Roots PartIES are a making and conversation space.
Since 2017, I’ve been hosting Roots Parties, where I invite people to join me in the journey of making 1,865 roots for the Liberty installation. The roots parties are like a mash-up between a sewing bee and barbershop talk, where people can enjoy a meal prepared by a BIPOC owned restaurant or caterer, and participate in a community discussion connected to liberty in America. For a discussion on legalizing marijuana we partnered with Spaceworks at Williamsburg Public Library; Dr. Huang (Manhattan Compassionate Care); L. Rudick an Attorney with Hiller PC Law Firm; and D. Montgomery (Purpose Lounge). Discussions have also covered prison reform (BRIC), watershed rights (Mount Tremper Arts), financial literacy (RestorationART), food deserts (Geneva Public Library); and childhood play as a liberating act (Weeksville Heritage Center); moving forward DELIRIOUS will center the Roots Party discussions around prison reform.
Previous conversation topics have included: • Closing Rikers: Mass Incarceration and Prison Reform • Legalizing Marijuana • What’s In Our Hands: Financial Empowerment and Responsibility /supporting local businesses and credit unions • Embracing Joy: Tapping into childhood play, laughter and joy as radical acts of liberty, resistance and wellness • America’s immigration policies and birthright citizenship • Healing Spaces: Creating all-body loving, liberatory practices of care