It’s 2022……….To My Old Racist Earth is evolving……...as all things need to……

I invite you to join me in the community locally in the Hudson Valley and across the world for our 3rd annual chalk art project (formally To My Old Racist Earth) STAMP OUT HATE. This multigenerational intersectional conversation, chalk art, and postcard writing campaign is happening in conjunction with the US Postal Service’s release of my grandfather Pete Seeger’s Stamp this summer in July of 2022. 

In 2020, I birthed my second child at the start of the pandemic, the world was just shutting down. Although it was nothing new for Black and Brown people to be senselessly killed by police, the combination of the pandemic with the murder of Ahmaud Arbrey, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless other Black lives at the hands of white supremacy and racism, hit a new level of heartache and anger. You remember, you lived through this also. The racial reckoning launched an already grieving and scared world into civil unrest. As a mom and Marriage and Family therapist, who was raised in a very politically active family, I felt an overwhelming pull to join in the protest. Having a newborn, I simply did not physically feel safe doing so. So I encouraged other families who might be in the same situation as mine to engage in conversations with their kids and do some chalk art protesting from home and share it on social media. Since we were all in isolation it gave us connection and more to do than just argue with racist family members on Facebook. The project was picked up by many media outlets including Good Morning America. 

The heart of this project is to have deeper conversations about systemic issues with children so that they can grow up having language and confidence to continue to talk about racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, sexism, climate change and the list goes on. One of the main things I experienced in 2020 was the number of white people in my life who reached out with emails, texts, people from decades ago sliding into my DMs, and leaving outrageously long apology voicemails saying they had no idea that Black people have been navigating so much racism. I’ll be honest, each time someone who I have known for years said those words it nearly hurt worse than watching the news and seeing another Black person murdered. After talking to my Black friends it turns out I was getting a particularly high number of these messages–I am talking hundreds of them in the spring of 2020. Even my 1st-grade teacher reached out with a story that only centered on her white experience as a teacher to me, her only Black student. I didn’t need to hear about how she learned so much from me, a 6-year-old, as I dealt with racism in her class. I needed her to say, I am so sorry for not protecting you. For creating an environment you felt safe to learn in. I got off the phone with her, I was 9 months pregnant, doing remote school with my kindergartener who also was struggling to learn to read, and I just cried. I wept for 6-year-old Moraya who was in all-white education environments her whole childhood. I cried for my own children, who are now living in a pandemic and civil unrest. My Black son just hugged me and said “let’s go garden and pick some tomatoes mom.” I looked at him and thought, I have taught you to love the earth, to have a voice, to know that your birthright is to feel joy. A radical act for Black children in America. But I cannot keep you safe once you leave this little house in the woods, with our streams and waterfalls. I can’t protect you from other kids saying your skin is too dark to play their games. All of these moments fueled me. It told me that I need to do something to help folks understand that these conversations can and need to happen from a young age. If my kids can experience racism since birth, with their Black mother almost dying in the hospital, yours can certainly talk about it. 

This year’s project is focusing on the idea that if ALL of us are doing our own identity work we will have deeper empathy and curiosity in ourselves, to hopefully have a deeper desire to understand and connect others who are navigating complex and marginalized identities. With this, we can hopefully impact how people move in the world, how people lead organizations or influence on social media, and ultimately influence how people consider voting on issues that might not directly impact them but deeply impact the communities around them. By embracing our connectedness we can create change together. The world is not going to be saved by one big event, it will take all of us trying many small things, like writing a postcard or starting a conversation, to make this earth more livable for the next generations. 

Join me, 

Moraya Seeger DeGeare

Read the 2020 https://www.bfftherapy.com/bfftherapyblog/tomyoldracistearth invitation & the 2021 call to action https://peteseegerfamily.com/stompouthate

2022 Stamp Out Hate Events: 

Spend your July 4th morning with us in Beacon, NY

Or from anywhere in the world.

Chalk Art and a kid-friendly lesson on identity and finding your activism voice.

When: Monday, July 4th, 10 AM - 12 PM with a talk and activity starting at 11 AM.  

Where: Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park, Beacon NY near the playground

Led by: Moraya Seeger DeGeare, MA, LMFT & Community 

Bring family and friends of all ages.

We are at the park so feel welcome to picnic, bring musical instruments with you, however, you would feel most comfortable being at the park. Or bring only yourselves (having a kiddo is not required, we welcome all) and be ready to get a little messy as we create some art together.

Chalk is provided.

RSVP here https://forms.gle/n2s4KSHd4KomLNCg9

You can also chalk from home and share on social media with #StampOutHate #PeteSeegerStamp - Free Chalk pickup is available all July 4th Weekend at Meyer’s Olde Dutch 184 Main Street, Beacon, NY & Split Rock Books 97 Main Steet, Cold Spring, NY.

Chalk is sponsored by the Wee Play Community Project

Stamp Out Hate Postcards & Spirit Of Beacon Day Parade announcement to follow. 

Free Postcards will be available to the public as a part of a letter-writing campaign. We would like the postcards to be available to people beyond the Hudson Valley. So we are happy to mail a stack of postcards to you to hand out so you can make them available to your community. Please fill in your postcard request on the same RSVP.

Tag @ Stamp Out Hate on IG and use #StampOutHate #PeteSeegerStamp when you share your protest art.

#ToMyOldRacistEarth (to see the photos from the last few years)

Join us in creating art and conversations with your community around protesting systemic issues including racism, environmental activism and education.