Ethnic Studies Summer Program

Race, ethnicity, land justice, and... quahogs??

Over these last 2 weeks, our high schoolers have been exploring their identity, hxstory, and issues that matter to them through the lens of Ethnic Studies.

Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with an emphasis on the experiences of people of color in the United States. Ethnic studies is also a practice of love and holistic humanity.

And as usual, learning happens both in and out of the classroom, as we learn through with and from our BIPOC community members. This year, we were fortunate enough to be hosted by Movement Ground Farm for a day of foraging clams, using Indigenous techniques. Our youth learnt about both land and food justice, all while being in physical relation with the environment. Huge thank you to Kohei Ishihara for having a vision and allowing us to be part of it.

To top it all off, we were treated to the masterful cooking of the one and only Sarath Suong, our board member and favorite chef!

For more information about ARISE’s annual Ethnic Studies program, click here.

Visibility Event 2019

THANK YOU to everyone who attended and supported "Discovering our Hidden Narratives: Strengthening our Roots," ARISE's annual visibility event in May. It was an amazing night to highlight the work of ARISE Youth -- you can find a full recap below. We also want to CONGRATULATE our seniors who have graduated from high school!

We also wanted to highlight our Ethnic Studies program and remind people about our upcoming summer programs. We still have spaces available, so please forward this to anyone who may be interested.

Visibility Event

ARISE Youth Leaders showcased the culmination of our year long research project on the educational experiences of Southeast Asians in Rhode Island. They courageously shared their personal experiences with ARISE, highlighting their holistic growth and passionately spoke about their foundational work on the Counselors Not Cops Campaign.

We also honored our VALUE award recipients:
ACCESS: Tina Meetran
EQUITY: Jennifer Wood
SUCCESS: Providence Student Union

If you weren’t able to make it and still want to support, please consider making a donation here.

Summer Programs

We still have space in our summer programs-- please find the registration information here. All programs are free, with food and transportation provided! Can you share this information with people you know who may be interested?

This summer we are offering:

Hidden Lotus Circle: 7/15/19-7/26/19 (M-F) 10:00am-2:30pm, RWU Providence Campus
Honoring Our History and the Warriors Who Came Before Us: 7/29/19-8/02/19 (M-F) 9:30am - 3:30pm, RWU Providence Campus
College Access: 8/12/19-8/16/19 (M-F) 10:00am-1:00pm, RWU Providence Campus

If you have any questions, please email Rosey at rosey@ariseducation.org

Ethnic Studies

This year, we were excited to offer our ethnic studies class at Alvarez High School, Classical High School and Woonsocket High School. This course included an introduction to the concepts of power, privilege, and oppression; lessons on the war in Southeast Asia; and current social issues the Southeast Asian community is facing. We concluded with students identifying and reflecting on how power, privilege, and oppression play out in the social context of the Southeast Asian community and in their personal lives. We saw immense learning, reflection, growth, and power in our youth participants: we look forward to continuing to offer this course.

Board Shoutouts!

Sarath Suong, ARISE’s founding board co-chair, recently represented ARISE at the annual AMOR Grill Off fundraiser and was named the Grill Off champion! AMOR (The Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance) is “an alliance of community based grassroots organizations mobilizing and organizing rapid response to resist increased instances of individual and state sponsored violence.”

Todd Flaherty, ARISE’s founding board co-chair and a life-long educator was recently named the Interim President of Johnson & Wales, Charlotte, North Carolina Campus. He is continuing to serve with passion and commitment for educational justice.

John Murphy, founding board member at large and a life-long humanitarian, received an honorary doctorate degree from Providence College this past May