Notes from Arts Block Preparation

Update by Samantha Wilson

The On-Going Preparation...

Next week, we will be taking a field trip with the Arts Block high schoolers to Little India in Artesia. We will have a short introduction, then visit a clothing shop and have an Indian lunch. We are seeking to tie in different themes for this project: ArtsBlock is moving on towards a "Race" theme (looking at notions of difference, privilege) that we will tie into introducing the students to India and international dialogue. After our field trip on Wednesday, we will do a debrief at the Gandhi statue in downtown Riverside-- a statue made in India, with a whole scene of Martin Luther King carved into it. In fact, there is a fantastic Martin Luther King statue down the road. Perhaps we will incorporate that, too.

Below are some of my preparational materials for our upcoming events next week:

A. Little India Field Trip:

Wednesday: 9:30AM-1PM

- Contact clothing store (Did this!)

- Contact restaurant (Did this!)

- Short presentation or sheet for students to read as we drive there

- Photography Scavenger hunt:

Some initial ideas include…

1. Ganesh

2. Bindhi

3. “Difference”

B. Our Joint Message: The Child Leader Project & UCR ARTSBlock MGV

Our goal: Youth leadership and social change through cross-cultural dialogue, creativity, and education

Gather at the Gandhi statue:

· Caste and race

· Who was Gandhi? How does this fit leadership? What is a Gandhi statue doing in Riverside? How does this fit race?

Video Clips:

- Gandhi: Civil Disobedience: Salt March/Arrest/Nonviolent Attack on Salt Works: http://youtube.com/watch?v=u_Gasq6qfzU&feature=related

- MLK, disobedience/marching/tactics/journey set to music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w61QB8_KOuc&feature=related

Notes from viewing the videos (common themes):

1. Civil disobedience (used non violent tactics)

2. Community change/organizing (Who has power? In the clip about Gandhi, he says “They are not in control—we are. That is the strength of civil resistance.”)

3. Define “terrorist” (both, US and British forces attempted to deny these organizing activities on the basis of “terrorism”)

4. Human Interdependence/Interconnection: whether economic (i.e. salt, clothing in Gandhi’s case) or human interconnectedness (i.e. the quote about our mutual liberation—in the MLK film he states that his work was not only important for “The American Negro but for the whole country.”)