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“All flourishing is mutual,” writes the Potowatomi botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer. At Humanities Amped, where our work is defined by the resilience of our relationships, we are feeling the resonance and timeliness of Kimmerer’s message. The Humanities Amped mission is to empower public school communities and youth organizations to cultivate healing justice, radical imagination, and beloved community: this is not work we can do alone. Through last year, we were so grateful to be able to accompany Baton Rouge public school students and teachers during a really tough time. We could only do that because of your willingness to show up for us.
This school year, we’re putting down roots so that we may mutually flourish with our partners at Broadmoor Senior High School. When Amped Program Manager Zachary Williams opens the doors of the Amped space at Broadmoor each morning, he’s often met by several students already waiting to take advantage of Amped community care check-ins, our way of offering a listening ear, a space to breathe, and referrals that get students to the critical resources they need. At lunch, students drop in and bring their friends to get a cup of tea and sprawl out on one of our big bean bag chairs. “This is where I met all my friends,” one student told us recently. Seniors who get out of school early come spend the last period of the day with us at Dreamkeepers, where they can get hands-on support to reach their goals for life after high school. After the final bell, students pour through the doors for Amped Studio Afterschool, a time to express themselves through the arts, get help in academics, gain leadership experience, and find healing in restorative circles. When students enter the Amped space, they know that their voices matter and that they will be heard.
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