MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1 @ 5:45 P.M. ET — Our first program will offer a live (synchronous) zoom event facilitated by Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Vera Naputi, and students (high school and undergraduate), centering love, healing, and joy, building upon the momentum of the day's theme of Restorative Justice, Empathy, and Loving Engagement. We will hear from and learn with youth about their process in creating a curriculum to accompany the book, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems by Dr. Sealey-Ruiz. We welcome you and invite you to join us for a night of reading, witnessing, and sharing.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2 @ 12:00 P.M. ET — Moderated by Dr. Charles H.F. Davis III, Assistant Professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, this panel will feature student activists from South Africa and the U.S. discussing how to sustain student movements in the face of repression. Additionally, small-group breakouts will explore topics such as: the post-protest consequences faced by student activist leaders; how involvement in student activism shapes future pathways; and how student protest discourse can contribute positively to university knowledge production and in the public discourse.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 @ 12:00 P.M. ET — This virtual interactive discussion will grow our SOE community’s awareness of local Black history, focusing in particular on residential patterns of segregation, integration and gentrification; and schooling experiences of access, discrimination and activism. An archive of digital resources will be provided before the event that builds from the Living Oral History Project Digital Collection that the African American Cultural and Historical Museum (AACHM) of Washtenaw County has designed in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library. The resources will be curated to reveal primary artifacts that illuminate voices and experiences of the local Black community, in particular with regard to residential patterns and schooling. We ask attendees to engage asynchronously with the artifacts before attending the synchronous session, where we will learn about the perspective and experience of local Black community members associated with the AACHM. Dr. Kimberly Ransom, U-M Postdoctoral Fellow at CREATE Center, with expertise in historiography and Black communities, will support the audience's learning.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 @ 5:00 P.M. ET — Experiencing Black Joy and Womanhood: An asynchronous dialogue facilitated by Black women to highlight the voices of Black women in higher education and K-12 schools. We will explore the intersections of their gender, racial, and professional identities. The panel will include Mimi Owusu, second-year doctoral student in Educational Studies, Jessyca Matthews, Michigan high school teacher, Dr. Maisie Gholson, Assistant Professor in Educational Studies, Alyssa Brandon, TeachingWorks Communications Coordinator, and Anna Almore, second-year doctoral student in the Joint Program in English & Education. They will discuss their views on the field of education, as well as the importance of self-care and community. The recording will be released on the SOE YouTube Channel Thursday, February 4 at 4 p.m. ET. Please join us to reflect on this dialogue and the rest of the week’s events during Friday’s closing ceremony, Experiencing Black Joy in Reflection. Experiencing Black Joy in Reflection: Enjoy a meal from Cuppy’s and join us in reflection as we bid farewell to our 2021 Week of Action on Friday, February 5. This hour-long Healing Space will involve dialogue within racial affinity groups and unpacking takeaways from the Experiencing Black Joy and Womanhood panel released on Thursday, while reflecting on healing, being unapologetically Black, and what non-Black co-conspirators can do within their communities to support and affirm Black joy. Soul food from Cuppy’s will be delivered to those who register by Tuesday, February 2 at 12 p.m. ET. Thirty-three attendees (must register in advance) will be entered into a raffle to receive a free copy of Love from the Vortex & Other Poems by Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz.