Abundance. Power. Unity.
liberation U
aboutus
Black-founded and led, we’re activists, scholars, caregivers, advocates, space-holders, coaches, strategists, and artists. We draw on these intersectional perspectives and lived experiences to engage with people and organizations in the journey toward their boldest, most liberated selves. We center Equity, belonging, and antiracism.
We meet you where you are and work collectively with you to reach your most liberated and expansive vision of your organization.
We bring our most liberated selves into everything we do. We are real people working to make real community change. We honor our families, friends, community, and ancestors with liberation work.
What we're up to
Our core values at Liberation U are Decolonization, Abolition, Interpersonal Healing, and Transformational Justice. In our dedication to these values, we’ve created and cultivated some alternative models that we use to focus on engaging our minds and bodies by way of Somatic movement workshops, anti-bias anti-racist workshops, and practice guides. In order to create these alternative models, we commit to the daily practice of questioning our own socialization, unlearning what we’ve been taught, and decentering whiteness. We value our intersectional lived experiences and apply those experiences and bring our fullest selves to our organization’s work.
We provide coaching and educational support and offer extensive workshops covering topics from anti-racism, abolition, decolonizing and liberating sex and sensuality, LGBTQIA + affirmation building, to social justice organizing how-tos. Our goal is decolonization in both a personal and community way. We seek to support you through the arduous yet liberating process of becoming and remaining an Anti-Bias Anti-Racist.
We can always discuss creating a particular version or series of the workshop(s) that interests you and your unique community too! The origin of many of these workshops was that communities wanted a workshop/ Training/ Community session created just for them!
Book Collectives
At Liberation U, we believe in collective learning and space sharing. A primary aspect of Liberation is the co-creation of maroon spaces. We will meet monthly for 60-90 mins to talk, share space, eat good snacks, and ruminate over our current book!
Although we would love to see you at every monthly gathering, we know what it means to BE in America, so there are no penalties for missing a gathering. We will cover each book for 2 monthly gatherings; depending on book length, we can shift that timeline according to our COLLECTIVE needs. There will be a hybrid option for folx who aren't in New Haven, so no worries!
Black & Liberated
Book Collective
Who this space is for:
This gathering is for folx who identify as Black, Afro-Caribbean, African American, African, or Afro-Latine/a/o. Most of our book authors identify as Black, Afro-Caribbean, African American, African, or Afro-Latine/a/o.
Joyful Alchemy
Book Collective
Who this space is for:
This is a Multicultural book club hosted by Liberation U. This book collective is for folx who identify as Black, Afro-Caribbean, African American, African, or Afro-Latine/a/o, AAPI, NHPI, AMEMSA, APIDA, white, white Latine/o/a, or European.
Please use the QR codes to access the registration forms for each book collective!
Meet our founder
"There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people." ~ Fannie Lou Hamer
Founder/ Principal
ala ochumare-harris
ala describes themself as a change-making, hood healing, liberation seeking, divination practicing, commitment to creating Black Centered Spaces of liberation and joy. They wake up every day and choose to be a pro-Black, pro-nap, pro-queer community co-creating decolonizing, tree-hugging, mama to Chris and partner to MiAsia.
As one of the founding members of New Haven’s chapter of Black Lives Matter, ala obtained a Black Trans Anarchical Feminist analysis through continual touchpoints with the community, from community organizing to open mics to learning institutes, ala takes every opportunity to work with their community and make her net-work. Their work with BLMNH and various coalitions led ala to lean into and commit themselves to decolonization, transformational justice, and deep personal healing.
ala believes in everlasting self-education, to be an abolitionist is to be a co-creator of systems we have never seen before. This ability is rarely gained through any of the standing educational institutions we have come to name as “higher education”. As a commitment to continual learning ala has sought out some truly transformational educational trainings and fellowships.In present years ala has participated in the 2018 BOLD AMANDLA Cohort, CEIO Organizers Path, The City of New Haven’s Democracy School cohort 2017-2018, Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University’s, C.A.R.E. New Haven Health Leader program 2018 cohort, Life in My Day’s 2020 Transformational Justice Cohort and recently participated in UCONN’s BIPOC Emerging Leader Non profit leadership cohort of 2022.
ala is a recipient of the 2021 New Haven Pride Center’s Lion Award For service to her community, The 2021 Southern Connecticut State University Women and Gender Studies Conference’s Ingrid Washinawatok El-Issa Service Award, and The 2021 Southern Connecticut State University President's Medal.
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