Lydia Mercer’s Post

It’s amazing the deep connections one can make when humanity, rather than systems, is centered. When we choose to see people and are also open to being seen, transformational relationships are possible. (Un)Learning Space met Molly through a work partnership with 4.0 schools- a dope organization serving amazing entrepreneurs who want to impact their communities. We are so grateful to have met Molly, and were delighted to recently connect with her and her beautiful family.

Yasssss! 🙌🏽🫶🏽 Well done. So excited for this collective. Let’s GO!

So proud and inspired. 🥹🥰 Jason is an incredible human and I am so blessed to be his partner! I encourage you to listen. You’ll laugh and feel all the things. A wonderful and realll talk. ❤️ Well done, babe. Jason Mercer.

𝙸𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝚆𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗. 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛. 𝚂𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎, 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜. *𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎- 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚝𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝙼𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢…𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙱𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚗-𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚌 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎. 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔…𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌. 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚞𝚙 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔. 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚑𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚜𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚞𝚜𝚝. 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏… M𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝?💭 🙃 𝚂𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚢𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚖-𝚏𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚢-𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚢-𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚢-𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎. 𝙰 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. 𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎. 𝙰𝚕𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚎𝚎𝚎, 𝙻𝚢𝚍𝚒𝚊 #WHM #womenshistorymonth #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #WorkingMom #love #humanity #humancentered #NationalWorkingMomsDay

✍🏾 “WAITING AND WORKING FOR A MORE LIBERATORY WORLD” As BHM comes to a close, the synergies between being Black in America and the discomfort of waiting emerge. But the wait doesn’t stop the work or the preparation for the world we’re dreaming and reimagining. “𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” -𝘓𝘺𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘳 Visit the link in our bio or head to unlearningspace.org to subscribe and read the full newsletter. When you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll receive first access to bi-monthly updates, thoughts, and special announcements. #newsletter #BHM #blackhistorymonth #antiracist #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #socialjustice #equity #give #donate #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #love #humanity #humancentered

FACE- Family and Community Engagement, Chicago Public Schools This recent Community of Practice workshop focused on communication and what that actually means in actions and ways of being. Our workshops always build from lived experience, so these pictures are folx sharing stories and collectively working towards a vision for the type of communication they want and deserve. Visit our website to learn more about the work we do and how you can get involved! #BHM #blackhistorymonth #antiracist #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #socialjustice #equity #give #donate #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #love #humanity #humancentered

During this month of celebration of Black history (which, for us, is everyday ✊🏾), we are reflecting on our community and thinking about all the beauty of Black history and culture. Our qualitative and quantitative data repeatedly show us that storytelling as an organizational practice - that is, folks sharing their stories and 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 the stories of others - is a critical organizational practice for healing past harms in organizations, and building relationships with a foundation of trust, care, and visibility. As we analyze this data and make meaning of it through the lens of relationality, Gwendolyn Brooks beautiful work in 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯 comes to mind: “𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅.” #MeaningMakingMonday #BHM #blackhistorymonth #antiracist #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #socialjustice #equity #give #donate #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #love #humanity #humancentered

As we see previous performative support come crashing down (is that you DEI 👀), and the rewriting and whitewashing of history take place, this Black History Month is shedding light on how performative action only inhibits growth and continues cycles of trauma and pain. The noticeable wave of disinvestment in DEI is disappointing, to say the least, yet predictable to state the obvious, but… was it problematic to begin with??? The idea of DEI working within oppressive systems seems like a recipe for, well, failure. Without humanity at the forefront and the belief that even the “lowest” on this false and harmful oppressive hierarchy matter in all aspects, companies have continued to perpetuate the same oppressive systems, ways of being, and doing. For Black people, it’s nearly impossible to turn off an awareness of oppression and the complex and colliding compulsive harms. The hope is that, through unlearning, people in organizations find their power and use it to advocate for justice no matter the ebbs and flows of society. You are powerful, and yes, you are being gaslit. Your experience matters, and so does your voice. #BHM #blackhistorymonth #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #socialjustice #equity #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #love #humanity #humancentered #DEI

A more liberatory world begins with a more liberatory self- confronting pain at the root and committing to solutions that promote repair and healing. #BHM #blackhistorymonth #bellhooks #unlearningspace #unlearning #liberation #socialjustice #equity #give #donate #unlearninglyd #healing #wellbeing #belonging #BIPOCorg #love #humanity #humancentered

Last week, (Un)Learning Space was grateful to join Sustainable Community Schools’ Professional Development. Sustainable Community Schools is at the forefront of building expansive spaces within education. Creating these spaces requires an unlearning of standard schooling and fostering environments of belonging where organizers, activists, community members, young people, parents, teachers, staff- pretty much ere’body- are welcome. Because it’s going to take all of us to support our students and transform a system designed to fail. @Lala_nomada @double_dutch1980