November 17, 2022 • 29 mins
In this episode of Parenting Decolonized, I welcome Sarita Covington, an Educator, Harlem Mom, and the Founder of Upper Manhattan Forest Kids, an organization that leads outdoor classes for children and their families in New York City’s green spaces. Listen in as Sarita and I have a fascinating discussion about decolonizing our relationship to nature.
In this episode, we talk about…
Sarita’s mission and inspiration behind Upper Manhattan Forest Kids.
The connection between nature, white supremacy, and anti-racism.
Steps you can take to start decolonizing your relationship to nature.
How to shift your mindset around spending time outside.
What I struggle with most in decolonizing my relationship to nature.
….and more!
To connect further with Sarita & Upper Manhattan Forest Kids:
Visit their website: https://www.uppermanhattanforestkids.com
Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uppermanhattanforestkids
Connect with them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uppermanhattanforestkids
Don't forget to share, rate, and let me know what you think of this week's episode on Facebook and Instagram!
Read the TRANSCRIPT here: https://parentingdecolonized.com/episode-58-decolonizing-your-relationship-to-nature-with-sarita-covington
This episode of Parenting Decolonized was produced by Crys & Tiana.
In this episode, we talk about…
Sarita’s mission and inspiration behind Upper Manhattan Forest Kids.
The connection between nature, white supremacy, and anti-racism.
Steps you can take to start decolonizing your relationship to nature.
How to shift your mindset around spending time outside.
What I struggle with most in decolonizing my relationship to nature.
….and more!
To connect further with Sarita & Upper Manhattan Forest Kids:
Visit their website: https://www.uppermanhattanforestkids.com
Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uppermanhattanforestkids
Connect with them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uppermanhattanforestkids
Don't forget to share, rate, and let me know what you think of this week's episode on Facebook and Instagram!
Read the TRANSCRIPT here: https://parentingdecolonized.com/episode-58-decolonizing-your-relationship-to-nature-with-sarita-covington
This episode of Parenting Decolonized was produced by Crys & Tiana.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:12):
Welcome to the Parenting Decolonized Podcast.I'm your host, Elanda Williams, entrepreneur,
conscious parenting coach, and single momto want Amazing Tyler. I'm on
a mission to help shine the lighton how colonization has impacted the black family
structure. If you're a parent thatwants to learn how decolonize your parenting,
You're in the right place. Let'sdo this. Welcome back to the Parents
(00:35):
de Colonized Podcast. I'm your host, Elonda Williams, and today I have
with me Serda Covington. Thank youso much for joining me today. Oh
thank you for having me, Alonda, it's not pleasure to be here.
Thank you. And we're gonna bereally just kind of discussing how we can
sort of colonize a relationship with theoutdoors, and a conversation that I'm excited
(00:55):
to have because i don't know ifI've mentioned this on the podcast, but
I'm in the pros says of creatingan intentional community and this is a big
part of it. I'm so excitedto just be outside. I'll talk about
that in a minute, But canyou introduce yourself to people I would love
to My name is Serrita and Ius she her hers pronouns. I identify
(01:15):
as a black woman, and Ihave a business that I founded seven years
ago called Upper Manhattan Forest Kids inNew York City. It's a business that
leads outdoor classes for children and theirfamilies in New York and our New York
green spaces, which is the unseatedterritory of the Lenape people. I'm also,
as many parents, are a jackof all trades. I wear many
(01:38):
hats, and I am also atrained professional artist with an MFA from Yale.
I am an anti racist organizer anda facilitator. I'm also an educator,
a fourth generation Harlemite, and theproud mother of a magical eight year
old daughter. Oh you got liketen thousand jobs so many love. Yeah,
(02:00):
I know I do too, andwe do them so well. Well.
I'm excited to have this conversation becauseI went to New York once.
However, I was like, Idon't know how anyone lives here. Good
place to visit, It's not forme. It's just but I did a
good chance to go to one ofthe only great spaces that I was close
to, which was Central Park,and I was like, where am I
(02:22):
the beauty. It was just likea magical place in the middle of all
this concrete, and I got achance to like sit and listen to some
jazz music in the background, andthere were some kids playing everywhere, and
so I just I'm wondering, howdid this start for you? Your business
in New York, specifically working withchildren and getting them outside. I feel
(02:42):
like the road started much earlier.There are many times when my relationship to
the outdoors was there sort of bubbling. But I'm a city girl, and
so a lot of my relationship withit was just sort of underneath the surface.
I would definitely go to Central Park. I went to a school that
was near some park, and wewould always be there doing science experiments things
(03:04):
like that. Central Park was quitedifferent when I was growing up. I
was growing up in the eighties andnineties, and so Harlem was quite different
at that time, and so howwe related to the outdoors was unique for
that time. It wasn't until honestly, I got pregnant with my daughter.
I don't know about other folks,but I felt like my body shifted in
(03:24):
many ways that were bigger than Ianticipated. And in one of those ways
was feeling a calling have more openair space and time with trees and plants
and all of those outdoor siblings.And before then you couldn't catch me outside
cold at the inside. Something shifted, and who knows what that was,
(03:50):
I think, so I felt thatsame shifting as well, like I felt
that same like call, not necessarilylike be outside, but like farming,
like gardening, and that's outside ithas to be, but it normally,
and it wasn't until I had mykids, So I completely understand that it
was a fascinating shift that I steppedinto. It definitely was a call from
the ancestors. And when I hearthat, I follow. I listen.
(04:11):
As I watched my daughter get older, she has a very particular personality.
Honestly, I think they come withit. There's a lot of nurture that
goes into who we become. Buthonestly, I think sometimes they come with
it. They come with something todo, They are here for particular purpose,
and so she had a personality thatwas very strong and outspoken. She
had a very big voice. WhenI thought of spaces for her, inside
(04:35):
was not one of them. Andit's nothing wrong with inside spaces and communities,
but there are certain things about thephysicality of that space that you can't
do the things that you can dooutside because of acoustics, we can't yell
all that. Not everybody can yell, not everyone can run back and forth.
So there are just certain limitations tothe space. Not that it's bad,
but it's just that there are certainlimitations, and I wanted her to
(04:58):
have as few limitations as possible foras long as we possibly could. Looking
around, there weren't many opportunities atthat time for outdoor learning and communing,
especially that was aligned with some ofthe things that I find important. I
think one thing leads to another whenyou grow up the way I did.
You have my particular background that ledme to a road of anti racism,
(05:25):
and that sort of organizing sort oflens for systems and power sort of shifts
how I receive the world around me. Certain educational experiences and communities that are
standard and felt dehumanizing, and sothat limits my ability to feel comfortable bringing
(05:45):
my best thing to that space.If it's not there, you create it.
Listen when I hear that, becauseall of us is so intertwined with
social justice and activism and anti racism. After enslavement, black holes were outside.
But as I've been looking at communitymore and the black community more and
asking the questions about how can weas a black community decolonized. What is
(06:10):
going to be the thing outside ofwhite people doing their jobs and is mentally
white supremacy? And what are thethings within us? What were the things
that we're taken from us? Anda big part of that was community,
And a lot of community happened outdoors, and a lot of the communities that
were destroyed purposely were outdoor spaces orspaces were we congregated with each other outdoors.
And reclaiming that is huge, andeven in the whole like gardening sector
(06:35):
now I think it's only like avery small percent of black farmers. Then
there used to be a lot ofblack farmers. Now that's definitely decreased with
land being stolen and all the otherstuff. And so us doing this work
and reclaiming these things is activism,even if we're not trying to make it.
It just is because it really isjust fighting against oppressive systems that want
(06:58):
to keep us from outside. Thinkabout the intentionality of all of those restrictions
and shifts to what are our naturalways of communing were the fact that our
community was a threat is you haveto consider. And so of course then
those systems, instructors and powers thatwould be upended by us being able to
(07:19):
gather and recall who we are eventhough we are not on our land,
All of that was threatening and sohad to be restricted. Part of the
work I think of decolonizing is toreally understand the history and the context that
you're in. In Harlem, itcan be definitely dangerous for folks to gather.
(07:41):
There's a certain way that we aremonitored and gentrification and also just the
way that our bodies are watched seeingas threatening and frightening. Well, if
there's a group of black children anddon't make them black boys, just sitting
around and they're talking loud, andwhat are they up to where they have
something wrong? They must be aboutto fight? Really exhausting. And that's
(08:03):
why it's important for us to havesafe spaces where we can congregate outside,
be as loud as we want tooutside and not have basically the white gaze
on us all the time, policingour tone, our volume, our bodies.
It's an exhausting Ain't nobody got timefor that? Like we got kids
to raise. Our kids deserve torun and play and scream and all this
(08:28):
stuff too. It's so funny becauseI was at my friend's house. G
and I were there swimming. Shehas a fifteen acre homestead, and I
was telling her how black parents generally. I went, I'm out, and
I'm noticing things. We shoush ourkids so much, even when we're outside
and other kids are yelling, it'sbe quiet, don't be so loud,
and it's like we outside. Sowe're gonna have to learn to decenter whiteness
(08:50):
in the white gays. And Iget that there's fear around that. We
cannot continue to let this fear leadour parenting. It's so restricted to our
children, it absolutely is. AndI think that's part of understanding where we
are, understanding our place and historyand our place in our generational line.
A lot of those adaptations, yeah, we understand it like they came from
(09:13):
real places. We had to learnthese ways sort of policing ourselves, right,
A lot of oppressive structures are fromwithin us. We don't need a
white person to do it to us. They may not even be there,
but we'll do it to ourselves.We'll do it to our children, and
I just want to acknowledge that fearis very deep, valid fear because we
(09:33):
know our kids can be snatched fromus at any moment, and that is
the painful part of being a blackparent, because you feel so perilous sometimes
and you're just like, I can'tkeep my child safe. What I can
do, though, is control them, control their volume, control their bodies.
This is a part of our decolonizingprocess. I'm reclaiming these ancestral practices
(09:58):
of being outdoors and expressing ourselves asloudly as we want to or as softly
as we want to. Just beingable to be in our bodies without that
fear is very, very difficult forBlack people, even though we want it.
It's just like that thing. It'sin our DNA, it's our bodies
trying to protect us, and Ijust want acknowledge it's a maladaptive thing.
(10:18):
So we just have to work onunderstanding that it's there to keep us safe.
But look around, are we safe? You could be unsafe. It
actually could be, because we seeall these damn videos popping up a folks
given police at the pool, sowe know that there's times where we actually
aren't safe to be ourselves. That'swhen I'm gonna take my ass home.
I'm not going to stay there.And that's a big reason that I don't
(10:39):
do for my child. I willnever have her in a place where she's
an only inherently in safe. Ijust feel like when I see the videos
of children who are placed in onlysituations where they're the only black child,
it's dangerous for them. And Ithink that the world is big. We
belong here. We have to knowthat that space may not be for us,
(11:00):
but we have to carve out ourspace because we deserve this planet is
for us. So it's just aboutlike finding your people, know where you
are, know whose you are,carve out that space. That shouldn't prevent
you from building your relationships with ourplant siblings, our animal siblings. We
deserve that relationship. That relationship issomething that our ancestors held, Dear,
(11:22):
My family came up through the Greatmigration from the South to the North,
like many others. With those sortsof movements, there's a certain disconnection now
more and more disconnection, and soremembering, reclaiming, putting those relationships back
together, because the earth is alwaysthere and it's teaching us. It's speaking
(11:43):
to us. They are always tellingus. Remember, if you are someone
who likes the garden, there's somany lessons in the garden about natural resilience.
Doesn't require harm, just natural resilience. Trying again, failure all these
things that I've learned, But whatI really need to continue to learn is
my relationship with animals and insects.But just like being outdoors and trying not
(12:07):
to harm the worms while I'm tryingnot to kill the buzzing things because it
may be a bee. We needbees. And it's just like, I'm
not used to this stuff. I'mfrom California. We didn't garden out there
my family. I didn't know somany things came from flowers. Like being
a gardener and reconnecting with how thingsgrow. The things that I eat grows
(12:30):
is so powerful. Teaching my childthat. And she's a kid who wants
to be outside barefoot. She wantsto fill all the grass, she wants
to get on the ground. Andshe sees an insect and look at it
closely. She chased the butterfly theother day. Yeah, she's your people.
Because I'm home, You're like,get up off that. I let
her down there. In my mindare just like grow, get up,
(12:50):
something gonna bite you. But Ilet her do it because that she's curious
that I don't want her to bescared like me. I have to hold
myself back from being like, Nope, don't do that, because she's like,
why not unless it's a wasp orsomething. I'm exploring. She likes
butterfly at the park and it landedon the branch really close to her,
and she got real close to itbefore it flew away, and it was
just interesting. She was just soin love with nature and wants to explore,
(13:15):
which is a big reason I wantto have a space for her to
do that. I mean, Ithink a lot of times we're the lid
for our children, and we reallyhave to just make sure that, of
course, you want to have theenvironment safe. It's a term called risky
play, which is that there's inherentrisk in this play, and yet we
all learn from risky and adventurous andthe unknown. All of those experiences is
(13:37):
where we have our learning stem from. We're not learning from the things that
are easy, the things that weknow, the things that are routine.
We learn from the things that arevery new, and surprising and maybe even
a little scary. So we don'twant to have children out in a way
that's unsafe, but risk is aslight different thing, and we do want
them to have that experience. Maybethe insect does bite her, and maybe
(14:00):
that's okay, you know, wehave to be careful about which bug it
is. But then she learns,oh, they don't want me near it,
understood. And you can see themlearning through experience, and sometimes it
takes something to like, oh,let me register what is my fear and
what is actually unsafe? Again,what is actually unsafe versus what I have
been socialized to unsafe or off limitsor not something that should happen. Getting
(14:24):
dirty is more than fine. Ithelped me to get dirty. It's how
you explore, and there's so manygood bacteria in that soil. Children are
learning from us, regardless of whatwe tell them. They're learning from how
we relate to it. And sometimesthat's not like a bad thing, like
they're just learning, Oh, mommydoesn't like this, yeah, or mommy
does like this, or mommy maynot like it, but she's trying.
(14:46):
They're learning all of those things fromme, just watching and observing. It's
wonderful to see parents who or caregiverswho have a sort of a negative or
maybe just opensive experience to the outdoors. Just try, honestly, you'll see
the children like cheer for their grownup and it's a wonderful thing because it's
(15:07):
all about relationships. There's a wayto interact with nature that may be transactional.
That is something that is a delicateexperience that I want to steer away
from that and more towards what isthe purpose of the worm. Let's talk
about that, and let's allow itto do its thing. Let's have these
questions come up, why does itdo that? What does it? And
(15:28):
all of those things come up andadd to the conversation and then really build
a relationship with what's happening around us. They're helping the soil that we will
use later to plant our fruits andvegetables, all of that. Like we're
working together while they're working with us, and we don't even know it all
the time. Then we're friends.Then we're family, Yes we are,
(15:52):
and really understanding the outdoors not froma sort of look but don't touch or
this thing that's outpart from me.I'm there to watch this beautiful landscape.
It's not me or I'm not nature. It's really important to have those moments
of seeing yourself in the soil.We all go back to the soil,
(16:12):
our recycle and composted. You knowwhat I love about this is I get
a lot of parents who are justlike, I can't unschool, but I
want to practice unschooling sort of principlesright, And this is where the d
schooling comes in. And d schoolingis basically the practice of getting rid of
your schoolish mindset, which generally meansthat learning happens in the classroom in a
(16:37):
specific way. And it's just abeautiful example of learning happening everywhere, all
the time, all around us.That just being outdoors, going to the
park is a learning experience and itdoesn't have to be a very much like
homeschool, like, Okay, nowwe're going to go to the park and
look at the trees and figure outwhat species and genus is all this stuff.
No, it generally having a relationshipwith the outdoors is learning about the
(17:00):
outdoors and understanding that we are notapart from it, that all of this
is interconnected. Is a learning experiencethat I think parents need to start happening
with their kids, and maybe oneof the most crucial learning experiences if our
planet and us are rather us onit is to survive for another five ten
generations. But we really do needto have that sort of knowledge of our
(17:22):
relationship. Not necessarily the genius ofthat, the way that plant is categorized,
the name, but really what isour relationship to it, how does
it function, how do we needit? And what can we do to
support it? Because it supports usall the time. How can our relationship
be mutually beneficial? One of extraction, because that's a very colonized mindset,
(17:45):
the extraction, the transaction decolonizing peoplehear the word indigenous, they think Native
American actually should but also just indigenousis in Asia, is in Africa.
The indigenous people have a strong relationshipwith their environment, with the completely different
ideas than we were brought up within a colonized sort of space here about
(18:07):
like how we relate to nature.And I think that's what's so frustrating,
Like, I mean, my gardeninggroups and there's bugs. How do I
kill these bugs? I was likethat, but now I'm just like,
can we just stop for a momentand figure out why we want to kill
this bug that's outdoors existing. Soas I'm learning about how to garden from
where I'm at, there's a YouTuberthat says, turn your waiting room into
(18:29):
a classroom. So that's what I'mdoing right now. As I'm waiting for
my homestead, I'm learning more aboutinsects beneficial and the ones that are beneficial,
and how I can exist with theones that are beneficial. It might
be harmful to my crops by plantingcrops that they can eat, I don't
have to kill them. Give themthis little piece, have that, okay,
and give me my stuff. Sothere's ways of coexisting that doesn't require
(18:52):
us to kill things off. AndI think that's just really big reframe about
who we are. I guess alla specism. Someone she was vegan,
was just like, y'all don't wantto talk about specism yet, but she
said it on my post and Iwas talking about like black children, so
I got irritated. So I'm justlike, y'all, will defend a dog
real quick before you take this blackchild. But it's true. Listen,
(19:15):
we do as humans have to understandthat the way that we interact with nature
is harmful to us and them.As a parent who wants to start like
introducing especially if you're citified, likehow I used to be kind of still
lambing and how you used to beone of some of the things that these
parents can do to start in likeurban spaces, to start introducing more nature
(19:37):
into their lives. I honestly suggestthat really it's a mindset, as you
say, reframe how you envision whatthat looks like. So for me,
it's all about relationships, and Iinvite folks to think of the outdoors as
a place to re examine their relationshipswith the outdoor world, with things that
(19:57):
they may not be that familiar with. That's how we build relationships. Get
to know it. It gets toknow you. You ask it questions.
I think sometimes folks want to havesomething to do when they get outdoors,
like what are we all? Andkids may do that too. If a
child is not used to it,kid'll be bored. There's nothing to do
here, and it's like, waita minute, do you see everything that's
(20:18):
here. Look at this medicine,Look at this food and it's growing wild.
Look at this entire colony happening righthere. So there's always stuff happening,
but if you're not used to it, you may miss it. So
you got to go in with alittle bit of grace for yourself, a
little bit of patience, and justthink, I'm building a relationship. We
(20:38):
don't know each other very well,and just start there and get curious.
I think the muscle of wonder forgrown ups is maybe a little atrophy.
Right at some point, stop workingthat muscle out. Someone said, that's
not the muscle that's most important.We need this other skill set. And
so the muscle of wonder is maybenot as accessible as it was. But
(21:00):
that's what's gonna thrive out in naturebecause we're all just like, there's so
much going on. There's just somuch learning that can happen if you allow
yourself the space to wonder, howdoes this work? How does this work
together? What is this community thatI miss on my walk to wherever?
(21:22):
I think the green spaces and thegreen and the life underneath the city tells
a wonderful story. It tells awonderful story about who was here, what
was here before us? And thatis access to decolonizing. Really looking at
the place, what was here beforeme? How did my people get here?
What is that trajectory? I thinkabout the indigenous Africans who first came
(21:45):
here and how their relationship to theoutdoors had to change. Now their relationship
and working, being with nature andbeing nourished by nature is now about working
it, working this land, exhaustingthis land, not even for yourself,
but for other people. We haveto understand that that may be with us
at some point, that still maybe lingering in our bodies and in our
(22:08):
memory. That was taken from us, that sort of natural relationship became something
else, became something that wasn't verygood, and so we have to give
ourselves grace that there's a new relationshipthat I'm starting, And so start with
small things, walks, asking questions, noticing the little things, wondering.
Like you said, it's reparenting worktoo, if you really think about it.
(22:30):
We don't get to do that often. It's a form of play for
some people. Some people that isjust like being able to look around and
see the wondering things. But thatreparenting that child in you that may not
have been able to get out andbe loud or run or slow down.
Especially nowadays, kids are so busy, they're so busy a lot of parents
are just like, I'll put youin as main things as possible, and
(22:52):
so we have to be willing tobe with our children more in these wondrous
spaces and be willing for them tosometimes be bored with the not set activity.
Hey, let's go for a walk, and that's all like, that's
the activity. We're gonna walk andwe're gonna look around and gonna point out
some things. G and I,if we talk a lot drives to the
(23:14):
country and she's very much like shelooks at the window. She loves watching.
We live in the country, right, so there's trees everywhere. Sometimes
we see deer. On this littlecountry road, I saw like a turtle
crossing and a rabbit. Wonderful itwas, and I was just like,
this is awesome. And then Icame back and I was like, I
hope this turtle is okay. It'sin the middle of a road. I
think somebody got out and like movedit. I was going to, but
(23:36):
I don't touch turtles. So Ilook like, this is why I need
to learn nature, because I don'tknow you turtle. I don't know if
you're stamping turtle, I don't knowyou. You got to navigate this world
alone and just to go around.And so I'm always just like, look
at the trees, look at theclouds. I love looking up at clouds.
Still I'm that person's just like,what is that cloud? It looks
like a baby nursing, or itlooks like lane. I still do that.
(23:59):
I think it's fun doing those things. Those wondrous things are good for
our inner child healing and then bringingour kids along too, it's good for
them, good for that imagination work. It's a relationship of being rather than
doing, and that's maybe not whatwe're used to, especially in this culture
which is all about producing. Well, I felt better. How do you
measure that? It's quality, It'snot quantity, as we're getting in the
(24:21):
weeds here, but allowing us tojust have that sort of shift in our
mindset about our priority and honestly,sometimes it may mean just following your child.
Sometimes it doesn't take them too muchlonger than they start inventing stuff.
Then they want to go down thatdifferent road and you're like, ooh,
I've never been there. Get lost, find yourself again. That's the journey.
Now. I don't want to gettoo lost out here. I remember
(24:41):
we took the drive, I waslike, where the hell are we?
I don't want to get too lostin the country roads, But I feel
you. I understand what you're saying, because the only reason I found that
beautiful drive did I take is becauseI got lost. I was like,
what does if I turn here?I've never been down that road before,
and just taking the let's travel ledme to find like all these different back
(25:03):
roads of farms and things that allowsme to visualize the future that I want
to have. That's why I doit. It helps me with the visualization
of my future homestead. And oneof the things that I'm really wanting to
practice on this homestead is indigenous waysof being with the land. This is
something that I struggle with as someonewho was decolonizing, as someone who believes
in land back but also someone whois a black person and descendant of enslaved
(25:29):
Africans and trying to figure out myplace on this land in this country.
I don't want to be a colonize. I also want to have legacy for
my child, So it's always thisthing that I'm trying to figure out.
But those questions and not trying tounravel and unpack I'm constantly doing it,
and I welcome it's uncomfortable. Alot of folks are out there asking those
(25:51):
questions and maybe not receiving all theanswers. I think that this process of
decolonizing is more questions than answering complicated. I want to be open minded enough
to ask the question. That's whatwe all need to be, even though
the answer maybe, when I getthe answer, maybe I don't like it.
I want to be open enough toask the question. And I think
that is nature. Nature is sowondrous. There's so much happening. I
(26:14):
watched that documentary about fungi and Iwas just like, who new. It's
so fascinating. It's so fascinating abouthow everything works together and we are not
apart from it. One thing thatI think the land has taught me is
about detaching, detachment from many things. The process of corrosion is a natural
one, and it's only a problemwhen humans are involved. Right, you
(26:37):
know, it's corroding the things thatwe're holding onto, Right, this is
my house, can't corrode, erode. But other than that, the land
does what it does, and soit lets it go and then it comes
back elsewhere. But it's not attachedto having rocks the most stable thing that
we can imagine. Guess what theyerode. Things have a cycle, and
so I don't know the cycle ofmyself and my family or my lineage on
(27:00):
this land. We'll see, butI know that I want to be of
service. I want to be useful, and I want to be in right
relationship in this moment. I wantwherever I am, I also want to
be in right relationship there. Ijust love your outlook of life. What
you're doing, especially in Harlem UpperManhattan for at kids is a revolutionary It's
(27:22):
definitely a form of activism, evenif you don't mean it to be,
but it is. I don't knowif you mean it to be. Oh
yeah, okay, it's social justice. It is an ancestral practice like working
on that. But also it isjust a really great learning experience to let
our kids be, our kids,be themselves, be children. And I
(27:44):
think for any Black parents, forany parent, but especially for black parents,
that's all we want. We justwant our kids to be kids for
as long as possible, and tobe seen as children that are worthy of
protection, worthy of safety, andworthy of being able to go out and
explore the outdoors without the white gaze, the adult gaze. So what you're
doing is amazing that Thank you forit, Thank you for seeing it.
(28:06):
Thank you don't want I like toask everybody who comes on here, what
does decolonizing parenting mean to you?For me, decolonizing parenting means parenting from
a place that honors my ancestors.It means reconnecting to all those who invested
in my existence, in the existenceof my child and whatever children come thereafter,
those who envisioned our survival and ourjoy as best they could and tried
(28:30):
to pass on whatever lessons they learned, and all of the healing and the
importance of life. It also meansparenting with awareness of created colonization and created
harm and what imbalance occurred because ofthat harm. It means being aware of
where I am and whose I belongto. I love it. It's beautiful.
(28:55):
Thank you so much. How canwe connect here? I'd love folks
to follow me on Instagram Upper ManhattanForest Kids and also you can check out
the website Upper Manhattan Forest Kids dotcom. If you're in the New York
City area, come join us.Check us out and we'd love to build
community with you and anyone else who'sinterested, regardless of what their current relationship
(29:17):
is. We just want to buildfrom where we are. Thank you so
much for joining me. And ifI come out there again, I'm coming
to somebody's for school, so you'regonna have to touch some trees and some
ants and some work. I havea good old time. Well, thank
you so much for joining me,and thank you all for listening. And
if you like this episode, pleaseleave me a rating and review, let
me know what you think on socialmedia, and until next time, keep
(29:41):
it conscious. Thank you'all.
Welcome to the Parenting Decolonized Podcast.I'm your host, Elanda Williams, entrepreneur,
conscious parenting coach, and single momto want Amazing Tyler. I'm on
a mission to help shine the lighton how colonization has impacted the black family
structure. If you're a parent thatwants to learn how decolonize your parenting,
You're in the right place. Let'sdo this. Welcome back to the Parents
(00:35):
de Colonized Podcast. I'm your host, Elonda Williams, and today I have
with me Serda Covington. Thank youso much for joining me today. Oh
thank you for having me, Alonda, it's not pleasure to be here.
Thank you. And we're gonna bereally just kind of discussing how we can
sort of colonize a relationship with theoutdoors, and a conversation that I'm excited
(00:55):
to have because i don't know ifI've mentioned this on the podcast, but
I'm in the pros says of creatingan intentional community and this is a big
part of it. I'm so excitedto just be outside. I'll talk about
that in a minute, But canyou introduce yourself to people I would love
to My name is Serrita and Ius she her hers pronouns. I identify
(01:15):
as a black woman, and Ihave a business that I founded seven years
ago called Upper Manhattan Forest Kids inNew York City. It's a business that
leads outdoor classes for children and theirfamilies in New York and our New York
green spaces, which is the unseatedterritory of the Lenape people. I'm also,
as many parents, are a jackof all trades. I wear many
(01:38):
hats, and I am also atrained professional artist with an MFA from Yale.
I am an anti racist organizer anda facilitator. I'm also an educator,
a fourth generation Harlemite, and theproud mother of a magical eight year
old daughter. Oh you got liketen thousand jobs so many love. Yeah,
(02:00):
I know I do too, andwe do them so well. Well.
I'm excited to have this conversation becauseI went to New York once.
However, I was like, Idon't know how anyone lives here. Good
place to visit, It's not forme. It's just but I did a
good chance to go to one ofthe only great spaces that I was close
to, which was Central Park,and I was like, where am I
(02:22):
the beauty. It was just likea magical place in the middle of all
this concrete, and I got achance to like sit and listen to some
jazz music in the background, andthere were some kids playing everywhere, and
so I just I'm wondering, howdid this start for you? Your business
in New York, specifically working withchildren and getting them outside. I feel
(02:42):
like the road started much earlier.There are many times when my relationship to
the outdoors was there sort of bubbling. But I'm a city girl, and
so a lot of my relationship withit was just sort of underneath the surface.
I would definitely go to Central Park. I went to a school that
was near some park, and wewould always be there doing science experiments things
(03:04):
like that. Central Park was quitedifferent when I was growing up. I
was growing up in the eighties andnineties, and so Harlem was quite different
at that time, and so howwe related to the outdoors was unique for
that time. It wasn't until honestly, I got pregnant with my daughter.
I don't know about other folks,but I felt like my body shifted in
(03:24):
many ways that were bigger than Ianticipated. And in one of those ways
was feeling a calling have more openair space and time with trees and plants
and all of those outdoor siblings.And before then you couldn't catch me outside
cold at the inside. Something shifted, and who knows what that was,
(03:50):
I think, so I felt thatsame shifting as well, like I felt
that same like call, not necessarilylike be outside, but like farming,
like gardening, and that's outside ithas to be, but it normally,
and it wasn't until I had mykids, So I completely understand that it
was a fascinating shift that I steppedinto. It definitely was a call from
the ancestors. And when I hearthat, I follow. I listen.
(04:11):
As I watched my daughter get older, she has a very particular personality.
Honestly, I think they come withit. There's a lot of nurture that
goes into who we become. Buthonestly, I think sometimes they come with
it. They come with something todo, They are here for particular purpose,
and so she had a personality thatwas very strong and outspoken. She
had a very big voice. WhenI thought of spaces for her, inside
(04:35):
was not one of them. Andit's nothing wrong with inside spaces and communities,
but there are certain things about thephysicality of that space that you can't
do the things that you can dooutside because of acoustics, we can't yell
all that. Not everybody can yell, not everyone can run back and forth.
So there are just certain limitations tothe space. Not that it's bad,
but it's just that there are certainlimitations, and I wanted her to
(04:58):
have as few limitations as possible foras long as we possibly could. Looking
around, there weren't many opportunities atthat time for outdoor learning and communing,
especially that was aligned with some ofthe things that I find important. I
think one thing leads to another whenyou grow up the way I did.
You have my particular background that ledme to a road of anti racism,
(05:25):
and that sort of organizing sort oflens for systems and power sort of shifts
how I receive the world around me. Certain educational experiences and communities that are
standard and felt dehumanizing, and sothat limits my ability to feel comfortable bringing
(05:45):
my best thing to that space.If it's not there, you create it.
Listen when I hear that, becauseall of us is so intertwined with
social justice and activism and anti racism. After enslavement, black holes were outside.
But as I've been looking at communitymore and the black community more and
asking the questions about how can weas a black community decolonized. What is
(06:10):
going to be the thing outside ofwhite people doing their jobs and is mentally
white supremacy? And what are thethings within us? What were the things
that we're taken from us? Anda big part of that was community,
And a lot of community happened outdoors, and a lot of the communities that
were destroyed purposely were outdoor spaces orspaces were we congregated with each other outdoors.
And reclaiming that is huge, andeven in the whole like gardening sector
(06:35):
now I think it's only like avery small percent of black farmers. Then
there used to be a lot ofblack farmers. Now that's definitely decreased with
land being stolen and all the otherstuff. And so us doing this work
and reclaiming these things is activism,even if we're not trying to make it.
It just is because it really isjust fighting against oppressive systems that want
(06:58):
to keep us from outside. Thinkabout the intentionality of all of those restrictions
and shifts to what are our naturalways of communing were the fact that our
community was a threat is you haveto consider. And so of course then
those systems, instructors and powers thatwould be upended by us being able to
(07:19):
gather and recall who we are eventhough we are not on our land,
All of that was threatening and sohad to be restricted. Part of the
work I think of decolonizing is toreally understand the history and the context that
you're in. In Harlem, itcan be definitely dangerous for folks to gather.
(07:41):
There's a certain way that we aremonitored and gentrification and also just the
way that our bodies are watched seeingas threatening and frightening. Well, if
there's a group of black children anddon't make them black boys, just sitting
around and they're talking loud, andwhat are they up to where they have
something wrong? They must be aboutto fight? Really exhausting. And that's
(08:03):
why it's important for us to havesafe spaces where we can congregate outside,
be as loud as we want tooutside and not have basically the white gaze
on us all the time, policingour tone, our volume, our bodies.
It's an exhausting Ain't nobody got timefor that? Like we got kids
to raise. Our kids deserve torun and play and scream and all this
(08:28):
stuff too. It's so funny becauseI was at my friend's house. G
and I were there swimming. Shehas a fifteen acre homestead, and I
was telling her how black parents generally. I went, I'm out, and
I'm noticing things. We shoush ourkids so much, even when we're outside
and other kids are yelling, it'sbe quiet, don't be so loud,
and it's like we outside. Sowe're gonna have to learn to decenter whiteness
(08:50):
in the white gays. And Iget that there's fear around that. We
cannot continue to let this fear leadour parenting. It's so restricted to our
children, it absolutely is. AndI think that's part of understanding where we
are, understanding our place and historyand our place in our generational line.
A lot of those adaptations, yeah, we understand it like they came from
(09:13):
real places. We had to learnthese ways sort of policing ourselves, right,
A lot of oppressive structures are fromwithin us. We don't need a
white person to do it to us. They may not even be there,
but we'll do it to ourselves.We'll do it to our children, and
I just want to acknowledge that fearis very deep, valid fear because we
(09:33):
know our kids can be snatched fromus at any moment, and that is
the painful part of being a blackparent, because you feel so perilous sometimes
and you're just like, I can'tkeep my child safe. What I can
do, though, is control them, control their volume, control their bodies.
This is a part of our decolonizingprocess. I'm reclaiming these ancestral practices
(09:58):
of being outdoors and expressing ourselves asloudly as we want to or as softly
as we want to. Just beingable to be in our bodies without that
fear is very, very difficult forBlack people, even though we want it.
It's just like that thing. It'sin our DNA, it's our bodies
trying to protect us, and Ijust want acknowledge it's a maladaptive thing.
(10:18):
So we just have to work onunderstanding that it's there to keep us safe.
But look around, are we safe? You could be unsafe. It
actually could be, because we seeall these damn videos popping up a folks
given police at the pool, sowe know that there's times where we actually
aren't safe to be ourselves. That'swhen I'm gonna take my ass home.
I'm not going to stay there.And that's a big reason that I don't
(10:39):
do for my child. I willnever have her in a place where she's
an only inherently in safe. Ijust feel like when I see the videos
of children who are placed in onlysituations where they're the only black child,
it's dangerous for them. And Ithink that the world is big. We
belong here. We have to knowthat that space may not be for us,
(11:00):
but we have to carve out ourspace because we deserve this planet is
for us. So it's just aboutlike finding your people, know where you
are, know whose you are,carve out that space. That shouldn't prevent
you from building your relationships with ourplant siblings, our animal siblings. We
deserve that relationship. That relationship issomething that our ancestors held, Dear,
(11:22):
My family came up through the Greatmigration from the South to the North,
like many others. With those sortsof movements, there's a certain disconnection now
more and more disconnection, and soremembering, reclaiming, putting those relationships back
together, because the earth is alwaysthere and it's teaching us. It's speaking
(11:43):
to us. They are always tellingus. Remember, if you are someone
who likes the garden, there's somany lessons in the garden about natural resilience.
Doesn't require harm, just natural resilience. Trying again, failure all these
things that I've learned, But whatI really need to continue to learn is
my relationship with animals and insects.But just like being outdoors and trying not
(12:07):
to harm the worms while I'm tryingnot to kill the buzzing things because it
may be a bee. We needbees. And it's just like, I'm
not used to this stuff. I'mfrom California. We didn't garden out there
my family. I didn't know somany things came from flowers. Like being
a gardener and reconnecting with how thingsgrow. The things that I eat grows
(12:30):
is so powerful. Teaching my childthat. And she's a kid who wants
to be outside barefoot. She wantsto fill all the grass, she wants
to get on the ground. Andshe sees an insect and look at it
closely. She chased the butterfly theother day. Yeah, she's your people.
Because I'm home, You're like,get up off that. I let
her down there. In my mindare just like grow, get up,
(12:50):
something gonna bite you. But Ilet her do it because that she's curious
that I don't want her to bescared like me. I have to hold
myself back from being like, Nope, don't do that, because she's like,
why not unless it's a wasp orsomething. I'm exploring. She likes
butterfly at the park and it landedon the branch really close to her,
and she got real close to itbefore it flew away, and it was
just interesting. She was just soin love with nature and wants to explore,
(13:15):
which is a big reason I wantto have a space for her to
do that. I mean, Ithink a lot of times we're the lid
for our children, and we reallyhave to just make sure that, of
course, you want to have theenvironment safe. It's a term called risky
play, which is that there's inherentrisk in this play, and yet we
all learn from risky and adventurous andthe unknown. All of those experiences is
(13:37):
where we have our learning stem from. We're not learning from the things that
are easy, the things that weknow, the things that are routine.
We learn from the things that arevery new, and surprising and maybe even
a little scary. So we don'twant to have children out in a way
that's unsafe, but risk is aslight different thing, and we do want
them to have that experience. Maybethe insect does bite her, and maybe
(14:00):
that's okay, you know, wehave to be careful about which bug it
is. But then she learns,oh, they don't want me near it,
understood. And you can see themlearning through experience, and sometimes it
takes something to like, oh,let me register what is my fear and
what is actually unsafe? Again,what is actually unsafe versus what I have
been socialized to unsafe or off limitsor not something that should happen. Getting
(14:24):
dirty is more than fine. Ithelped me to get dirty. It's how
you explore, and there's so manygood bacteria in that soil. Children are
learning from us, regardless of whatwe tell them. They're learning from how
we relate to it. And sometimesthat's not like a bad thing, like
they're just learning, Oh, mommydoesn't like this, yeah, or mommy
does like this, or mommy maynot like it, but she's trying.
(14:46):
They're learning all of those things fromme, just watching and observing. It's
wonderful to see parents who or caregiverswho have a sort of a negative or
maybe just opensive experience to the outdoors. Just try, honestly, you'll see
the children like cheer for their grownup and it's a wonderful thing because it's
(15:07):
all about relationships. There's a wayto interact with nature that may be transactional.
That is something that is a delicateexperience that I want to steer away
from that and more towards what isthe purpose of the worm. Let's talk
about that, and let's allow itto do its thing. Let's have these
questions come up, why does itdo that? What does it? And
(15:28):
all of those things come up andadd to the conversation and then really build
a relationship with what's happening around us. They're helping the soil that we will
use later to plant our fruits andvegetables, all of that. Like we're
working together while they're working with us, and we don't even know it all
the time. Then we're friends.Then we're family, Yes we are,
(15:52):
and really understanding the outdoors not froma sort of look but don't touch or
this thing that's outpart from me.I'm there to watch this beautiful landscape.
It's not me or I'm not nature. It's really important to have those moments
of seeing yourself in the soil.We all go back to the soil,
(16:12):
our recycle and composted. You knowwhat I love about this is I get
a lot of parents who are justlike, I can't unschool, but I
want to practice unschooling sort of principlesright, And this is where the d
schooling comes in. And d schoolingis basically the practice of getting rid of
your schoolish mindset, which generally meansthat learning happens in the classroom in a
(16:37):
specific way. And it's just abeautiful example of learning happening everywhere, all
the time, all around us.That just being outdoors, going to the
park is a learning experience and itdoesn't have to be a very much like
homeschool, like, Okay, nowwe're going to go to the park and
look at the trees and figure outwhat species and genus is all this stuff.
No, it generally having a relationshipwith the outdoors is learning about the
(17:00):
outdoors and understanding that we are notapart from it, that all of this
is interconnected. Is a learning experiencethat I think parents need to start happening
with their kids, and maybe oneof the most crucial learning experiences if our
planet and us are rather us onit is to survive for another five ten
generations. But we really do needto have that sort of knowledge of our
(17:22):
relationship. Not necessarily the genius ofthat, the way that plant is categorized,
the name, but really what isour relationship to it, how does
it function, how do we needit? And what can we do to
support it? Because it supports usall the time. How can our relationship
be mutually beneficial? One of extraction, because that's a very colonized mindset,
(17:45):
the extraction, the transaction decolonizing peoplehear the word indigenous, they think Native
American actually should but also just indigenousis in Asia, is in Africa.
The indigenous people have a strong relationshipwith their environment, with the completely different
ideas than we were brought up within a colonized sort of space here about
(18:07):
like how we relate to nature.And I think that's what's so frustrating,
Like, I mean, my gardeninggroups and there's bugs. How do I
kill these bugs? I was likethat, but now I'm just like,
can we just stop for a momentand figure out why we want to kill
this bug that's outdoors existing. Soas I'm learning about how to garden from
where I'm at, there's a YouTuberthat says, turn your waiting room into
(18:29):
a classroom. So that's what I'mdoing right now. As I'm waiting for
my homestead, I'm learning more aboutinsects beneficial and the ones that are beneficial,
and how I can exist with theones that are beneficial. It might
be harmful to my crops by plantingcrops that they can eat, I don't
have to kill them. Give themthis little piece, have that, okay,
and give me my stuff. Sothere's ways of coexisting that doesn't require
(18:52):
us to kill things off. AndI think that's just really big reframe about
who we are. I guess alla specism. Someone she was vegan,
was just like, y'all don't wantto talk about specism yet, but she
said it on my post and Iwas talking about like black children, so
I got irritated. So I'm justlike, y'all, will defend a dog
real quick before you take this blackchild. But it's true. Listen,
(19:15):
we do as humans have to understandthat the way that we interact with nature
is harmful to us and them.As a parent who wants to start like
introducing especially if you're citified, likehow I used to be kind of still
lambing and how you used to beone of some of the things that these
parents can do to start in likeurban spaces, to start introducing more nature
(19:37):
into their lives. I honestly suggestthat really it's a mindset, as you
say, reframe how you envision whatthat looks like. So for me,
it's all about relationships, and Iinvite folks to think of the outdoors as
a place to re examine their relationshipswith the outdoor world, with things that
(19:57):
they may not be that familiar with. That's how we build relationships. Get
to know it. It gets toknow you. You ask it questions.
I think sometimes folks want to havesomething to do when they get outdoors,
like what are we all? Andkids may do that too. If a
child is not used to it,kid'll be bored. There's nothing to do
here, and it's like, waita minute, do you see everything that's
(20:18):
here. Look at this medicine,Look at this food and it's growing wild.
Look at this entire colony happening righthere. So there's always stuff happening,
but if you're not used to it, you may miss it. So
you got to go in with alittle bit of grace for yourself, a
little bit of patience, and justthink, I'm building a relationship. We
(20:38):
don't know each other very well,and just start there and get curious.
I think the muscle of wonder forgrown ups is maybe a little atrophy.
Right at some point, stop workingthat muscle out. Someone said, that's
not the muscle that's most important.We need this other skill set. And
so the muscle of wonder is maybenot as accessible as it was. But
(21:00):
that's what's gonna thrive out in naturebecause we're all just like, there's so
much going on. There's just somuch learning that can happen if you allow
yourself the space to wonder, howdoes this work? How does this work
together? What is this community thatI miss on my walk to wherever?
(21:22):
I think the green spaces and thegreen and the life underneath the city tells
a wonderful story. It tells awonderful story about who was here, what
was here before us? And thatis access to decolonizing. Really looking at
the place, what was here beforeme? How did my people get here?
What is that trajectory? I thinkabout the indigenous Africans who first came
(21:45):
here and how their relationship to theoutdoors had to change. Now their relationship
and working, being with nature andbeing nourished by nature is now about working
it, working this land, exhaustingthis land, not even for yourself,
but for other people. We haveto understand that that may be with us
at some point, that still maybe lingering in our bodies and in our
(22:08):
memory. That was taken from us, that sort of natural relationship became something
else, became something that wasn't verygood, and so we have to give
ourselves grace that there's a new relationshipthat I'm starting, And so start with
small things, walks, asking questions, noticing the little things, wondering.
Like you said, it's reparenting worktoo, if you really think about it.
(22:30):
We don't get to do that often. It's a form of play for
some people. Some people that isjust like being able to look around and
see the wondering things. But thatreparenting that child in you that may not
have been able to get out andbe loud or run or slow down.
Especially nowadays, kids are so busy, they're so busy a lot of parents
are just like, I'll put youin as main things as possible, and
(22:52):
so we have to be willing tobe with our children more in these wondrous
spaces and be willing for them tosometimes be bored with the not set activity.
Hey, let's go for a walk, and that's all like, that's
the activity. We're gonna walk andwe're gonna look around and gonna point out
some things. G and I,if we talk a lot drives to the
(23:14):
country and she's very much like shelooks at the window. She loves watching.
We live in the country, right, so there's trees everywhere. Sometimes
we see deer. On this littlecountry road, I saw like a turtle
crossing and a rabbit. Wonderful itwas, and I was just like,
this is awesome. And then Icame back and I was like, I
hope this turtle is okay. It'sin the middle of a road. I
think somebody got out and like movedit. I was going to, but
(23:36):
I don't touch turtles. So Ilook like, this is why I need
to learn nature, because I don'tknow you turtle. I don't know if
you're stamping turtle, I don't knowyou. You got to navigate this world
alone and just to go around.And so I'm always just like, look
at the trees, look at theclouds. I love looking up at clouds.
Still I'm that person's just like,what is that cloud? It looks
like a baby nursing, or itlooks like lane. I still do that.
(23:59):
I think it's fun doing those things. Those wondrous things are good for
our inner child healing and then bringingour kids along too, it's good for
them, good for that imagination work. It's a relationship of being rather than
doing, and that's maybe not whatwe're used to, especially in this culture
which is all about producing. Well, I felt better. How do you
measure that? It's quality, It'snot quantity, as we're getting in the
(24:21):
weeds here, but allowing us tojust have that sort of shift in our
mindset about our priority and honestly,sometimes it may mean just following your child.
Sometimes it doesn't take them too muchlonger than they start inventing stuff.
Then they want to go down thatdifferent road and you're like, ooh,
I've never been there. Get lost, find yourself again. That's the journey.
Now. I don't want to gettoo lost out here. I remember
(24:41):
we took the drive, I waslike, where the hell are we?
I don't want to get too lostin the country roads, But I feel
you. I understand what you're saying, because the only reason I found that
beautiful drive did I take is becauseI got lost. I was like,
what does if I turn here?I've never been down that road before,
and just taking the let's travel ledme to find like all these different back
(25:03):
roads of farms and things that allowsme to visualize the future that I want
to have. That's why I doit. It helps me with the visualization
of my future homestead. And oneof the things that I'm really wanting to
practice on this homestead is indigenous waysof being with the land. This is
something that I struggle with as someonewho was decolonizing, as someone who believes
in land back but also someone whois a black person and descendant of enslaved
(25:29):
Africans and trying to figure out myplace on this land in this country.
I don't want to be a colonize. I also want to have legacy for
my child, So it's always thisthing that I'm trying to figure out.
But those questions and not trying tounravel and unpack I'm constantly doing it,
and I welcome it's uncomfortable. Alot of folks are out there asking those
(25:51):
questions and maybe not receiving all theanswers. I think that this process of
decolonizing is more questions than answering complicated. I want to be open minded enough
to ask the question. That's whatwe all need to be, even though
the answer maybe, when I getthe answer, maybe I don't like it.
I want to be open enough toask the question. And I think
that is nature. Nature is sowondrous. There's so much happening. I
(26:14):
watched that documentary about fungi and Iwas just like, who new. It's
so fascinating. It's so fascinating abouthow everything works together and we are not
apart from it. One thing thatI think the land has taught me is
about detaching, detachment from many things. The process of corrosion is a natural
one, and it's only a problemwhen humans are involved. Right, you
(26:37):
know, it's corroding the things thatwe're holding onto, Right, this is
my house, can't corrode, erode. But other than that, the land
does what it does, and soit lets it go and then it comes
back elsewhere. But it's not attachedto having rocks the most stable thing that
we can imagine. Guess what theyerode. Things have a cycle, and
so I don't know the cycle ofmyself and my family or my lineage on
(27:00):
this land. We'll see, butI know that I want to be of
service. I want to be useful, and I want to be in right
relationship in this moment. I wantwherever I am, I also want to
be in right relationship there. Ijust love your outlook of life. What
you're doing, especially in Harlem UpperManhattan for at kids is a revolutionary It's
(27:22):
definitely a form of activism, evenif you don't mean it to be,
but it is. I don't knowif you mean it to be. Oh
yeah, okay, it's social justice. It is an ancestral practice like working
on that. But also it isjust a really great learning experience to let
our kids be, our kids,be themselves, be children. And I
(27:44):
think for any Black parents, forany parent, but especially for black parents,
that's all we want. We justwant our kids to be kids for
as long as possible, and tobe seen as children that are worthy of
protection, worthy of safety, andworthy of being able to go out and
explore the outdoors without the white gaze, the adult gaze. So what you're
doing is amazing that Thank you forit, Thank you for seeing it.
(28:06):
Thank you don't want I like toask everybody who comes on here, what
does decolonizing parenting mean to you?For me, decolonizing parenting means parenting from
a place that honors my ancestors.It means reconnecting to all those who invested
in my existence, in the existenceof my child and whatever children come thereafter,
those who envisioned our survival and ourjoy as best they could and tried
(28:30):
to pass on whatever lessons they learned, and all of the healing and the
importance of life. It also meansparenting with awareness of created colonization and created
harm and what imbalance occurred because ofthat harm. It means being aware of
where I am and whose I belongto. I love it. It's beautiful.
(28:55):
Thank you so much. How canwe connect here? I'd love folks
to follow me on Instagram Upper ManhattanForest Kids and also you can check out
the website Upper Manhattan Forest Kids dotcom. If you're in the New York
City area, come join us.Check us out and we'd love to build
community with you and anyone else who'sinterested, regardless of what their current relationship
(29:17):
is. We just want to buildfrom where we are. Thank you so
much for joining me. And ifI come out there again, I'm coming
to somebody's for school, so you'regonna have to touch some trees and some
ants and some work. I havea good old time. Well, thank
you so much for joining me,and thank you all for listening. And
if you like this episode, pleaseleave me a rating and review, let
me know what you think on socialmedia, and until next time, keep
(29:41):
it conscious. Thank you'all.
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