This year, Indigo Cultural Center turns 16 years old. As a developmental psychologist, I can’t help but consider Indigo through the lens of human development and to think of Indigo as my child – something I gestated and birthed when I relocated to Arizona 16 years ago. I held and nurtured almost every aspect of Indigo for a very long time, and now, with a strong leadership team in place, Indigo is thriving and flying into a bright future.
Our organization is finding its wings and its way in the world without my helicopter parenting. This theme of letting go is also present in our organizational culture. We are intentionally practicing ‘radical community care’ as inspired by the Black Liberation Movement (e.g., Rest is Resistance; The Nap Ministry).
As many of you know we believe that without “inner change there can be no outer change” (Rev. angel Kyodo williams Sensei). We are coming to a fuller and deeper understanding that our way of doing business at Indigo must parallel the social justice work we support throughout the infant and early childhood professional community. That is, in order to position ourselves as harbingers and supporters of the social justice, anti-racist movement in our field, we must “be the change.”
In this report, you will find the many voices that have nurtured the growth of Indigo to what it is today. Won’t you join us? Join as an individual or organizations authentically embracing liberatory practice. Let’s all shine together. Happy birthday, my dear, sweet Indigo. My most sincerest birthday wish is for you to continue to find your wings and fly……
- Dr. Eva Marie Shivers, Executive Director
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