Lessons From Earthseed: Using Endarkened Poetic Inquiry to Witness Black Women Educators’ Radical Healing 

This workshop focuses on the design and implementation of an arts-based participatory inquiry on the lived experiences of Black women early childhood educators. Ten Black women educators participated in a series of virtual poetry writing workshops where they wrote and shared “constellation poems” in response to researcher-provided provocations based on the intersections of their identities, their life narratives, and their roles as educators. After reviewing the project and research on its impact, participants will engage in poetry writing exercises to craft their own constellation poems and share their pieces during a communal poetry cypher. Participants will leave with tangible strategies for designing arts-based participatory research to promote communal healing, reflection, and cultural remembrance.