She Who Learns

What We Do

She Who Learns is a pro-liberation, abolitionist, transformative justice collective founded on the belief that "she who learns, teaches."  We are an intergenerational, grassroots collective of diasporic Black women and femme somatic abolitionists, spiritual herbalists, and educators who work within our communities to support organising, educating, training, and mobilising a critical mass of Black and Brown (queer, trans, (un)documented, (dis)abled, (non-)English speaking, (non-)Muslim, low-income/poor, rural, urban…) people focused on co-creating and maintaining liberatory healing spaces in schools and communities.

Our work, rooted in healing justice and liberation-focused healing, within our communities addresses injected/internalised racial oppression, adultism, and anti-Blackness to foster and maintain healthy, educated, empowered communities prepared to imagine and practice getting free (e.g., confront and undo racism, abolish prisons, defund police, and dismantle white supremacy and anti-Blackness). As our young people's elders and co-conspirators, we centre Black and Brown young people and their work to organise and build with the participatory democracy principles and goals created by Ella Baker. To this end, our intergenerational collective focuses on

• supporting organisations working for social change in making their spaces worthy of marginalised communities by (a) institutionalising listening; (b) identifying and eradicating white supremacy culture, and (c) minimising hierarchy and standards of “professionalism”;

• resolving social problems through engaging in direct action; and

• centring grassroots people in the decisions that impact their lives.

Our youth-centred sociopolitical education aims to

• (re)connect with our ancestral epistemologies and healing-centred practices to address the trauma of our communities through earth-work, herbalism, energy-work, spirituality, doulaing and midwifery, amongst other practices;

• understand racism, anti-Blackness and other systems of oppression to define and practice getting free;

• undo adultism;

• abolish prisons and defund police;

• dismantle white supremacy;

• develop critical and radical consciousness and leadership skills;

• actively create a healthy understanding of our intersectional identities;

• establish cross-generational and multiracial relationships; and

• address the needs in our communities.

We are critical lovers of the U.S. education system with a keen eye on educator preparation, support, and development - specifically of Black teachers and other teachers of colour working in communities of colour.  We endeavour to make education (and all) spaces worthy of young people by fostering systemic changes in educator preparation, support, and development, shifting the philosophical and pedagogical foundations to radical racial equity and actively undoing adultism and racism.

Our Methodologies/Frameworks:

• Somatic Abolitionism

• Healing Justice

• Black Radical Traditions

• Transformative Justice

• Black Liberatory Education & Organising

• Disability Justice

• Youth Participatory Action Research

• Emergent Strategy

• Cultural Work & Organising

• Language Justice

• Liberation-Focused Healing Framework

• Intergenerational Organising

• Popular Education

We provide a wide range of services to adults and organisations working with/for young people (speaking engagements, professional development, trainings, workshops, consulting, advocacy, community organising) on all aspects of K-20 education and youth-involved work, including:

• Pro-Liberation

• Abolitionism

• Anti-colonialism/Decolonisation

• Antiracism

• Anti-oppression

• Belonging

• Cultural & Linguistic Responsiveness

• Culturally Responsive/Sustaining School Cultures

• Culturally Sustaining Spaces

• Equity & Inclusion

• Exceptional Learners

• Healing Justice

• Intergenerational Instructional and Culture Rounds

• Language Justice

• Disability Justice

• Literacy & Numeracy Curricula

• Professional Learning Communities and Lesson Study

• Responsive/Sustaining Family and Community Engagement

• Somatics

• Special Education Law & Advocacy

• Teacher Preparation & Development (Including Mindsets)

• Transformative Justice

• Youth Development and Organising

Our clients include schools, departments, educators and individuals in:

• Baltimore Department of Social Services,

• Baltimore City Public Schools,

• Chan Zuckerburg Initiative,

• Chicago Public Schools,

• Dallas Independent School District,

• District of Columbia Public Schools,

• East Baton Rouge Parish Schools,

• Fairfax County Public Schools,

• Foster America,

• Fostering Change Network,

• GroCharity Events,

• Howard County Public Schools,

• KIPP San Antonio,

• Louisiana State University,

• Metanoia,

• Morgan State University,

• National Association of Independent Schools,

• Peer Health Exchange, and

• Recovery School District (NOLA).