CALLING: Reclaiming Shared Humanity in America's 250th Year

About this event

Pickering Room, Main Library. CALLING: Reclaiming Shared Humanity in America’s 250th Year is an interdisciplinary humanities offering that invites communities to reflect, create, and reimagine what it means to be American in this pivotal moment of national reflection and possibility. Rooted in the belief that creativity is both a liberating force and a civic practice, CALLING brings together spoken word poetry, storytelling, facilitated dialogue, and imaginative inquiry led by Rajnii Eddins alongside a hands-on block printing experience facilitated by A Revolutionary Press. Together, these artistic practices create a dynamic space where participants engage both heart and hand, reflection and action, imagination and expression. Through poetry, personal narrative, visual art, and shared conversation, participants explore themes of belonging, dignity, accountability, freedom, memory, and possibility. Participants are invited to consider not only the history of our nation, but the future we hope to shape together. A central component of the experience is the collaborative block printing workshop. Participants create original printed works that serve as personal and collective declarations—acts of witness, remembrance, resistance, aspiration, and hope. The printmaking process offers a tangible way for individuals to translate reflection into creation, producing artwork that embodies their values, experiences, and visions for a more just and humane future. CALLING intentionally centers voices that have too often been marginalized, overlooked, or unheard, with special attention to youth and currently or formerly incarcerated individuals. The program honors lived experience as essential to the American story and recognizes that democracy is strengthened when more people are empowered to tell their stories and contribute to the public imagination. Participants leave with: Original block print artwork they have created Written reflections, poems, or personal declarations New tools for dialogue,…