WEBVTT

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>>My name is Jessica Harris.

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I think the best way
to describe myself

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is a patchwork quilt.

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I'm sort of an
amalgamation of things.

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I'm an amalgamation
of the people

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who have supported me
and poured into me.

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I have so many
passions and interests,

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and they all kind of
intersect in the areas of art,

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community and education.

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I am the community
research program manager

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at the Equity Center at
the University of Virginia,

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where I work supporting
their various initiatives

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with a particular focus
on arts and equity.

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I'm the founder and
artistic director

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of a youth theater
education nonprofit.

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So Empowered Players is
based in Fluvanna County,

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and we offer accessible
arts education

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for students grades
K through 12.

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I'm also the president
of the Descendants

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of Enslaved Communities at UVA,

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which is a nonprofit
organization focused on bringing

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together descendants
in our area.

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I'm also a writer with
Vinegar Hill Magazine.

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And aside from that,
I'm a director.

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I'm a lover of all things
arts, all things community,

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all things Charlottesville.

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I am also a farmer's
market junkie,

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and I love going to
the farmer's market.

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I've had the pleasure
to direct or teach

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and even perform at a number
of theaters in our area.

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So I've been a part of Four
County Players, which was one

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of the first organizations

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where I discovered
my love of theater.

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I've been involved at Live Arts.

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I've been involved at the
Charlottesville Players Guild,

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at the Jefferson School,

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which is Charlottesville's
Black Theater Organization.

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I mean, even outside of our
community, I've had the pleasure

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to be a part of a directing
team at the Kennedy Center,

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and most recently at
Purdue Theater in Indiana.

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I feel so lucky that the arts
have been a part of my life

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for as long as I can remember,

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and that's with huge thanks
to my parents for making sure

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that my brother and
I had opportunities
in theater and music

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and dance, but many, if not all

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of those opportunities were
not here in Fluvanna County.

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We had to travel to
engage in the arts.

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And so when I was
16, I realized, hey,

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I've had these
wonderful experiences.

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I wanna be able
to share the same

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with students here
in our county.

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And so I found it
Empowered Players.

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I wanted students to just
have a chance to come

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and be a part of a show
and see themselves on stage

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and engage in the transformative
power of the arts.

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And what started as a one week
summer camp has now blossomed

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into a multi-year,
multi-program organization.

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And to be so placed based too,

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we are at the Carysbrook
Performing Arts Center,

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which is right in the
heart of the county.

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And so to be able to
engage in that way

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and work with the Fluvanna
County Arts Council

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to really create a fabric

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and a artistic landscape
that's meaningful

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for our students
has been fantastic.

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So when we think
about, you know,

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what helps students
in life, right?

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Is it remembering
arithmetic? Sure.

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Is it being able to
cite dates in history?

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Absolutely.

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But the things that
serve students most

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are the self-confidence,
the connection,

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the social interactions,

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the skills that you learn to
navigate through the world.

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You get to work with others
as you put on a show.

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You have to work as a team.

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You have to be collaborative.

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You have to think
creatively and innovatively

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and really push yourselves

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to become the best
versions of yourselves.

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And that's something that can't
be taught from a textbook.

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It's something that
you have to experience,

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>>Left, right, left, right!

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>>Especially in a world that
is so increasingly screen heavy

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and it's moving so
quickly with technology,

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that human connection
is something

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that you can't replace, right?

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AI can't replace the
power of theater,

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and it can't replace the magic

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of experiencing something
live and in person.

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In the arts in particular,
one of the things

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that I really
strive for is equity

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and representation, right?

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Telling stories authentically,
particularly of people

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of color or any
marginalized groups,

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or folks who've been
historically whose stories have

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been historically undertold.

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And for me, the arts are a
beautiful way to bridge that gap

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and really push for equity.

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But that translates
off the stage

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and outside of the arts as well.

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One of the things I'm
really grateful for is

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to have the opportunity to
work at the Equity Center.

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That is looking at
how we bridge the gap

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between the university
and the community

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and how we knit resources

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and people together
to enact change.

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And part of that
as well is working

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with the Descendants
Group, focusing on research

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and honoring and
reclaiming our narrative

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as a descendant population.

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And so we are pushing
for continued repair
and reparations.

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We continue to
strive for education

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and further scholarship
on our ancestors.

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And we are also pushing to shape

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the educational
landscape, right?

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How are we engaging
with these histories?

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How are we connecting
with one another

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and pushing for a
descendant movement?

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So at the equity center,
I'm currently working

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with my colleague, Dr.
Sherica Jones-Lewis

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on a study that's looking
at Black arts organizations

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in the state of Virginia

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and their organizational
wellness, right?

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How are these arts organizations
demonstrating impact?

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What does it look like
when they're well resourced

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and well staffed?

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And how can we continue
to shape the landscape

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so that they get the
resources they need

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to not just survive, but thrive?

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And for me, equity work
is so important, not just

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because I'm a Black woman
in America at this time,

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and have experienced
firsthand what it's like

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to be in a marginalized group.

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I believe in it for
equity for all, right,

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when we all succeed, our
communities are stronger,

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they're more connected, they're
more engaged and diverse.

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I mean, I think it's
physically impossible

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to navigate this world
without, in some way, shape,

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or form being impacted
by, shaped by, uplifted,

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and supported by a community.

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And because of that, I feel
personally a responsibility

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to give back to the community
that's given me so much

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and to continue to shape the
community we wish to see.

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And so I think it's important
also that we recognize

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how interconnected we all are,

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how something I'm doing is
impacting you and vice versa.

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It's all embedded in the
fabric of who we are.

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And so it's impossible for
us to understand ourselves

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as individuals if we don't
understand the communities

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that shape us.

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(bright music)

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(chiming music)