The Role of Imagination in Community Liberation (4)

In the Spring of 2021, I participated in a program called Re-Imagined DM, organized by an Iowa State University student and professor. It was a series of workshops where we held discussions with middle school youth about spaces in Des Moines where they feel safe, included, invited, and that are just and equitable, while also identifying spaces in Des Moines that feel unsafe, unjust, exclusive, and inequitable. With a combined effort of two other DMPS high school students and in partnership with the Willkie House of Des Moines where the workshop took place, we engaged with youth in conversations through art and discussions centered around what is versus what could be. The original intent of this project was to work with youth from all across the city of Des Moines who were older and in high school, rather than a smaller group who were middle schoolers. However, getting to work with the younger groups and middle schoolers specifically ended up being really impactful to me in my leading and in learning from then. Our discussions being with students who were all in their early developmental years, the inequities and lack of accessibility was much more blatant than it might have been if it were high schoolers. For instance, many of our students in the group were really interested in basketball and they played both recreationally and on community or school teams, so this is one of the ways through which they viewed the city. Now, as middle schoolers in an urban school district, they don't really travel to other areas of the state as high schoolers might, and they walk to the nearest park with hoops to get play with friends or get some practice in. This was significant to me because it made me realize that some of these places in Des Moines that are exclusive or unjust are places that our youth aren't even aware of. 

Some of the places that came up in discussions of being unjust and exclusive were city hall, the Capitol Building, and the Des Moines Police Department. We as high schoolers have physically interacted with one or all of these spaces, feeling the exclusivity and knowing exactly how their decisions and actions are impacting the people in our community. However, the middle schoolers have never had access to being in these spaces or the resources to know the specific injustices, yet they still completely understood that these places do not bring justice or equity, and are definitely not inclusive. Now, with this information we had built a pretty solid consensus of the places in our city that lack justice, even though our youth really only had minimal experiences and knowledge, it is enough to know the places that are safe and the ones that aren't. Along with this process, we began to discuss how we can make these places of injustice be more like the places filled with justice. According to these students, the two places in the city with the most justice and inclusivity are Forest Park and the Wilkie House. These are places where the kids could always go after school or on weekends to find friends, family, and community members and completely be themselves. In discussing, I realized that in creating a vision for justiciable and equitable spaces the possibilities are truly endless.

 As I have gotten older, its been difficult to see that because I am now aware of how the world really works, that there are people who make all of the decisions and can ignore or shut down anything, and even if they don't it takes a great deal of organizing and funding to carry out projects. However, in these moments where I was watching the kids passionately talk about how they wanted murals of basketball players, and video game hubs, and better basketball hoops, and snacks, I realized that right here is where the change truly happens. These kids had the spark and the motivation to believe in what our city could be. The most important part about this was their imagination; when we are living in a world that is rooted in racism and sexism, founded upon the unforgiving system of capitalism in a crumbling democracy, the only way for us to be able to truly make a change is by keeping that imagination alive. The kind of world we deserve and demand is one that has never existed, but each act towards liberation, education, and building stronger communities contributes to that world being created. Imagination is a key tool in the fight for justice for all people, and the population who possesses it the most out of anyone is our youth. While it is necessary to work with people at all levels in order for change to happen, it is critical that we always put youth at the center, no matter what the discussion is. Our youth carry the most powerful piece in this work, not only because the future will be in their hands, but because they see the world without doubt for what it really is, and what it really could be. 

Gabriella S. Hoard