Microsoft Word – official final praxis- Weintraub, Naomi .docx
It was the last Floetic Friday’s event of the academic school year, and we were running late, as we usually do. Everyone was in the atrium right outside the Fireside Lounge in the Bethune Multicultural Center at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. The audience was dwindling down, and the last performer was about to take the stage. I looked around at the room, from my usual sitting spot in the corner behind the giant speakers, where I would nervously re- adjust the volume knobs and hop to the microphone whenever there was a lag in energy.
All the Floetic Fridays organizers were in their usual places. Aryana was sitting in the front row, laughing and getting up now and then to introduce the next performer. Arielle was in the back of the room, walking around with a clipboard and greeting people as they entered. Sadie was in the audience, passing around pens and fabric squares for people to draw and write on to add to the community quilt art project. Lastly, I saw Jacob, who was always listening and appreciating from the back of the room, giving me the nod when the volume was at just the right level. It reminded me that this event, this organization, is so much more than just a space for one person to express themselves on the microphone, or for one person to dance or sing their heart out. It is, rather, a collective effort for communal care.
It took the collective leadership of all five of us to organize the Floetic Fridays events, but it took the entire community to fill it with healing, vulnerability, learning and love. It reminds me that in this work; people matter. Those for whom we make space and those in our community matter because human relationships drive cultural organizing. The magic of Floetic Fridays is not possible without partnerships and collective leadership.
As I looked across at the four other Floetic Leaders, at that last event for the year, I couldn’t help but think: What is the future for Floetic Fridays? Will we be able to build new forms of partnerships and collective cultural leadership once people graduate or move on from the project? Will Floetic leave along with our leadership? This was the beginning of my exploration and research into how we, as cultural organizers and student activists, sustain collective cultural leadership.