ConTextos offers a platform for people to claim and share their own narratives to help overcome trauma, violence, injustice and inequity.  Together, we co-create spaces where we connect, build community, reflect deeply and write meaningfully.  Learn more at ConTextos.org, and email chicago@contextos.org with any questions.

>>>>>>  TIME COMMITMENT  <<<<<<

Our pilot Winter 2021 Cohort will meet via Zoom on Wednesday and Sunday from 6-7:30pm from Jan 6 through March 28, with a digital publication event to be held on Sunday, April 18th. The publication event on April 18th is also fortuitously positioned, as it marks the anniversary of Alice Walker becoming the first Black author to win the Pulitzer prize in 1983. As she was feted that day for her intellect, her vision, and her voice, so we will celebrate the intellect, vision, and voices of the inaugural Into a Black Beyond Cohort with a live performance of their authored pieces. We will release a printed compilation book, a digital bibliography, and some swag (posters, stickers, t-shirts).

>>>>>>  WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU  <<<<<<

+++ 20 Into a Black Beyond writing circle sessions with seasoned facilitators Dimitri Hepburn, dr. moore, and Johnny Page
+++ 3-4 Presentations and Q+As with guests speakers/activists
+++ Your work published digitally and in print (Compilation and Social Media Platform)
+++ Featured in a live digital story-telling event
+++ A monetary stipend paid in installments
+++ Being a pioneer member a writing community that starts with the stories to author new stories

>>>>>>  TOPICS WE'LL EXPLORE  <<<<<<

+++ Slavery to Mass Incarceration: Destructive Policing of Black Bodies
+++ Historical Violence and Trauma Against Black Communities: Impact and Consequences
+++ Black Economic Self-Determination within the American Capitalist System
+++ Identity: Defining Blackness, Black Bodies, and Black Sexualities


>>>>>> WHAT YOU'LL MAKE <<<<<<

+++ About 15-18 written drafts
+++ One final piece that will be published online and in our print compilation
+++ Possible one or more additional creative project

>>>>>> PROGRAM NOTE ON CONFIDENTIALITY <<<<<<

Into A Black Beyond is a brave space to write, reflect and create personal essays about our individual lived experiences by digging through the soil of our collective Black historical and cultural roots.

It is not a space where Authors will be pressured or expected to unearth our trauma stories.  

Sometimes, our trauma stories may come up as we are writing or sharing during Circle.  Collective confidentiality is a critical commitment of all Into a Black Beyond Authors, Guests and Facilitators.  We will be creating work that will be published and in public view, but Authors determine for themselves which of their stories will be amplified, and how they will do that.  

This also means there will be no recording or screenshots of sessions allowed, with rare exceptions when facilitators may do so specifically on days when there is a guest speaker, but only after receiving consent from all present and making a clear announcement.

Into a Black Beyond is a place of collective, collaborative exploration and community building. It is also a place that honors and lifts up the self-determination, agency and self-representation of all Authors.

Into a Black Beyond is a space we are co-creating to reflect, connect and grow as human beings. This application is created with the intent to forge a unique circle, representing a vibrant array of life experiences and perspectives. Space is limited and our goal is to ensure everyone interested has the chance to participate in either this pilot cohort or a later cycle of Into a Black Beyond.

Please note your responses to the questions below will be reviewed with the intention of creating a robust gumbo of participants in each circle, not to reinforce a false sense of competition or the anxiety of not being "good enough". The expert of anything was once a beginner. Into a Black Beyond will be a space where individuals with diverse personal and professional experiences are welcomed exactly as they are, to nourish our own gifts while contributing to the collective, to expand the circle of wise teachers.

Every one who completes the application will receive responses and an invitation to the broader ConTextos community, even if space may not yet be available in the initial pilot circle.

This is an iterative journey and we commit to full transparency and responsiveness. We look forward to learning from you and with you, and the synergistic journey ahead!

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS 9AM CST ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH

All applicants will be contacted by MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th.

Into a Black Beyond will be co-facilitated by Dimitri Hepburn, dr. moore, and Johnny Page.  We will also have 4 special guests whose work and/or activism is thematically connected to the topics the program explores.

Dimitri is an Authors Circle facilitator and digital media producer at ConTextos. He believes that the understanding gained by a thorough examination of the world around us, as experienced from multiple perspectives, is fundamental to the shared success of all people. Born in the Bahamas and raised in the Bronx, Dimitri has grown deep roots in Chicago where he helps create opportunities to learn, explore, and tell stories about the world and ourselves, stories that provide fertile ground for empathy and understanding.

dr. moore is an African American, lesbian, feminist, lifelong educator and learner. Her first name is Sharon and because it is not a name she is particularly comfortable with, she uses the title from earning a PhD in African American literature. dr. moore prefers it used in the lowercase because she is not one who stands on formality. Her teaching has always been informed by a social, cultural, and economic critique that seeks to deconstruct and destabilize oppressive and repressive societal norms. dr. moore believes that everyone is a creator, for we create ourselves every day. She is as committed to her own ongoing creation and she is to walking alongside others on their journeys. dr. moore brings empathy, openness, honesty, and love into this shared space of communion, self-reflection, exploration, and healing.

Johnny Page is the Co-Director of Programs & Partnerships at ConTextos. He is a formerly incarcerated professional, speaker, author, anti-violence educator, and advocate. He’s committed to fighting for the right of access to higher education for the incarcerated and creating pathways for the formerly incarcerated on traditional campuses. Johnny is Co-Founder of C.A.V.E. (Community Anti-Violence Education) an intergenerational community-based support system for those who are affected by trauma.