Eco-Chef/Auhor Bryant Terry
As
part of our continuing conversation on how the “new” green movement and
environmental justice policies effect urban dwellers, poor people, and youth,
we have to look inward and sometimes backwards to re-member the lessons and
recipes from our grandparents in our contemporary effort to redefine and remix
what “going green and living bling” looks like for this hip-hop generation, as
well as whose voices are being heard in urban communities.
As
part of urban Denver’s emerging green identity, Sisters of Color United for
Education, a non-profit organization operating for the past 20 years, is
working with a local and national individuals and groups such as the Pan
African Arts Society and Oakland’s Taller Tupac Amaru collective in the
creation of the “Soul’d Roots: Food & Media Justice Institute,” a 3-day
event, March 13-15, 2009 where invited educators and youth will engage in
activities aimed at fostering solidarity and sustainability in Denver’s Black
and Brown communities through multi-media workshops and panels focusing on food
traditions and security, social networking, and arts activism. Additionally,
the event will introduce eco-terminology and practices while highlighting and
documenting how community funding and health disparities have been affected by
society’s racial and cultural dynamics. By highlighting tobacco use and sexual
violence as a health disparity, the Institute also aims to expand the
conversation around healing.
“Soul’d
Roots,” funded by the Annie E. Casey and American Legacy Foundations, is the
latest in a series of urban sustainability efforts being organized by people of
color in gentrifying neighborhoods throughout the year. Past events have included Green For All’s
“National Day of Action for Green Jobs Now,” co-sponsored by Solar Café last
summer, as well as “Spirit Gardening” classes conducted by Karemi in Northeast Denver in early 2009.
Participants
of the Institute will engage one another through poetic memory and inter-generational
skill sharing. Each evening “Soul’d Roots” collaborates with other groups to
coordinate events open to the public with some of the top advocates of the
movement including legendary graffiti artist, Cope2 and emcee/immigrant rights
activist, Malverde.
Public
Events in Denver are:
•Friday, March 13 – 6:00 – 8:30 p.m., 2895 W. Eighth Avenue:
“Take Back the Land” Community Gathering on Immigrant Rights & Land Justice
with Max Rameau (Miami, FL) - Wine & Cheese Fundraiser for Sisters of Color
United for Education. Tickets are $20.
Favianna Rodriquez
•Saturday,
March 14 – 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., Solar Café & Community Space, 2615 Welton St.:
Reception & Panel: “Protest, Brutality & Ink” – Moderator Jordan T.
Garcia with Cheyenne Hughes, Favianna Rodriguez, Terrance Roberts, Jesus Barraza
and Melanie Cervantes, with a book signing by Favianna Rodriguez, author of Reproduce & Revolt, and live printmaking.
Suggested donation $5 (no one turned away for lack of funds).
•Sunday,
March 15 – 2:00– 5:00p.m., New Hope Baptist Church, 37th Avenue
& Colorado Blvd.: “Community Eat-In & Food Politics Talkback” with Eco-Chef/Author,
Bryant Terry; Woodbine Ecological Center, Shannon Francis; Solar Café, Faatma
Mehrmanesh; Top Chef, Deluxe Restaurant, Dylan Moore. Tickets on a sliding
scale are $5 - $15.
Editor's note: For
Schedule and Registration information, go to www.Soul-dRoots.org or call 303-446-8800.
