Ujima Wednesdays | Embodying Black Feminist Fugitivity with Mattice Haynes

Liberation Study Hall: 

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Schools of 1964, the Boston Ujima Project proudly presents "Liberation Study Hall," a year-long exploration of historical figures, schools of thought, experiments and sites that have contributed to shaping our contemporary movements and global landscape.

Event Description:

“Fugitivity… is a desire for and a spirit of escape and transgression of the proper and the proposed. It’s a desire for the outside, for a playing or being outside, an outlaw edge proper to the now always already improper voice or instrument.”–Fred Moten

In current discussions, there's a growing focus on fugitivity and marronage: the ways we act from the margins to liberate ourselves. This work reclaims agency for Black communities beyond oppressive nation-states. While often seen in the context of past racial violence, fugitive practices persist today in education, cooperatives, migration, and abolition. In this month's workshops, we'll delve into fugitivity's link to Blackness, liberation, and economic justice. From independent placemaking to political movements, we'll explore recent history and current practices. Our focus is on transformation and possibility, viewing fugitivity as a tool for creating new worlds.

Our bodies are sites of liberation. Stealing the body away to maroon spaces and refusing the logics of imperial white supremacist capitalist heteropatriarchy is survival. Join us for stories, ancestral technologies, and embodied practices of Black feminist fugitivity with Mattice Haynes.

Facilitator Bios:

Mattice Haynes is a radical Black feminist freedom-dreaming mama from the U.S. South committed to Black diasporic love, sovereignty, vitality, and wholeness. With twenty-five years of experience as a coach, facilitator, and consultant, she supports Black leaders and organizations to embody liberation. She guides somatic practice, community governance, organizational development, culture transformation, and systems change. Mattice centers her practice in service to racial, gender, disability, food, land, and reproductive justice. She is the curator of The Black Mecca Project, a transformative space that nurtures Black folks in the practices of rest, radical imagination, fugitivity, and Black feminist community and worldbuilding.

In Person Attendees:

Testing: You must test before every in person/hybrid event, and show evidence of your most recent test results upon entry. 

Mask Requirements: We encourage all attendees to wear masks during the event.

Health Check: If you're feeling unwell or have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, we kindly ask you to stay home and join us virtually.

Sanitization: Hand sanitizing stations will be available at the venue, along with masks and a restricted supply of COVID-19tests. We strongly encourage you to use them as needed. 

Allergies: Refreshments will be served, please include any allergies and dietary restrictions in the provided space.

Note: Our Ujima Wednesdays workshops will take place at the Urban Farming Institute from April 17th to May 29th. Seating is limited, so be sure to arrive early to secure your spot for this enlightening workshop. For inquiries and more information, please contact comms@ujimaboston.com.