Ujima Wednesdays | Embracing Fugitivity: How We Be Free with Jessica Valoris

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. 

Join us for creative reflection and activation of fugitive practice in this session as Jessica shares How We Be Free: A Black Fugitive Study Kit. Consisting of a set of playing cards, dice, and a reference booklet, the How We Be Free Study kit honors legacies and practices of Black fugitivity, freedom-seeking, and marronage. We will  engage Black fugitivity through an embodied practice of storytelling, creative writing, and cartographic mindmaps.  Rooting ourselves in ancestral legacies of collective resistance and community care, we will nourish critical reflections on how these technologies can be applied to support current movement towards liberation.

Bring a writing utensil and a piece of paper. No artistic experience is necessary.

Facilitator Bio:

Jessica Valoris is an interdisciplinary artist and community facilitator based in Washington, DC. She weaves together mixed media painting, installation, ritual performance and social practice to create sacred spaces. Inspired by the earth-based traditions of her Black American and Jewish ancestry, Jessica’s art activates ancestral wisdom, personal reflection and community study. Jessica’s work is both balm and blueprint: mapping out pathways for the Black liberatory imagination and reviving recipes for collective care. She collaborates with organizers and cultural workers to facilitate community rituals of remembrance and conversations about reparations, abolition, earth-stewardship, mutual aid and transformative justice. 

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.