COMMUNITY TALK: “The Power of Home: Sustaining Identity Through Generations”
COMMUNITY TALK: “The Power of Home: Sustaining Identity Through Generations”
Opening: Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here.
Let us talk about something we often overlook—not because it's small, but because it's so close to us we forget how powerful it is: the home.
Let’s take a moment to consider the Polish people. For 123 years, Poland was wiped off the map. Three different empires divided and occupied it. But the Polish people never disappeared. They never forgot who they were. Why? Because inside their homes, they preserved their language, their customs, their faith, and their stories. The state tried to erase them, but their kitchens, their family rooms, and their dinner tables became classrooms of resistance.
Now let’s turn inward. What does this mean for us—as African Americans, as families, as communities that have faced our own erasure?
It means we must reclaim the power of the home.
Our homes should not just be places we sleep—they should be places we train, we teach, and we talk.
I remember growing up having meaningful conversations with my mother and father. My father would always say: “If you say something, you have to back it up.”
That was skill-building. That was confidence training. That was cultural education. And it didn’t happen in school—it happened right there at the kitchen table.
We need to make sure that skill training, cultural memory, and dialogue aren’t left to institutions that may not value our stories. They must be planted and grown in our homes.
Because this is how a people sustain itself.
Let’s turn our kitchens into classrooms.
Let’s turn our living rooms into learning centers.
Let’s make the home our strongest institution.
Thank you.
CURRICULUM OUTLINE: “Empowering the Home: Where Culture and Skills Are Born”
Program Title:
“The Power of Home: Preserving Identity & Building Skills Through Family Conversations”
Age Groups:
Youth (ages 10–18), Parents, Intergenerational
Module 1: Home as a Cultural Center
- Objective: Understand how historical communities (e.g., Polish under partition) preserved their identity.
- Activities:
- Story Circle: “What do you remember learning in your home?”
- Case Study: Poland 1795–1918 – Short discussion.
- Reflection: “What cultural traits do we want to preserve?”
Module 2: The Kitchen Table as a Classroom
- Objective: Build family-based skill training and dialogue practices.
- Activities:
- Parent & Child Role-Play: Present and defend an idea (“If you say something, back it up”)
- Introduce a Family Debate Night or Question Jar
- Skill Exchange: Teach a family member one new practical skill (budgeting, cooking, fixing things, speaking publicly)
Module 3: Naming Our Saints and Heroes
- Objective: Create family-based memory and storytelling traditions.
- Activities:
- Hero Wall: Who are your family’s unsung heroes?
- Mini Oral History Project: Record a relative telling a story about their life.
- Create “Family Saint Cards” with a photo, life lesson, and quote from a family elder or hero.
Module 4: Building Intergenerational Dialogue
- Objective: Improve family communication and respect across generations.
- Activities:
- Conversation Mapping: What kinds of conversations do we want in our home?
- Create a “Dialogue Practice Night” – intentional weekly conversations on life topics
- Invite elders to mentor youth in family knowledge or history
Materials Needed
- Notebook or digital device for journaling
- Audio recorder (or phone)
- Markers, poster board, family photos
- Printed quotes or sayings from parents/grandparents
Outcome Goals
- Families begin using their home intentionally as a cultural and learning center.
- Youth develop confidence in their voice, rooted in family wisdom.
- Intergenerational bonds are strengthened through storytelling and skills-sharing.
- Black identity is actively preserved through family-based empowerment.
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