Seeking Freedom

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Good morning bread friends,

I owe you an update on our March giving. And then I want to share an event that I’m genuinely excited is happening here in Madison next week.

As you know, Bread & Justice is a philanthropic bakery. We donate 100% of our profits each month to a different nonprofit doing justice-oriented work.

For the month of March, we donated to Rising Kites. Rising Kites is a Midwestern nonprofit that does a number of beautiful things to make the world a little brighter for traditionally overlooked individuals. Rising Kites provides resources and support for parents who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis. Our family has known and supported Rising Kites for a number of years, and I think I felt personally fond of their creativity to extend their mission into a food business. Rising Kites Coffee is a nonprofit coffee business and cafe that provides employment and job training opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Likewise, Rising Kites Flowers is a seasonal flower subscription operating along the same lines. We were proud to be able to donate $196 to them for the month of March. Thank you for buying bread and being a part of supporting this organization that is genuinely making lives better.

Now… a close friend is involved in organizing an event happening next week in Madison that I really want you to know about.

On Thursday, April 23, UW will celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence by hosting a symposium on slavery, freedom, and the American Revolution. The project at the heart of it is called Freedom Seekers: Stories of Black Liberation in the American Revolutionary Era and Beyond. It features a large and growing collection of stories about “freedom seekers”—that is, enslaved people of African descent who sought to escape bondage.

The goal of the project is to help a broad audience understand that the American Revolution was not merely a pursuit of liberty on the part of white American Patriots. The people who sought to unshackle themselves from slavery at this time were crucial actors in the American story of freedom as well.

I find that reframing to be both historically important and personally meaningful. I was really grateful to read that framing so carefully told in my friend Gloria Whitings book (Belonging). Gloria will be giving the keynote address at this event, where she will tell a series of freedom seekers’ stories. I love that this will blend a commemoration of the nation’s anniversary and a celebration of the couragious people who (while enslaved) took advantage of their revolutionary circumstances to make bold claims to freedom for themselves.

Also… it wasn’t until I read her book that I realized that nearly 100% of what I knew about slavery in this country was set in the American south. So learning more about how slavery existed in early New England (and also how it was broken there) was super interesting to me!

Anyway… all are welcome to attend this free event. It will be held at the Wisconsin Historical Society (816 State Street). It begins at 4:00pm on Thursday April 23rd. There will be food, drinks, and the chance to talk directly with researchers (including undergraduate students) who have carefully reconstructed individual freedom seekers’ stories. At 5:00pm, Professor Gloria Whiting will deliver a keynote address in the auditorium.

This is a free event, open to all. It’d really make my heart happy to know that bread friends were meeting each other there. 😎

📲 Registration link to the free event is here. (so they can make sure they have enough free food for people)

Cheers friends!
your neighborhood baker :)
Mo