Raven Dickerson
Raven practices in community with survivors and allies as a therapist, poetic dissenter, full-spectrum doula, and facilitator. She has walked alongside people who have been harmed and those who have caused harmed since 2011. Raven believes in calling attention to the ways our bodies respond to the disruption of interpersonal harm and oppressive systems - particularly how patterns of racism and sexism create danger. She finds the most joy in-between the pages of books and the dirt of a garden. Raven most desires to be in community with people who seek radical change for reproductive and economic resources available to all.
Presentations from Facing Race 2020
What Did Soul Train Teach Us: Synergetic & Somatic Movement Building for BIPOC Liberation
The dominating narrative highlights figment deficits of our bodily autonomy, thriving community, and collective solidarity. The personal and collective freedom of our bodies and communities, and the availability of resources to further that freedom, is notably tied to patterns of racial injustices. As BIPOC navigate interpersonal and systemic oppressions related to racism, misogynoir, erasure and gentrification hesitancy builds in our bodies and communities to be audacious, vocal, and visible in our dissent and collective edification. We uplift that BIPOC bodies, communities and historically occupied land, has, must, and can interdependently craft the components of our revolution by releasing what seeks to harm us and resourcing that which is our medicine.
The archetype of synergetic somatics is as rhythmic and collective as a Saturday morning episode of "Soul Train"; we use rhythm to group, strategize, unify, and move regardless of the white supremacist gaze and norm. Using simple elements of physical movement, rhythm, and sound participants will co-conspire to identify where and how the greatest wounds are collectively experienced. Participants will be supported in embodying the pathways to explicitly name and curate strategies aligned with the movement building concepts of medicine, resourcing, and resonance for BIPOC liberation. While rotating through Medicine, Resourcing, and Resonance stations participants will co-design and report their remedy to our collective wounds by responding to three pre-determined prompts. At the conclusion of the session all program participants will have embodied replicable and adaptable components of the synergetic somatic design to recreate in their own movement building practices.
Speakers: Raven Dickerson, Sanu Dieng