This Week @ NewComm: INFORMED AGITATION

Dear NewComm Community,

I hope this letter finds you well. In a recent message to our student Fellows, I emphasized the significance of the spaces we create for BIPOC folks, spaces where we gather strength, confidence, tools, and networks to face the challenges before us. Today, I want to elaborate on this thought here and share the exciting vision we have for the future of education at NewComm.

In these tumultuous times, it has become clear to me that education can not merely be a transaction from teacher to student, solely for the purpose of gaining college admission. Instead, we must envision schools as dynamic design studios, places where we harness the tools of the classroom to shape our understanding of the world and, more importantly, to bring about justice. This isn't a matter of political affiliation; it's about identifying the cracks in the system and collectively working to mend them.

During a recent meeting with our board, I was challenged to think boldly about our current business model. Instead of just merely providing summer programs for 11th and 12th grades, what if we started this work with 9th graders, providing them with scaffolded projects each year that combine our design studio curriculum with their education at their home schools? Imagine if we equipped them with a network, both vertical and horizontal, that not only bolstered their confidence but also equipped them with the language and skills to persist in their pursuits. After four years of this work, we believe that they will not just be prepared for college, they will be ready to leverage their college experience to make a profound impact on the world, moving beyond self-development.

We firmly believe that the path to disrupting flawed systems is not by simply placing individuals within them; it requires empowering these individuals to be "informed agitators", capable of understanding the language of systems but do the important work of mending what is broken. This is the mission we are steadfastly pursuing at NewComm, and it fills me with immense enthusiasm to continue this crucial work.

I want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support. Together, we can create a brighter and more just future through education. Let's keep pushing boundaries and redefining the purpose of learning. Together, we will make a difference.

Thank you for being part of our journey.

Warm regards,

Chidi

Founder and CEO, NewComm PROJECT

RESOURCES THAT HAVE INFORMED OUR WORK THIS WEEK:

Souls of Our Nations: The Venice Biennale through a Transnational Black Feminist Lens

• "This project investigates how race, gender, and nationality impact the reception of artistry in the context of the Venice Biennale. It has a transnational Black feminist framework with attention to intersectionality, scholar-activism, and solidarity building.* The Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) is the largest and oldest international contemporary art exhibition. It is often called ‘the Olympics of Art’ given its diplomatic complexities [...]. In this project, Pulitzer Reporting Fellow Nailah Reine Barnes investigates how race, gender, and nationality impact the reception of artistry in the context of the Venice Biennale. Her approach questions the inequities that have resulted from centuries of colonialism and racism, as well as new derivations of marginalization. The components of this project are multi-faceted, ranging from in-depth analyses and criticisms to emotive interviews and conversations. The stories and media elements highlight the impact of Black women artists in the space, including Simone Leigh, Zenib Sedira, and Gee’s Bend quilters. [...] The articles are deeply personal, reflecting how the Venice Biennale was generative for Nailah as a writer, collaborator, curator, researcher, and young Black woman making sense of her identity and genealogy.?[...]" / Pulitzer Center

Kicking Off 4th Annual Black Fine Art Month this October: Pigment International

• "Pigment International? is kicking off its 4th annual celebration of Black Fine Art Month? (BFAM) this October with a series of events in both Aurora and Chicago. Founded in 2019 as a celebration of the Black fine art aesthetic, the annual recognition has been entered into the Congressional Record by Congresswoman Robin Kelly.?This year Pigment International will revisit a question it explored in the 2022 issue of its award winning Pigment Magazine of what the public square of the future might look like.? This is light of the June announcement that the Mellon Foundationwas awarding grants of $6.8 million to The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) to support the Chicago Monuments Project (CMP) and citywide community-generated commemorative initiatives and installations. Funding from the Mellon Foundation will allow for the implementation of new Chicago monuments, including the Chicago Torture Justice Memorial. These projects will add—permanently and temporarily—to the City of Chicago’s collection and memorialize events, people, and groups that historically have been excluded.?[...]" / Patricia Andrews-Keenan

EdWeek Research Center: Student Anxiety Drives to Missing School

• "Aside from physical illness and bad weather, anxiety is the top reason high school students missed school in the past year, according to the results of a student survey from the EdWeek Research Center. Sixteen percent of students who were absent for at least a day in the past year and missed school for reasons other than physical illness said they didn’t attend because of anxiety, and 12 percent said they felt too sad or depressed to attend. The results from the survey of 1,034 high school students conducted from Aug. 31 through Sept. 21 underscore the realities of a growing youth mental health crisis, which U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has labeled “the defining public health crisis of our time.” In 2021, results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey showed that 4 in 10 students felt persistently sad or hopeless and one-third experienced poor mental health [...]. A majority of high school students—52 percent—said they needed mental health services in the past year, according to the EdWeek Research Center survey. [...]" / EdWeek

Smithsonian American Art Museum's New Galleries Encorage Lingering

• "The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s (SAAM) modern and contemporary galleries reopened September 22 after a three-year renovation – bringing new installations exploring American art and ushering the return of the iconic?“Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii". “American Voices and Visions: Modern and Contemporary Art” will feature over 100 artworks from a range of media pieces that explores the explosion of possibility in American art between the 1940s and today, according to a release from SAAM. “The redesigned gallery aims to create a more expansive view of American art with history from Asian American, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and women artists, according to the release,” said Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Stephanie Stebich.?[...] SAAM is a veritable playground of Black art with works by some of the giants of contemporary art includingBasquiat, Nick Cave, Mickalene Thomas, Mark Bradford and Kerry James Marshall. The galleries are bright, open and encourage lingering.? Pigment International’s recommendation is to reserve multiple days to take in everything." / Patricia Andrews-Keenan

FEATURED CONTENT:

??? In Case You've Missed Out On It Last Week: We Introduced The NewComm FELLOWS Documentary: Dream, Vision, Impact! ???

Have you ever had a dream that changed your life? Chidi did, and it led to the creation of something truly remarkable. ??

Join us on an incredible journey as we unveil the NewComm FELLOWS Documentary, a project that began with a dream and transformed into a powerful reality. ????

In the depths of a dream, Chidi envisioned a world where the voices of young high school students would resonate, where their stories would inspire change. ????

And now, with great pride and excitement, we invite you to witness the magic of building a better, more just world through literary science. This is FELLOWS - The Documentary ??

INSIDE NEWCOMM:

--We are thrilled to announce that Chidi will be delivering a keynote address and a workshop session at the upcoming MINTvernetzt Thinkathon conference in Cologne, Germany next month! He will be discussing all things NewComm and our "literary science" framework. It's also a true honor to be sharing this platform with It Gets Better Project and other projects dedicated to building exceptional learning environments for underserved communities.

HOW TO JOIN IN

Donate!

Email Us

Meet with our Founder, Chidi!

Thank you for reading! Feel free to reach out to us?HERE?if you have any questions. We would love to hear from you. We’ll see you again next week!