Risk & Ritual | Tuesday August 6, 2019 | 6:30-8:30 PM

Activists Constance Young and glo merriweather discuss how ritual sustains the transformative practice of risk-taking in liberation movements. Why is ritual necessary and how does it sustain us? How does it make those who resist more whole and redefine our ability to persist through experiences of violence? Speakers share their experiences with risk and ritual, connecting the social justice practice of healing one’s society to the practice of healing the body, mind and soul. Moderated by Richael Faithful, folk healer and activist.

The Braxton Institute Dialogues on Resisting and Thriving engage justice-activists with the nitty-gritty issues that can undermine our success, such as conflicts within our movements, burnout, internalized oppression and benevolent paternalism. The Dialogues prioritize the wisdom and leadership of women of color, and resource our effectiveness through break-through conversations, and by exploring and re-imaging the spiritual resources that have fueled and sustained powerful social change movements—including folk healing, meditation, rituals for empowerment, celebration, and more. This series is generously supported as an Eileen Fisher Community Partner.

Constance Paige Young is an anti-racist activist and a long-term advocate for survivors of sexual violence. As a survivor of multiple violent crimes, she has found purpose and healing in writing, public speaking, and is a strong presence for others in crisis and recovery.
Her work with organizations including RAINN's Speakers Bureau, All Souls Unitarian Church and various grassroots organizations has motivated her to help survivors of crime find justice outside the often re-traumatizing criminal court system. To this end, she is exploring social entrepreneurship.
Constance is currently writing her memoir and pursuing a certificate in Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania part time. She resides in Washington, DC.

glo merriweather is a 27 year old Black trans community organizer living in Charlotte, North Carolina. In September of 2016, $20,000.00 in warrants were put out for glo’s arrest after they spoke up about witnessing the police murder of Justin Carr, an unarmed Black man, during the Charlotte Uprising protests. The Charlotte Uprising took place in the hours after the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department murdered an innocent Black man named Keith Lamont Scott.
After two long years of fighting for their freedom and declining plea deal after plea deal, the Charlotte Mecklenburg District Attorney dropped all charges against glo due to insufficient evidence, in August of 2018.
Since glo’s charges were dropped, they have been working toward building trauma-informed initiatives for other marginalized folks who have experienced or witnessed extreme violence. glo believes in the power of trauma-informed communities and healing.
They plan to continue this work until all of us are in right relationship with our trauma and the traumatized folks and Earth around us.

Richael Faithful (they/them) is a multi-disciplinary healer, creator, and cultural worker rooted in the African diaspora tradition of conjure. Their long-time movement work as a visionary organizer, radical lawyer, and relational facilitator has routinely brought them to the edges of vulnerability and meaning. From political public ritual to bold futuristic writing, they carry embodied theories about risk and moral struggle into the Braxton Institute series conversation.