Waiting to Experience the Tunnel

Tunnel of Oppression, Day 1

The day began with all staff of the “Tunnel of Oppression” running around finishing up last minute tasks and hoping for a successful festival. Douglas’ role was to interview students on their experience and Sheila’s role was to work with GMU’s Multicultural Research and Resource Center staff to welcome participants to the “Area of Hope”.

As students slowly walked into the room, we switched on John Lennon’s famous song, “Imagine”. While participants listened to the soothing music, positive messages appeared on a screen in front of them. They were then asked to get rid of feelings of hate or oppression by writing them down and throwing them away in our “Throw your Hate Away” trash can. If they had positive words to offer and/or their hope for the future, they were asked to write it on our “Wall of Hope”. Then they were asked to be seated for a short debriefing session with professional counselors.

As the day came to a close, almost all volunteers and staff had taken a tour of the tunnel. We shared our personal feelings around the different rooms. Since most of the organizers discuss and confront these issues of oppression frequently, it did not affect us much. On the contrary, it made us realize how much work there needs to be done.

Day 1 was slow, organizers and volunteers did not know what to expect. By the end of the day, we all let out a sigh of relief and prepared ourselves for another full day of discussing issues of oppression as we said our “see you tomorrow”s.

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GMU Multicultural Center Final Prep. Mtg.

"Tunnel of Oppression" Prep. @ GMU

Our partnership with George Mason University comes into play once again. GMU will be hosting the “Tunnel of Oppression” Festival tomorrow and Wednesday for students and faculty members to confront and discuss critical issues around racism and diversity. Specifically, “The Tunnel of Oppression” is an interactive, walk-through museum experience that highlights contemporary oppression. Each room both educates and challenges students to think about how they are oppressed and their roles in each type of oppression.

The annual festival is organized by students and faculty and is hosted on campuses around the country. This year’s event will highlight issues around hurricane Katrina, LGBTQ issues, Palestinian struggle, body image, airport security, amongst others.

Our role in the festival is to support the final room of the tunnel being the “Area of Hope”. The “Area of Hope” is a safe space in which participants will discuss feelings that came up for them when they walked through the tunnel and share with us their hopes and strategies to decrease oppression around them.

Tarik Perkins

Welcome Tarik Perkins!

Recently, Tarik Perkins of Rising Roots International joined our team as a volunteer to conduct free computer trainings with our community. Rising Roots International is dedicated to creating connections between and supporting grassroots movements from communities around the world. With the goal of collaborative analysis for action, they use popular education to build with the experience of the community. In a world where technology can mean exclusion or empowerment, they strive to equalize access to resources that facilitate communication and collective action across and within regions and cultures.

Tarik is currently working on his M.A. in Economics through Georgetown University. On November 2nd, Tarik and Sheila did outreach in our new base of Trinidad/Ivy City promoting “Free Computer Trainings” as a part of Worldyouth Media. Today, two siblings attended the first class. They are full of energy and seemed very excited about the computer trainings and upcoming media trainings they will receive immediately thereafter.

Computer Trainings will happen through December. In January, we will evaluate the program

The trainings are held every Wednesday, 6pm – 8pm @ YLSN office, 1119 Montello Ave. NE (Back Alley Entrance). To attend “Free Computer Trainings”, Please call (202) 215-3817.

For more information on Rising Roots International, please visit www.risingroots.org.