Category: projects

‘books sandwiched in’ at wood library

spoke about ‘citizen: an america lyric,’ part of ‘books sandwiched in’ at wood library in #canandaigua today. discussed the book (with a clip from an interview with claudia rankine), the idea of #microaggressions, the toll they take on the body, and how my film #TheInjuredBody was inspired by the book. shared some clips from the film and explained how dance, the muscular contraction of the body, and breathing are important themes in the film. the Q & A was particularly lively with some resistance to microaggressions i shared as examples. will write more about that. but the library’s director realized how such convos were badly needed, and asked for names of activists and speakers. i guess that’s a step forward. here i am with jenny goodemote the library’s executive director.

panelists for post screening discussion

After the screening of ‘A Thin Wall’ there will be a Q&A discussion about the film, the 1947 partition, and the current news coming out of India.

I will be joined by Hibah Arshad, who will speak from personal experience about what it’s like to have family in India.

Hibah Arshad is a graduate of the University of Rochester. She majored in Psychology and is planning to pursue a career in medicine. She has been actively involved in interfaith efforts and community outreach for a number of years. She is a first generation Indian-American, and hopes to bring light to the impact that these recent events have had on Indian Muslims around the world.

My second co-panelist, for our post-screening discussion, will be Thomas Gibson. Tom will talk about British colonialism, the history of the RSS and European fascism. He will also locate the Delhi pogrom in a global, neoliberal context. Here is his bio.

Thomas Gibson is an anthropologist who has conducted extensive field research in the Philippines and Indonesia on religious nationalism, the indigenous peoples movement, and the legacy of Spanish, American and Dutch colonialism in Southeast Asia. He teaches courses at the University of Rochester on Radical Social Theory, American Empire, and Political Ontology.

Sat. March 14 // 6-9 PM // 36 King Street
Tickets on sale now:
$8/online // $10/ at the door
http://tiny.cc/540thinwall

why the partition is still relevant

when i was working on ‘a thin wall,’ some people questioned its relevance. after all, why would something that happened in 1947, on the other side of the planet, in south asia, have any relevance for the world in the 21st century.

the advent of fascism in india along with the recent violence unleashed on minorities, especially the anti-muslim pogrom in delhi, have everything to do with the partition – with ethnonationalism, racial supremacy, and ideas of separation and ‘purity.’ many have likened the pogrom to kristallnacht in 1930s germany. there are also astounding similarities to the incitement and killings of 1947.

so far there has been no public discussion in rochester about the unraveling of india, what arundhati roy describes as follows:

‘A democracy that is not governed by a Constitution and one whose institutions have all been hollowed out can only ever become a majoritarian state. You can agree or disagree with a Constitution as a whole or in part – but to act as though it does not exist as this government is doing is to completely dismantle democracy. Perhaps this is the aim. This is our version of the coronavirus. We are sick.’

pls join us for a vigorous post-screening discussion and learn more. this can happen anywhere, especially in the US where fascism has already become a reality.

will be posting the bios of my co-panelists soon.

choreographing a piece about micro-aggressions

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taught @my.marikoyamada’s ‘dance performance and collaboration’ class today at @nazarethcollege. i talked about #TheInjuredBody: a #film about #racism in america, showed students clips from interviews. i explained #microaggressions, double consciousness and franz fanon’s work on the ‘muscular contraction’ of the colonized body. we read a poem from ‘citizen: an american lyric’ and saw the film projection from a fringe festival piece that mariko and i collaborated on in 2017. i asked students to use the words, concepts and images we had discussed to choreograph a multimedia piece. they did an incredible job in just 30-40 minutes. this is a v rough presentation of the individual choreography as well as a tiny bit of the collaborative ‘phrase’ they came up with ?

A post shared by mara ahmed (@mara__ahmed) on

my talk at first unitarian church

received a warm welcome at the First Unitarian Church of Rochester where i gave a multimedia presentation on ‘islamophobia is racism.’ thank u to Barbara de Leeuw for organizing and to Pamela Kim for introducing me. thank u to all who came out on this cold winter day and added to the discussion.

mara ahmed, paul flansburg, pamela adams and kevin beckford

‘Islamophobia is Racism’ at First Unitarian Church of Rochester

I will be presenting at First Unitarian Church of Rochester on Thursday Feb 6, 7-9 pm. The topic will be ‘Islamophobia is Racism’ (part of the ‘Race, Racism and Relationship’ series at First Unitarian Church).

As white supremacy becomes emboldened in America, overt racism has re-entered civil discourse and there has been a corresponding surge in Islamophobia. The word Islamophobia is used frequently by mainstream media, yet few understand its social construction, historical context, or operation in everyday life.

This interactive, multimedia workshop will help explicate the term, locate it in history, and clarify its overlap with racism. The presentation will be followed by group activities and an open discussion. Thank you Barbara De Leeuw for organizing this before our move. Looking forward.

Rochesterian advocates for equity despite facing racism, sexism, and ableism

the incredible luticha doucette <3

Noelle C. Evans: Luticha Doucette is the equity coordinator at Rochester City Hall. Currently, she’s working on the Race Equity and Leadership Initiative (REAL) for city government. REAL is part of a program with the National League of Cities aimed to address structural racism through policy and civic engagement.

She says that while there are conversations in Rochester around racial equity, like REAL, there isn’t as much visibility for disabilities.

“Disability is often put to the wayside. And you can’t separate the two. I’m not disabled on a Sunday, right? I’m disabled 24/7 just like I’m black 24/7,” she says.

For Doucette, she says a mix of sexism, racism, and ableism — which is discrimination against those with disabilities — put her in a life-threatening situation a few years ago when she was having health complications. More here.

Rosalie “Daystar” Jones – Using art to carry tradition forward

The beautiful Rosalie M. Jones who choreographed and performed for The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America <3

Rebecca Rafferty: Jones has had an active and impressive career as a pioneer of what she called Native Modern Dance, which draws inspiration from Indigenous inter-tribal dance as well as the modern dance she studied in her postgraduate days at Juilliard (where she hung out with the legendary Martha Graham).

She was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Her mother was Chippewa and her father was a Welsh-Canadian railroad worker who crossed the border at 18 and met her mother on the reservation.

“I think because the both of them had hard childhoods and really no opportunities for formal education, they wanted to give that to me,” Jones said. “So consequently, I was encouraged from the very beginning to get college degrees, university degrees, and pursue my own talents and ideas for my lifetime work.” More here.