Talking with Ghosts About Freedom is a pilgrimage that memorializes these undervalued histories of revolt and brazen migrations of Black and Indigenous people while passing through the regions in which they originated. I am seeking the histories missing from the plaques and common conversation and insisting they be inserted. If you aren’t traveling slowly, with intention and attention, these stories don’t come to you. I am making this ‘hajj’ to gain a visceral empathy and understanding of the vastness of land covered. The journey itself reclaims a connection to the outdoors and attempts to tip the use of public lands by people of color towards a balance by using diverse routes of expression. I am illustrating what a relationship to the Outdoors can look like. As I ride I am challenging historically compounded barriers of inaccessibility, fear and trauma that exist for people of color around and within the forest. 

These are the goals in presenting the work:

A full-length stage production. 

A documentary film.

A book.

(A miniature version of all three were created in residency at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater and are visible on the website)

A self-guided walking or cycling tour at historical sites that incorporates immersive storytelling using geo-tagging, scavenger hunt, and gaming elements of play.