When I learned that we were partnered with The Horizons Project, a program in Detroit that serves HIV positive young adults, I immediately became apprehensive. I was honored that we would receive the opportunity to attend their meeting, but I began to picture the worst-case scenario. What if I said something that was offensive to someone and hurt their feelings or made them angry? I would feel horrible. I had to remind myself to not see them as HIV positive people, but instead as people.
The youth at Horizons are constantly stigmatized and oppressed due to being HIV positive, black, and poor. Additionally, some are further oppressed because of their sexual identity and/or gender. They are dehumanized daily. The module is intended to be a tool to empower them; however, this tool that is meant to liberate them cannot be actualized if they are treated as semi-human. I began to think, how do I want to be treated? Would I appreciate it if a white person addressing me thought first about “what is the best way to talk to a black woman” before holding a conversation with me? No! I would be upset. I want him or her to think about “what is the best way to talk to someone who is my equal in a way that respects her”. When I used this context to frame how I would deliver the module and interact with the youth, it helped me feel more at ease. I had to treat them as people and connect with them in a way that was fully human. Envisioning them first by their status does not build a foundation of trust. Freire mentions that converts “talk about the people but they do not trust them and trusting people is the indispensable precondition for revolutionary change” (Freire, 2012, p.60). I had spent time during our class talking about the condition of HIV/AIDS in the black community, but the thought of trusting this community was never a thought that crossed my mind. Trust requires vulnerability on the part of both parties. It was important that I become vulnerable to be in this space and possibly make a mistake, and be receptive to correction by the community. That is what helps build trust. As we learned in class, if you want to be fully human you must always behave fully human. empowerment conferences, empowerment zones, empowerment days, and even empowerment clothing lines. Paulo Freire’s (2012) work Pedagogy of Oppressed gives us enlightenment of how pedagogy can be structured to empower the oppressed, making them co-creators of knowledge in an egalitarian way.
When we finally arrived to Horizons, we were almost an hour late. I was nervous that the group would be upset because of our tardiness. As soon as we settled down, I introduced myself to Hector, the gentleman sitting next to me. I reached out and shook his hand. I started a conversation with him and learned about his hometown. I connected with him as a human. I really enjoyed going around the room an introducing ourselves. The group was so warm, friendly, and welcoming of us. There was laughter and smiles. We communed over a meal, and began to learn about things we had in common. I think this laid a great foundation for us going up and teaching the module. It was important for us to begin to understand their world. There were five of us that that taught the module. I was assigned to cover L.U.C.K. I especially like this section of the module because it helps to break stigma. It helps remind us to connect to our self and to one another as humans. L.U.C.K. is an empowering aspect of the module. Love, understanding, caring, and kindness are the building blocks that lay the foundation for empowerment. It also gives a framework for dialogue. In order to have dialogue and achieve praxis, there must be both reflection and action. Reflection and action result in a true word. L.U.C.K. elicits a true word. Beginning with loving yourself; we must love our self before others can love us. We must love others and reaffirm our love of those that are oppressed. “Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and for people…love is at the same time the foundation of dialogue and dialogue itself” (Freire, 2012, p. 89). The call to action in L.U.C.K. is in itself revolutionary. I was honored to present this section and hope that they received this call to action. I can personally say although I was in a position as “teacher” of this part of the module, I truly felt that I was the learner, because I am still working on internalizing L.U.C.K.
I definitely feel like I benefitted more from this experience than the wonderful people from The Horizons Project. I was welcomed into a vulnerable space they hold private and dear. I was received warmly, and this is an experience that I will definitely take on my journey. My hope is that they truly felt the care, compassion, and trust that I had in their ability to teach the module and their worth as wonderfully made human beings. They helped me understand HIV/AIDS, helped me grow, and challenged me to do more. Freire said it best in the forward of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, “from these pages I hope at least the following will endure: my trust in the people, and my faith in men and women, and in the creation of a world in which it will be easier to love” (Freire, 2012, p. 40). It is my hope that I have begun the work of carrying out this mission in my own life and that it will continue in my work with others.
