Imagine the world you want for the next seven generations, as a future ancestor. What’s one impactful action you’re taking to make sure their future is one of equality, sustainability, and boundless opportunity?

AUDIO ARCHIVE

Installed at the 2023 Juneteenth festival, We Create the World, the Soapbox invited participants to step onto a plinth and respond to a single prompt: Imagine the world you want for the next seven generations, as a future ancestor. What’s one impactful action you’re taking to make sure their future is one of equality, sustainability, and boundless opportunity?

We gathered these offerings—part testimony, part declaration, part dream—into this growing audio archive as a time capsule of hope and everyday action.

☎︎ Add your voice to the Soapbox project. Call us now: +1 617 315 2965.

And where do I start? I should introduce myself first, right? Danny Rivera, I'm an artist based here in Boston, and also run an artist collective, encouraging artists, mobilizing them in service to grassroot movements. I think that's a part of kind of the work of equality and sustainability, overall, the health of Black Folk. I think that one of the ways that I have tried to preserve culture and kind of become a stakeholder, an investor in the future generations has most definitely been through my project of preserving spirituals, negro spirituals, a long legacy filled with a lot of history, and I think also generally, because I've been doing that work for about two years now, I have been just in this position and mindset of thinking about the future generations and kind of the role that I want to take on and just leaving impact. There's a lot of information that I don't know right now about my family, about my family tree, and at the very least, I want to be able to fill as many holes as possible, while those that I know will eventually become ancestors can give me right now. But, also, low key, trying to meet with Henry Louis Gates so that he can help me with my family tree. With that being said, that's what that's the way, one of the multitude of ways. That was mad long.

Do I have to say my name? My name is Jo, and right now, I am currently a theater teacher for middle schoolers, and so I think it's really important that we're teaching the youth about themselves, identity, self confidence, so that they're able to be leaders and movers and changers for the world coming up behind us. I super believe in Black liberation education, so I'm going to do whatever I can in my power to make sure the little itty bitties that look like me, are learning about the people who came before them.

I would say for imagining the world that I would want for the next seven generations, I would definitely say I would want a world of peace and tranquility, togetherness as well as prosperity. I would say the actions that I'm taking to ensure that the future is one of equality would be of bringing the community together by doing anything it takes, and also by connecting with as many individuals as I can possibly. I am a photographer and a model. My name is Darrell Spencer. I was born in Boston, and I live in Brockton currently.

Y’all I can't hear me, right? You can. You can hear me? Oh, God, walk away, everybody. I'm just kidding. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding, it's fine. My name is Mariama Jai. I am 28 years old, from Harlem, New York, living in Boston, New York City, both as much as I can the world I want to see for next seven generations is a world that encourages peace, a world that encourages the not the need for resilience, a world that people know their history and learn from it in a world that people can comfortably live their soft person life, a world where they feel seen, a world where they feel heard, world where they feel respected, one impactful action I will be doing to get to that Space is ensuring that I breed in families, that I have a level of care, a level of intentionality, level of breaking generational traumas. I want to another action I want to have is to highlight the work that's happening on local levels that are working to drive this, working to support advocacy groups, nonprofit groups, and then just being in community with people much as I possibly can. Thank you.

One action I think is really important to take for the next younger generation is making sure that individuals around the world, especially in in places where accessibility and resources is not as available as they are in places that we're from, is visible for individuals to take to receive access to whether it's in the arts, whether it's in healthcare, whether it's in financial for literacy, we need to make sure that we're not only focused on individuals who live near us and growing up in places that we're from, but make sure that we seek and support and raise visibility to an awareness to and for individuals that are that are around the world who may not have the financial liberty or accessibility that they to all these things that we have resources to. For me, I want to do that by working in these places by moving to these places and making sure that I stand as a reflection of somebody who grew up in these places and have taken advantage of and so I want to be an example and go serve in these communities. Okay? Applause.

For the future, I would like seven generations ahead. I would like definitely for there to be peace. Definitely there would financial freedom for everybody, equality, honestly, just peace. Peace is like the main thing, you know, like, no struggles, just everyone just kind of getting along. Just sounds corny, but that's kind of what we need, you know, and seven generations down the road that should be possible to do, um, just, you know, everyone just kind of figuring this all out, and everyone just coming together and just figuring out a way to just live in harmony. So, um, that would be my, like number one thing that I would like to see in the future.

Okay, I'm imagining a world where there's environmental sustainability, where the earth is not on fire, and one act I'm doing to ensure that is encouraging all my vegan friends to keep going and reducing the meat intake that I, that I have slowly but surely, and also encouraging, like sustainable like environmental practices, like permaculture, or something like these kinds of activities, so into learning about it is that it is that out of my Am I good?

I would vouch for space where there is equal distribution of food and accessibility to food. And I think I'm wearing the, I'm wearing the black panther hoodie right now, that basically hints to that. But yeah, I think there's way more than enough food that's being produced right now, but it's been wasted because we feed animals instead of people. So I would want to refocus the energy towards feeding people and leaving animals alone to have sustainable lives, and I'm doing this by being vegan, educating myself and I hope in the future, to have an impactful contribution. How? Still figuring that out.

So the year is 2023. I would vouch for space where there is equal distribution of food and accessibility to food. And I think I'm wearing the, I'm wearing the black panther hoodie right now, that basically hints to that. But yeah, I think there's way more than enough food that's being produced right now, but it's been wasted because we feed animals instead of people. So I would want to refocus the energy towards feeding people and leaving animals alone to have sustainable lives, and I'm doing this by being vegan, educating myself and I hope in the future, to have an impactful contribution. How? Still figuring that out.

All right, hey, y'all I'm Trace reflecting on this question brings a lot of things to mind. There's so many things that I want to see. You know, for big generations to come, as an ancestor i i want this world to be a place that is still here. I want it to be a place that is more more equitable, more just, and that's really kind of my North Star while I'm like, doing the work that I'm doing now, I'm currently in grad school, studying urban planning and business and trying to figure out, how do we how do we build economies that work for people, that aren't just rooted in endless and extractive profit seeking? How do we think about the role of worker Coronavirus? How do we think about the role of circular economies? How do we think about the world of just creating a system that incentivizes those things and really has a collective vision for well being, and this, this work is like, really rooted for me and and my love of people, my love of my family, love of my home. I'm from South Louisiana, and I have the great privilege of seeing the example of incredible organizers, many of them are black women. You know, folks like Joe and joy banner of the descendants project, folks like Miss Sharon and Shamara Levine of Rise St James, Miss gala buff from inclusive Louisiana. And these folks are just doing incredible, credible work, fighting for our community in river parishes, also known as cancer alley, fighting for, like, our dignity, fighting for more environmentally just world. And so for me, I'm right now trying to figure out, like, how do I leverage my resources, resources around me while I'm in Boston, to be able to to contribute to that future? So I know, I know one thing for sure. You know, I want my my children and my children's children, my children's children, to be proud of what I've done, and I want them to be able to thrive. And I think about the ancestral work that's already happening in my family, I look at my mom and what she's been through, and what she's been able to build for our family, but her choosing to take these bold steps so her choosing to lead from a place of love, and I want to continue to intergenerationally, and I'm really thankful to be here and have the opportunity to contribute to a more equitable, more sustainable world. And I look forward to us achieving this as a collective.

Okay, so hi. My name is Ricky, based in Boston. My for the future, I really, I envision seven generations from now that people can just be we no need to fight for our existence. People can just, you know be. No need to explain who I am, no need to explain my blackness, no need to explain my gayness, no need to explain just giving people space to be so they can cherish on their own and not have to fight to just be that way they know when they're not fighting to be they can be limitless into whatever being they choose to be. So that’s what I want to see for the future. And what am I doing now to make that happen? Just giving people space to be who they are with no judgment. I try to tell people to mind their business, but that doesn't always work out, because we as human beings tend to be very judgmental, but really giving people space to be without judgment. So hopefully seven generations down this is happening, and we have the space to be.

Yeah, okay, very big question, but I would say I dream of a pan Africanist world, where the whole African diaspora is connected globally, where we see the worthiness of our connectedness globally. I imagine an Africa that is sustainable, that is representative, or representation rather of what the rest of the world could be, an Africa that is autonomous, in Africa that is a comfortable home for every black person, regardless of religion or orientation. That's how I see it. I think the impactful action that I'm taking as a future ancestor is disrupting as much as I can to kind of create different ways in which people can imagine themselves. And yeah, just like contributing to that as much as I possibly can. And also, yeah, just bringing forth new ways of imagination and things of that nature.

Oh, the world I want as a future ancestor is a world in which we're all liberated and free and existing outside of as many binaries and categorizations as possible, and imagining a world in which is developed for and by us also imagining a world where, like, we're ecologically sustainable and operating with the environment in a way that isn't based on this idea of, like, extraction, but more so being in community with the environment. And I feel like that also kind of, like plays back into a lot of, like, afro, indigenous kinds of ways of living. But yeah, I feel like that's the kind of world I'm imagining as a future ancestor is something that's like, more interconnected, ecologically.

Breathe. Be at ease. This is what you need. Please believe in me, because this is what you need. I said, this is what you need. This could be everything you see. I said, this could be everything you see. Forget everything you see me. They said I was like an imbalance, but I made it forward and malice. Now I'm losing my crowning chalice. No challenge. They label me a savage. It took me at my mother's land to kick me out the palace the ambassadors I am the investment of my forefathers, from yen farmers and farm assistant engineers, I reversed engineer my highest dreams, from my deepest fears, river, them to know and so they never know my aim, so they never take advantage take shots or take away my goals. I took the role less traveled. I took the long way home. The hope was right. I was sitting alone. I mean, I've been on alone. I love being on alone. I love residing in solace. I do call it a hospice in my zone. Call me the king calamity. Or could it be insanity depends on your vanity. No, wait, I meant your vantage point. Never mind. No, social. I import, I know, I explore, I informed you of never really had a taste for drugs, never really had left with love. Say I'm done, but I'm never giving up. I'm never getting off. I stopped, I think to myself, so the watch, I stopped for a pass to have my fingers in the past. Thank God that shit didn't get asked. I probably crashed. I probably burned. All consequences. No lesson learned. I wait here to the tide is turned. No need to worry. No cause for concern at my home or on the bus. Still, it's getting harder to discern.

I think about the future generations a lot. I'm still quite young, but I hope to have children and obviously continue a legacy. So I think I want to share my wisdom, my passion, my love, the insights that I'm gathering in this present, share it in some way that can be archived for future generations to come. And yeah, I think art is a vessel to do that. So I'm hoping I can capture through my art and through my creative practice of legacy insights that the future generation could then use and build up on.

Well, what I would want for my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, and the future generations, the children that they bring forth, I want to see a world that's more loving to humankind, toward each other. I'm not so sure that I appreciate now that where technology is going. But if it's helpful, if it's going to help sustain the ecosystem I need, I would like for them to be able to find a way to curb what's going on in the world today, as far as not… what is the term that I'm looking for? I can't think of the term that I'm looking for at this point in time, but the world needs to come together. There needs to be sharing knowledge. There needs to be awareness of people, more of people's culture. I think that will make bring love all together. The one thing that I have done is to try to raise my children to love all races, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren. I've tried to raise them to love all races, to embrace all the knowledge that they can get about other cultures. I'm a Christian. I believe in God, and I think that we need to get back to God in prayer. And that's the one thing that I'm trying to do, to draw my children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren, into that atmosphere.

So I imagine a future where everyone is, like, treated the same and like, there are many different like, there's presidents that have been, there's never been a first of a president, because they all have been because we because there were, like, it's like, really dismantling racism, and they're not a lot, but of racist thoughts, and many people know about racism and believe that That is a problem, and they and most people are anti racist, and one step that I am taking to get to this future is to speak out against anything that is racist, and to um and to learn more about our history and to educate others about our history.

Okay so I think the most impactful action that I'm taking is I am raising a black girl whom I want to be fearless and who I want to know that she is loved unconditionally and sees herself as equal to anyone and everyone. I think by raising my kids to be anti-racist, by raising my kids to make sure that they take care of the planet, I am doing what it takes to ensure that the future is bright. Okay, thank you. Bye.

Well, the biggest thing I do is I make sure that my kids are aware and always stand up for what is right and against any injustice. So I go to march with my kids. Try to be politically informed, the way I'm voting and what I'm using and the impact on the environment. I do a lot of outdoor things with my kids in order for them to appreciate the outdoor, appreciate nature, therefore more likely to be equal ecologically aware and support sustainability. And I hope to voting and using our democratic structures we can make this country a better place for everyone, like they always say, if someone is not free, nobody is free. So let's stand up for all our people. We're not free until we are free. Thank you.

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