Virginia Cumberbatch & Meagan Harding - The Creative Reformers
Virginia Cumberbatch + Meagan Harding - The Creative Reformers
Virginia is a co-founder of Rosa Rebellion and drives the curation of projects and development of collaborations for the Rosa Rebellion platform. As a storyteller, racial justice educator and organizer, Virginia’s work sits at the intersection of community advocacy and creative activism. With a heart to elevate the voices of women of color whose stories are often siloed or ignored, she co-birthed Rosa Rebellion to create space for the brilliance and thought leadership of women of color in media, policy and community organizing. Beyond Rosa Rebellion, Virginia supports the development of a culture and ethos of equity for organizations through racial justice workshops and education.
Meagan is the co-founder of Rosa Rebellion and develops Rosa Rebellion cohorts and curates the community of creative activists and agitators. She is a creative and justice advocate with a passion for racial and gender equity. As a civil rights attorney, Meagan encounters the consequences of systemic inequity frequently and engages in disruptive work to eradicate it. Meagan’s has demonstrated her commitment to dismantle systemic oppression and champion equity by co-developing a program designed to encourage and cultivate authentic conversations around difficult topics such as race, politics and community. In this role, she has helped lead a team and develop dynamic curriculum and programming to spur transformative, in depth conversations while also growing relationships.
What is your definition of freedom? What does it look and feel like to you? And how do you cultivate it daily?
Freedom has been such an elusive right and value since our country's founding. Our political system, social practices and national ethos has never fully honored the humanity of Black people. So when we consider freedom, we consider equity, we consider acknowledging our people's pain and we consider the full expression of our humanity. That is the foundation of Rosa Rebellion, freedom in existing as woman of color, freedom in excelling as women of color and the freedom to express our voice in spaces that have siloed us.
How have your thoughts, perception, and understanding of freedom evolved with time? What was it before and what is it now?
Freedom, for many of us is attached to systems (whether familiar or external), but Rosa Rebellion believes we are in a critical time where we as women of color understand and appreciate the critical nature of pursuing internal freedom. Our survival, our enlightenment, our ability to pursue our purpose, is not solely attached to civil society, structures or systems, our freedom also depends on giving ourselves permission to be free of self imposed and externally generated expectations, boundaries, and limits. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to come alongside, learn from and partner with spaces like BGIO, which serve to embolden and empower us all to live freely and fiercely in our unique purpose.
Freedom can feel like something we’re all seeking, but may have trouble grasping. What's one piece of advice or some words of wisdom you can offer to this community as they look to "get free"?
Angela Davis says it like this, "we have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society." For so long our pursuit of freedom was about the collective work of liberating communities that have historically and contemporarily been oppressed. That is certainly the ethos of Rosa Rebellion. But what we've come to know and honor is that the collective liberation is dependent on our personal / individual walk of freedom. That means deconstructing, decolonizing and recalibrating our worth, our power and our right to be WHOLE despite systems. We hope that Black women and women of color learn to embrace this truth as they battle on the front lines. And are grateful to take part in building projects like REBEL + REST to create intentional space to be free.
Share an anecdote, memory, or practice in your life that embodies freedom in every way.
Outside of our work through Rosa Rebellion, our foundation as women of faith who believe in radical resistance, creative activism and the power to transform systems, we find ourselves recentering around this promise, when things get challenging and frustrating, " where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 1 Corinthians 3:17.
As a creative, scholar and organizer, how were you able to create harmony between these aspects of yourself?
"Art and activism are very aligned, because both require imagination - Ava Duvernay" The intersection of storytelling, activism and the creative space are critical to disrupting spaces that have served to silo and silence.
As a civil rights attorney and race policy scholar working in community engagement, we've both struggled to find a space that utilized and honored our mutli-demensional perspective and multifaceted passions. We aren't just an attorney, an organizer, a writer, or activists, we are also storytellers, writers, and creatives. And in giving ourselves permission to exercise and encourage all of these things to hold space, we've freed ourselves to bring innovation and cultural power to our work. No longer bound by titles or descriptions that limit us, we can be and create a space for creative activism.
What is one song that helps you get free?
Oh it's too hard to say just one, so we will share some of our favorite artists that exude freedom in self and community:
Virginia: Peace by Y&F / And anything by Rihanna
Meagan: Anything by Beyonce
What is one book that has helped you claim your freedom?
As a team we invest in literature that serves to inform and inspire. One of our collective favorites is: "I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness" by Austin Channing Brown.