MozFest Spelman College Blackpaper

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices of the grandmothers and grandfathers of this land known to many as Turtle Island. They have never been compensated for what was stolen, nor have they been allowed to heal themselves and their lands from the trauma inflicted upon them.

We recognize the lives lost and the free labor provided by enslaved Africans, their descendants, and others who created the foundation for all known as the United States of America (and the Americas broadly). And that foundation has been used only to benefit a small minority.

Let us recognize the difficult histories of colonial lands and the oppressive realities that persist in our current time. We commit to dismantling racism, classism, ableism, and oppression of the vulnerable. Let us now commit to healing ourselves from the traumas many of us carry. We do this by decolonizing our minds, homes, relationships, institutions, and ways of being. We will replace all with ways of being that center the love and protection of family and community and the freedom of self-determination.

This paper intentionally works to uproot colonial structures, methods, ways of knowing, and hierarchies wherever possible. We consciously decenter traditionally amplified hegemonic praxis to amplify cultural and indigenous values and ways of knowing.