Writing for Liberation
Mikhayla Smith
Georgia Conflict Center
Athens, Georgia, USA
Our words and our voices hold the components of true freedom, because they span beyond what is happening in the present moment, and transcend us into what can be imagined for ourselves and our communities. In this workshop, we will think about how our writing can serve as a tool, a pathway, psalm, and a light towards liberation.
Session Description
As we walk through our lives as writers, thinkers, authors, and scholars, we can recognize the ways in which our communities are being silenced. The way to wage war is by, first, to erase knowledges, histories, and languages. Erasure is the key to keep marginalized groups opressed.
We see this happening with book bans, and the erasure of true histories being taught in educational institutions, the repealing of laws that protect our autonomy and speech, and the ways in which we are forced to bear witness to systems that legalize our oppression. We are witnessing the loss of our humanity, and as writers it is our responsibility to illuminate our beings, to reflect on the ways in which our world participates in the cycles of hate, hurt, and chaos.
In our time together, we will think about how our writing can serve as a tool, a pathway, a seat at the table, a psalm, and a light towards liberation. Our goal for this course is to be present, but also, to live in the imagined.
Presenter Bio
Mikhayla Smith serves as Senior Program Coordinator at Georgia Conflict Center. Mikhayla supports GCC’s Restorative Justice Diversion Program, School-based Restorative Practices Programming and community-based Restorative Justice Initiatives. She is an educator, community organizer, and author. She dedicates her activism to helping make Athens a place rooted in justice, equity, and restoration.
Mikhayla has been an educator at Joy Village, a school geared towards the joy and education of Black children, as well as an educator at Whit Davis Elementary. Mikhayla is a published author, spoken word artist, and essayist. She is currently serving a two-year term as Athens' second Poet Laureate.
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