Back in Brooklyn

I am traveling in New York City with a class of Vermont high school students and their teachers from Big Picture South Burlington. I have been working with the group on a performance piece around  origin and identity, and we’ve been looking at how sharing personal experiences can dispel stereotypes.  This week, we are exploring the city to meet with arts organizations who use their work for social change. I used to live and work as a teaching artist in New York, so this is an exciting full-circle moment.

We arrived in the city this afternoon. We are staying in a hostel near the JMZ train on the border of the Bedstuy and Bushwick neighborhoods in Brooklyn. I feel comforted to be staying only a few stops away from El Puente, where I used to teach. Walking underneath the elevated train, I remember the first time I came to Brooklyn for an interview, and I see my old excitement reflected in some of the students I’m with now. I am also reminded of the reality of gentrification that a hostel geared towards hip international travelers has sprung up on the border of Bedstuy and Bushwick. I feel grateful and inspired to work with a group of students and teachers who are willing to speak about race and perceptions honestly. I’m daring myself to bring my whole truth to this work. Powerful performance art beings with powerful conversations.

The JMZ Train