Racial Realities: Writing About Race in the First Person Brooklyn Historical Society Teacher March-May 2013
In spring of 2013, I developed and taught the class Racial Realities: Writing About Race in the First Person as part of Crossing Borders, Bridging Generations' programming series at the Brooklyn Historical Society. The literature and writing workshop focused on fiction, memoir, oral history, and essay forms that reflected experiences of race and identity from a variety of historical periods and cultural perspectives. The readings were organized around themes—Race, Language, Family and Identity; Race and Adolescence; Race and Place; and Race in America—which students then used as a model to explore their own points of view and memories though writing. The eight-week class culminated in an online publication of the students' work.
Oral History and Art Workshop Elders Share the Arts, NYC Teacher May 2012
This workshop provided a nuts-and-bolts introduction to oral history and how to parlay its methods into a variety of art practices such as theater, poetry and the visual arts. Elders Share the Arts, which sponsored the workshop for their teaching artists, affirms the creative potential of older adults and uses the power of the arts to transmit their stories.
Oral History, Art and Human Rights Workshop Human Rights Film and Media FestivalThe Lincoln School, K–12 Quaker girls' school, Providence, RI Teacher May 2012
This workshop focused on the use of personal language and storytelling to shed light on issues around civil rights. Students made banners using their own words, stories and image ideas to voice their social and political concerns as part of a daylong Human Rights Film and Media Festival, a student-led initiative examining topical global human rights violations through film and other media.
Oral History and Identity Workshop Brooklyn Museum Co-facilitator April 2012
As part of the Question Bridge: Black Males exhibition programming, the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Historical Society partnered to create this story-sharing workshop, where participants learned how to preserve personal stories about identity, race, ethnicity, and gender.
The Gotham Gay-Straight Alliance Banner Project Gotham Professional Arts Academy, Brooklyn Teacher February–June 2011
In this semester-long series of art and oral history workshops, high school members of a gay-straight alliance interviewed each other and used their transcripts to develop large-scale banners that addressed issues related to identity, visibility and acceptance.
In Honor of Gay Pride: Streetwork Creative Writing Workshop Streetwork Project, Lower East Side Drop-in Center, NYC Teacher June 2011
Streetwork youth delved into their personal histories to create first-person stories and poems during this monthlong creative writing workshop, which culminated in a reading at the LGBT Center to celebrate gay pride. The Streetwork Project is a drop-in center and needle exchange for homeless and street-involved youth.
Oral History Training Asian-American Writers' Workshop, NYC Teacher September 2010
Before embarking upon a year of documenting gentrification in the greater New York area, AAWW Open City Fellows were required to take this training, where they learned oral history interviewing guidelines, question types, ethical issues, storage and archiving, and theoretical approaches.