By Ausra Mussett and Cameron Carver
“In the midst of all things dystopian—a global pandemic, a climate crisis and an ever-amplified outcry for racial justice—what is the use of designing a utopia?”
By Beth Kwiatek
“What does it mean when a group of young Black faces walk into a suburban school and say, “We don’t belong here”? What does it mean when those same kids face judges who are all male and white? What does it mean when those Black kids see white kids build cities in The Congo, Morocco, and Zimbabwe?”
By Henry Louis Taylor Jr.
“The Fruit Belt neighborhood is a more colorful place thanks to the work of these students. A rusty chain-link fence around the Futures Academy community garden is now covered by a painted mural, a project informed by lessons in color theory and the effects of color on mood. Leading visitors through the garden is series of stepping stones, each painted with the students’ aspirations for their future neighborhood. That project was based on fieldwork in the community. Just beyond the borders of the garden is a “little library” constructed with a repurposed palette – and adorned with the colorful imagination of these campers.”