Celebrating Black & Brown Motherhood

In preparation for mother's day ATN will be in conversation with four of our 2020 Single Mom Grant Recipients discussing motherhood for women of color, what it means to be a mother in the fight for abolitionist education, the involvement of Black and Brown children in abolitionist work and more!

*We encourage you to reserve a ticket at the price point that is relevant to your financial circumstance and look forward to your attendance!*

Jihan Thomas is a visual artist, artivist, mother, community arts educator from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has over 14 years experience facilitating art in her city where she uses her art to encourage transformation and activation. She works in painting, drawing, murals and ceramics. Jihan is mother to a beautiful daughter who also loves to be creative. As an educator, Jihan stresses the importance of culturally rich classrooms, arts integration into the curriculum and youth advocacy.

Rossa Socco is a teacher, herbalist, doctoral student in Chinese Medicine, and cultural practitioner specializing in depleted mothers/ women + GNC folk/ organizers, pediatrics and PTSD. Her teachers and elders prohibit self-description as a “healer”. She is the inheritor of her grandmother’s medicine + facilitates ceremony, acupuncture, reiki, pediatric massage + herbalism to support people through processes including healing ancestral trauma, death/dying and grief work, transitions + transformation, physical manifestations of pain and illness, and more. As a teacher and trainer, She brings 17 years of experience in life trajectory shifts for students, youth leaders, large group facilitation, curriculum writing, systems change, teaching advanced political education + international feminist activism. She has trained over 20,000 youth and adults nationally + internationally.

Coi Morrison is a corporate trainer, curriculum writer, and the founder of The Black Inquiry Project with over 15 years of experience as an educator and instructional leader. Prior to her current role, Coi worked in both Chicago Public and Shelby County school districts, during which time she was recognized for outstanding student achievement and growth. As a classroom teacher Coi was often called upon to facilitate district-wide training and mentoring that eventually led to a district-level position as an instructional coach with a portfolio of schools. Although Coi has transitioned from the K-12 education setting, there her heart remains and in July of 2020 she founded The Black Inquiry Project and released the first BlackIQ – an inquiry-based curriculum that centers Black voices and the Black experience in America. Since its release, the BlackIQ curriculum has been implemented across the country including in Illinois, Wisconsin, Georgia, and New York. Coi continues to write curriculum in addition to supporting schools in the implementation of the BlackIQ curriculum. Coi was a 2020 recipient of a grant from the Abolitionist Teaching Network for her work with The Black Inquiry Project.

Tamara Leigh: Advocate and Activist, Tamara Leigh has dedicated her life to championing for the BIPOC, QTPOC and LGBTQ+ Communities. Starting her career in Public Relations with the formation of Roc Candy Media, an urban PR firm specializing in media management, brand development and event coordination in Rochester, NY in 2010, Tamara coordinated events for thousands of people and was honored to do PR for The Avenue Blackbox Theatre, City of Rochester and Rochester Black Pride. Leigh went on to become the Director of Operations and Public Relations for Out Alliance and the Editor of Empty Closet Magazine (the longest continuously published LGBTQ+ publication in the nation). Tamara has spoken and provided educational services around the topics of Implicit Bias, All Black Lives Matter, Queer and Trans Rights and the Intesectionality of QTPOC at rallies, in Board Rooms, and for classes and companies nationwide. In 2020, Leigh launched Blaque/OUT Consulting and Blaque/OUT Magazine to further educate and create space for Black and Brown Queer Voices. Leigh is a proud mother of two young Black sons and all of her work is centered around creating a world where they will be seen, heard, respected, protected and judged by the content of their character.