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

Pickering Room, Main Library. CALLING is a participatory, interdisciplinary humanities offering that invites communities to reflect, create, and reimagine what it means to be American at the threshold of our nation’s 250th anniversary. Rooted in the belief that creativity is a liberating force and a civic practice, CALLING brings together spoken word, storytelling, and imaginative inquiry with Rajnii Eddins and block printing with A Revolutionary Press to engage participants in courageous conversation and hands-on art-making. Through image, word, and shared reflection, participants explore themes of belonging, dignity, accountability, and possibility—asking not only who we have been as a nation, but who we are being called to become. This offering centers voices that have too often been marginalized or unheard, with special attention to youth and currently or formerly incarcerated individuals, honoring lived experience as essential to the American story. Participants are invited to create visual prints and poetic responses that function as personal and collective declarations—acts of witness, remembrance, and hope. In a moment of national reflection, CALLING affirms that democracy is not only inherited but practiced; that imagination is not escapism but infrastructure; and that shared humanity must be continually reclaimed through listening, creativity, and care. The program leaves communities with tangible artworks, renewed connection, and a deeper commitment to human dignity—for all. Sponsored by Vermont Humanities. About the Speakers Hailing from Seattle Washington, Rajnii Eddins has been performing poetry and engaging diverse audiences for more than 20 years. He was the youngest member of the African American Writers Alliance at 11 years old, was chosen as the first youth poet to read original works to the Seattle City Council at 17, and represented Seattle in the National Poetry Slam. He is a published author of two books of poetry, A Taste of RAGE and Their Names Are Mine. Rajnii…