formations of Belonging: the Seeds for Self-Discovery and Collective Power”
  • On Day 3, speakers will delve into the politics and powers of belonging, and how they help drive us toward collective meaning-making and action, through the particular lenses of incarceration as a method of disenfranchisement and voter suppression.

• Host: Dr. Charlene Sinclair (Editor, Colorlines)
• Presenters: 
  • David Domke (Professor; Associate Director for Organizational Support at The Institute for Common Power)
  • DaMareo Cooper, (Co-Executive Director, Center for Popular Democracy)

 

Day 4: Thursday, June 22, 7pm-8:30pm ET

• “School is a Battleground: Education as a Contested Site for Multiracial Democracy”
  • Speakers will discuss the political strivings, legacies and present-day urgencies surrounding schools and public education, as understanding its dimensions have become essential components for understanding the organizing efforts and calls to action that center race, power and democracy in the United States today.

• Host: Dr. Charlene Sinclair (Editor, Colorlines)
• Presenters: 
  • Dr. James E. Ford (Executive Director, The Center for Racial Equity in Education – CREED, CREED is also the co-anchor for HEAL Together North Carolina; Principal Consultant at Filling the Gap Educational Consultants, LLC)
  • Jennifer Berkshire (Host of the education podcast Have You Heard and the co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: the Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School)
  • Anjene (AJ) Davis (Founder, Low Country Black Parents Association; and H.E.A.L. co-anchor in South Carolina)
  • Yana Batra (Georgia Youth Justice Coalition; which is helping to anchor H.E.A.L. Together’s work in Georgia, as well as anchor H.E.A.L. Together’s Student Power Project)
  • James Haslam (Senior Organizing Director, H.E.A.L. Together, and Senior Fellow at Race Forward )

 

Day 5: Friday, June 23, 7pm-8:30pm ET

• “Lessons from Our History: Justice Strivings and Our Calls to Action”
  • Speakers will contextualize the deep historical contexts and political stakes for applying the week’s learnings towards action, as they also share direct approaches for getting involved in efforts at community levels and beyond. 

• Hosts:
  • Dr. Charlene Sinclair (Editor, Colorlines)

• Presenters:
  • Dr. Hasan Jeffries (Associate Professor of History, The Ohio State University)
  • Tanya Watkins (Executive Director, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation)
  • Jennifer Knox (National Director of Organizing & Tech Innovation, Working Families Party)