Points of Light Music's Biracial & Rural (W2021-2)

Rural BIPOC voices are like dormant seeds--will you water them?

Creating something by, for, and with a particular community is time consuming work. Over the last year, we at Points of Light Music have made progress toward growing an arts-centered community of care and storytelling space we’re dreaming for Biracial & Rural (BnR).  

• Offered 5 virtual gatherings called Freeing Refrains, an extended solo version of the storytelling space we’re dreaming of for BnR.  There’s one more for BIPOC folks on Sat, Dec 4, 10a CT.  You’re invited!  Register here.
• Called in more tenders for this Biracial & Rural garden through an Equity Response Grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council & connected with other Asians with the support of a SPARK mini-grant from the Coalition for Asian American Leaders (CAAL) 
• Attended workshops on foundational organizing strategies and community engagement with Ricardo Levins Morales and Nexus Community Partners, 
• Made connections at Board Repair’s virtual recruitment fair, Midwest Mixed’s biennial Midwest Mixed conference, and through mutual, in-person, and social media networks.  
• Deepened relationships with BIPOC leaders at Rosy Simas Danse/Studio 331 and KALI - A Space for Transformation studio in Stillwater

All while continuing to heal from the internalized oppression that arises when pushing back and making space for oneself in a society that prefers conformity.

Would you support us in tending this garden for another year?  Bringing a vibrant and healthy garden to fruition requires many hours of slow one to one relationships.  Meeting folks, listening to their stories, needs, and dreams, weaving the connections of belonging between us takes time to be authentic.  

• Our Invitation to white folks is to support Conie’s healing work with rural mixed BIPOC folks, specifically all the folks she has met and will encounter.  To help Conie dedicate time and space to this work and not leave it for scraps of time on evenings and weekends.
• An invitation to mixed/BIPOC folks is to invest in your own healing if this storytelling space and arts-centered community of care resonates with you.  

When you donate you will receive updates on happenings and as appropriate, early invites to participate in the community of care and attend storytelling spaces.  Your donation will be multiplied by other grants and Conie’s own contribution during the year. In particular, we’re looking forward to:

• Scheduling monthly Freeing Refrains gatherings, one event for all folks for every two events for mixed BIPOC folks
• Expanding Freeing Refrains Plus by adding a second storyteller to the bill
• Exploring BnR retreat formats and locations
• And Scheduling so many conversations with rural BIPOC folks!

We’re so grateful for your support, whether it’s for the first time or the third time.  

Points Of Light Music is a fiscally sponsored project of Springboard for the Arts. To give to Springboard: https://givemn.org/organization/Springboard-For-The-Arts

Looking for other ways to support Biracial & Rural?

• Yes!  Make introductions with your mixed BIPOC friends and family with rural stories.  Connect us via listening@pointsoflightmusic.net..
• Attend Freeing Refrains, either the last one for BIPOC folks this year (Sat, Dec 4, 10a CT) or watch for dates in 2022!  Signup for the newsletter below.  
• Do your own healing work!  Depending on your family’s migration story, it can look a lot of different ways.  We suggest reading and practicing the body-breath practices from Resmaa Menakem’s book My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Bodies in small groups.  We’ll be holding space for separate affinity groups (mixed BIPOC and white) in the new year, so let us know if you want to be notified.  

Read on about ways you can stay connected with Biracial & Rural:

• Webpage: http://www.pointsoflightmusic.net/p/biracial-rural.html and past posts, especially our thoughts on words and names
• Newsletter signup - look for “Biracial & Rural” and “Freeing Refrains” under the Somatic Abolition heading.
• Follow us at Instagram @pointsoflight_mu then share this fundraiser!