08/16/2026
Last weekend we took a walk along the Rahway River through West Orange, Orange, and South Orange with our Roots of Division class to see the effects of redlining in our communities.
Later that day we convened at Military Park for this month's Music on Main concert. We had great vibes from our DJ Zunyda, singer Merikara, and Carlos Frias & Circulo Social.
Our Steel Band played in Orange's annual Caribbean festival and hosted a band launch at The HUUB. The adult and youth bands performed together and their joy was contagious! The Moko Jumbie stilt walkers added some extra delight and wonder.
We held our final Roots of Division class on Monday evening. We revisited photos from our river walk, revisited our maps, and heard from Doug Farrand about the ways in which our Music City program touches on Dr. Mindy Fullilove's elements of urban restoration. We ended the class with a teaser from Mia White about restorative planning that we hope to turn into future UofO courses.
Tuesday night we heard from the writers of memoir class. They shared their reflections on some of the most critical issues of our time. It was a moving evening that incorporated music with prose. Brava!
Last night we welcomed Sergio Campos to speak with us about his life's work for our autonomous spaces series. Sergio spoke with us about his homeland in El Salvador, the issues that his community there faces regularly, and how they are able to work together. Sergio has much wisdom to offer with us all about creating connections to each other, our communities, and the land we share.
Summer Session ended this morning with a Ben Jones Community Garden Volunteer Day. The team built a trellis for the sprawling watermelons among other regular harvesting, maintenance and beautifying tasks.
We are heading to the World Fellowship in the White Mountains in New Hampshire for our annual retreat. We’ll be reflecting, resting, stargazing, planning, and offering some programs about work. We look forward to seeing you in September!
