Session 4 (Reflections)–Celebrations, Reflections, and Future Musings:
Dear Sugar & Decoloniality Collaborators,
So, we took one year and did a thing: we explored some historical & critical concepts
related to sugar; we engaged with Indigenous principles that shape culture and living; we tended
the wisdom of the body; we touched into the imaginal landscape & tending imagination as a
generative fountain in change work; we took a peek at possibilities for a holistic future. And now
we’ve arrived at the closing of our year-long gathering. Symbolically, endings are also
understood to be beginnings. As this chapter of in-person gatherings comes to a close, we
devoted time, space and presence in session four to tending what new openings and pathways
have emerged, and what is still emergent.
The sugar & decoloniality series was an embodied Sankofa ritual, designed for all who
add their creative brilliance to the honorable work of food justice, health equity, and
decoloniality. We began with a deep dive into Cultivating Critical Consciousness
(C3)–understanding the correlations between colonialism, sugar production, slavery, capitalism,
and contemporary sugar industry practices.
From this critical ground, we ventured into the imaginal landscape and explored how
ancestral wisdom, embedded in myth, can support our holistic pursuits–cultivating a mythic
sensibility. Cultivating a mythic sensibility does not only shed light on the past, it is a lighthouse
for future actions. The critical territory here lay also in remembering that what we live with (the
incongruencies that we’ve inherited) have been imagined. Thus, can be re-imagined. Finally, we
turned to Nature as Teacher to explore theories of change that depart from hyper-individualism
and lean into the collaborative impulse that the more-than-human world abides by. adrienne
maree brown’s text Emergent Strategy provided concepts, practices, and reflective prompts for
this. The Tunnel Tops at Crissy Fields offered a lush landscape to practice Being as an essential
component in change work.
Session four’s celebration was a moment to witness what seeds have been gathered, and
to cultivate space in pondering how they should be planted. I am still reeling from the potent and
heartfelt sharing around the stories of each bowl, created in session two. From the Hungarian
pigment, to Chinese astrological symbols, from the neuron signifying sovereignty and deep,
radical body acceptance, to the ancestral connection to waters. Each offering was a potent
bridging of historical inheritances, and it served to weave a larger pattern among us. With this
new tapestry in place, we now are invited to look toward the future.
In tending futurity, the ideas that arose within our shared space were incredibly inspiring.
Right now, I’ve been in communication with one of my creative kin who may support the
development of podcasts which can serve as a site for ongoing engagement with the content
presented in the series. Some other ideas churning are around curating practices and prompts
which can be engaged at future Shape Up SF Meetings. Finally, crafting a self-paced online
module for current and future S & D practitioners is also in the realm of possibilities. This would
support the cultivation of critical consciousness–allowing for space and time to revisit and
deepen understanding around the theoretical pieces presented in the series.
I extend immense gratitude to each of you for your presence and heart over the past few
months. May the experiences we engaged together nurture your soul and empower your works to
generate life-affirming change. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Amber McZeal
Additional Resources:
Embodied Activism: Engaging the Body to Cultivate Liberation, Justice, and Authentic Connection
