The Snapshot Chronicles
Performance at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
2005
2005
“Our words are not without meaning, they are an action, a resistance.” (bell hooks)
During my years in the public education system, students and teachers subjected me to acts of discrimination on school grounds and in classrooms. These acts resulted in being publicly excluded, but they also led to an internal exclusion, leaving me consumed with anger and loneliness. Seven years after graduating high school and now working in one, I see that many youth have embraced being “voiceless”, and see that there is no use in talking about these situations because nothing would come from it, or no one would listen. One year ago, I started working with some of these youth, facilitating lessons on black history and culture, and media representations of “blackness”. They are increasing their awareness of how to identify racism and discrimination – what they “sound” like, what they “feel” like, and what they “look” like.
The Snapshot Chronicles uses the setup of a school “picture day” to create a narrative where black youth can document their personal experiences of marginalisation within the public education system. The purpose is to provide a platform for black youth to chronicle their journeys, to know that they have a ‘voice’, their experiences are valid, and that people will listen. They are using their experiences of marginalisation as a site of resistance, rather then one of oppression and isolation. In addition to youth who are currently in a secondary school in Toronto, those who have already gone through the system have been invited to take part in this installation.
On the evening of the performance at OISE I presented a video of the students sharing their stories, created a thought web of the experiences of marginalization, and provided an opportunity for those in the audience to participate in the act of resistance.
During my years in the public education system, students and teachers subjected me to acts of discrimination on school grounds and in classrooms. These acts resulted in being publicly excluded, but they also led to an internal exclusion, leaving me consumed with anger and loneliness. Seven years after graduating high school and now working in one, I see that many youth have embraced being “voiceless”, and see that there is no use in talking about these situations because nothing would come from it, or no one would listen. One year ago, I started working with some of these youth, facilitating lessons on black history and culture, and media representations of “blackness”. They are increasing their awareness of how to identify racism and discrimination – what they “sound” like, what they “feel” like, and what they “look” like.
The Snapshot Chronicles uses the setup of a school “picture day” to create a narrative where black youth can document their personal experiences of marginalisation within the public education system. The purpose is to provide a platform for black youth to chronicle their journeys, to know that they have a ‘voice’, their experiences are valid, and that people will listen. They are using their experiences of marginalisation as a site of resistance, rather then one of oppression and isolation. In addition to youth who are currently in a secondary school in Toronto, those who have already gone through the system have been invited to take part in this installation.
On the evening of the performance at OISE I presented a video of the students sharing their stories, created a thought web of the experiences of marginalization, and provided an opportunity for those in the audience to participate in the act of resistance.
