Envision love, equity, and community in early childhood education! Charis welcomes Rukia Monique Rogers in conversation with Dr. Ariana Brazier for a discussion of The Many Stories of Our Beloved Community: Honoring Young Children's Kinship and Connections with the World.

Join author Rukia Monique Rogers for an intimate and inspiring look at the values, practices, and relationships of the Highlander School in Atlanta, Georgia, rooted in the vision of the beloved community as espoused by Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sharing abundant stories and rich photography from the school, the book is both a critique of the history and status quo of how we have confined our thinking and practices and an invitation to reflect on who you are and how you want to reimagine early childhood programs. See the big picture and small details of a program that believes in the full human potential for care, love, and justice, strengthened by deep connections with the earth and each other. We invite you into a journey of profound promise and change.

Rukia Rogers, the founder of The Highlander School, an early childhood learning community in East Atlanta that honors children’s relationships - their kinship - with the earth, land, and community will be joined by Sasha Von Hanna, a parent whose child is an alum of The Highlander School, and whose parenting for social justice continues as she experiments with unschooling, and Linda Grant, a Senior Lecturer in early childhood education at a state university will provide the “science” which supports why grounding children in meaningful work as change agents can impact learning and development in many positive ways.

Ariana Denise Brazier, Ph.D. is a Black queer feminist and smiley sad mom-girl. She is a play-driven community-organizer and educator who is motivated to raise a joyous, free Black child. She documents how Black child play functions as a grassroots method of community-based storytelling, teaching, and organizing. She is the CEO and President of the nonprofit ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc. (Parent LAB) whose mission is to enhance generational literacies through play in underserved African American communities.

This event is free and open to all people, especially to those who have no income or low income right now, but we encourage and appreciate a solidarity donation in support of the work of Charis Circle, our programming non-profit. Charis Circle's mission is to foster sustainable feminist communities, work for social justice, and encourage the expression of diverse and marginalized voices. https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/CharisCircle?code=chariscirclepage

If you would like to watch the virtual event with computer-generated captions, please watch in Google Chrome and enable captions. If you have other accessibility needs or if you are someone who has skills in making digital events more accessible please don't hesitate to reach out to info@chariscircle.org. We are actively learning the best practices for this technology and we welcome your feedback as we continue to connect across distances.

By attending our event you agree to our Code of Conduct: Our event seeks to provide a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), class, or technology choices. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate. Anyone violating these rules will be expelled from this event and all future events at the discretion of the organizers. Please report all harassment to info@chariscircle.org immediately.

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The Many Stories of Our Beloved Community: Honoring Young Children's Kinship and Connections with the World--Rukia Monique Rogers in conversation with Dr. Ariana Brazier