The Past 5 Months, Juneteenth, and Summer Energy
Hi. Remember me? My goal for a weekly newsletter didn’t even amount to a monthly newsletter, but I’m trying to show myself grace and I’m grateful that you’re here with me while I figure it out. Now that summer is here, I have time to focus on this newsletter, and a new series that I am excited to share with you called Fridays with Friends, which I’m hoping to share with you every other Friday. This morning, I recorded my first episode of Fridays with Friends with my pal Bird Sellergren (@birdsellergren), a talented artist who is also building community spaces for autistic folks in San Francisco and beyond. I’m excited to share our conversation with you soon!
Juneteenth!
Today also happens to be Juneteenth, our country’s second Independence Day. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last people still living enslaved in Texas were finally freed following the Civil War.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863 as part of Lincoln’s war strategy: Slave-holding states who remained with the Union were allowed to maintain slavery. Only those enslaved in Confederate states (meaning they had left the Union) were freed (and only if they could make it safely to a Union state).
When the Confederate states left the Union, they selected a new President, Jefferson Davis, to reside over the Confederate States of America. No longer viewing themselves as part of the USA, they did not abide by the Proclamation and continued to maintain control over enslaved people. Unfortunately, the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t actually free anyone at first - and this is where Lincoln’s strategy came into play.
The Proclamation encouraged African Americans in the South (the ones who were lucky to hear about it) to run toward freedom by joining the Union army, thus strengthening US numbers and weakening the Confederacy. The Confederate states would not only lose military support, their entire economic structure would begin to collapse as well.
If you want to learn more about Juneteenth:
Here’s an approachable article from History.com
Here’s an Instagram live I hosted in 2020 with my friend and former colleague, Evan Woodson, lined up with Juneteenth, to provide a brief intro to Black history in the US and how to be a better ally.
Internal Struggle and Burnout
“I used to be an artist.” That’s something I’ve said to myself on and off since transitioning into teaching. That I can’t be both, that I am defined by the role that pays me. Capitalism forces us to choose, to amplify certain parts of ourselves while squandering other parts away because they aren’t profitable enough, and therefore not considered valuable in our society. We are always told to choose a path, a niche, fit into a box, you can’t do it all. But each of these interests and parts make up the whole of who we are. All parts of ourselves are deserving, and we have to work together to break free from capitalism, the internalized kind, too.
I have been feeling so burned out lately. I feel so overworked, there is so much going on in the world that we aren’t given time to slow down and process, and it gets really heavy sometimes. My natural inclination is to retreat even more inward, but this summer, my goal is to share more, talk more, and nurture more connections. That means showing up authentically even when I’m struggling.
Although I haven’t managed to keep up with the newsletter since I last wrote in January, here’s what I HAVE been working on since you heard from me last:
Created 180 days worth of lessons for three different courses including:
A four day unit on Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Civilizations, Pre-Columbian South America, Pre-Columbian North America, and the Age of Exploration
A four day unit on the dynasties of China
A four day unit on the Islamic world
A five day unit on African kingdoms and city-states, imperialism in Africa, and African resistance
Led a unit for both 9th and 6th graders about the Bill of Rights, understanding and exercising your rights, how to protect yourself from unlawful police stops and searches, and how to peacefully petition the government
Served as faculty liaison for 2 student-led protests, with high school students garnering over 400 student signatures and all but 2 faculty signatures in support
Introduced Arab American History Month at my school, and had prominent Arab Americans highlighted on the morning announcements with student research
Spent 60-75 hours a week extensively researching, learning, grading, and building lessons and activities
Introduced the history and political significance of zines and led a zine-making workshop, one of my favorite yearly projects
Discussed, opened conversation, and provided resources to all students eager to understand more about the history between Israel and Palestine and the ongoing genocide
Voted by student body as the teacher “Most Likely to Win Jeopardy” (cute! 🥹)
Created freelance content for nonprofits and sustainable brand partnerships
I did all of the above while battling severe depression, anxiety, ADHD, and C-PTSD AND while planning a wedding! I regularly beat myself up for feeling like I haven’t done enough. I often wish that my brain worked differently and it was easier to DO things, instead of spending so much time thinking, worrying, and feeling frozen. When I look at that list though, I know I’ve done a lot. If there’s anything on the list above that you’d enjoy hearing or learning about in future newsletters, please let me know as I decide which directions to take this newsletter in.
In January, I talked about my bucket list going into 2024. So far, I’ve crossed off camping on the beach! Although it was a super challenging trip, it was a great experience and Drew is an awesome camping partner.
I’m also planning on getting back into cake decorating this summer. In high school, I decorated cakes while working at Dairy Queen and Coldstone. I’m hoping to make our courthouse wedding cake myself! We’ll see how it goes. I also want to start sewing again, and I have a few other creative projects to work on for the wedding.
Here’s to a summer of nurturing our inner children, revisiting old hobbies and bucket lists, spending time in nature, and getting to know our neighbors.
Thanks for being here.
Historically yours,
Dana
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