Last Graduation of a Liberation School.. DeeColonize Academy Afterschool Begins

“I don’t know where your son is, he was in detention and then he disappeared….” The assistant principal’s voice trailed off as she flipped absentmindedly through a stack of attendance sheets, until she stopped abruptly and looked up, “I’m sorry but we don’t know where he is.” She walked out of the room and left us there in shock

This is just one example of the school to prison pipeline in full effect with our poor/houseless Black, Brown, Houseless, Disabled and indigenous youth being intentionally “lost” in carceral systems like “detention” and expulsion and over-policing of school sites.While underserving and under-educating poor and disabled children. But I knew standing there, looking down a long empty “mans skool” hallway for one of my lost co-suns, that it was up to us at POOR Magazine and Family Project to mamafest the dream my mama and me had had for many years of launching a liberaiton school, something different and radical for our babies coming out of poverty.Children like i was, who was forced to drop out of school at age 11 to take care of my disabled mama while living in homelessness. 

HOMEfulness land in Deep East Huchiun ( Oakland) had just been freed. If we worked really hard we could get a small classroom up and running by September for a Fall 2013 opening 

HERstory of Deecolonize Academy 

Starting with POOR Magazine’s Youth In Media project which began in 1998 in POOR’s early days to make sure houseless youth were speaking for themselves about their struggles and their perspectives and then FAMILY project—launched by me and my revoluitonary sisSTar, teacher, povertyskola Junebug Kealoha to provide free revolutionary curriculum, child care and healthy food and support for houseless and poor families. Deecolonize Academy was the logical progression. 

In 2013, a collective of poor and houseless mamas and uncles from all across the Bay, including Tracey Bell Borden, Queennandi X Sheba, Leroy Moore, Muteado SIlencio, Laure McElroy, Vivian Flaherty, Aldo, Julio Chavez, Tony Robles, Ace Robles, myself and Junebug and so many more, opened a humble tuition-free, arts, spirit, cultural and liberation-based homeschool on the sacred land us houseless peoples call HOMEfulness. 

We only teach the truth to our children, even if it’s the hard truth. From poltrickster lies and violence to homelessness, eviction, law, and Black Land theft, from Indigenous science practices to care for Mama Earth, water and sky, to spiritual traditions from all four corners, Over the years the teachers have included so many powerful poverty skolaz, indigenous leaders and artists including Corrina Gould, Loa and Fui Fui Niumeitolu, Aunti Frances Moore, Brother Mink, Maya, Mx T, Katrina Harris, Jasmine Hain, Momii Palapaz, Ananda, Israel, Alvaro, Jason Fluker and Ifalayo Harper to name a few. 

We have successfully promoted over 100 low/no-income, houseless, disabled and indigenous children from age 3-18 and have graduated five high school seniors with a powerful liberation education and this year in 2026 we will graduate our last two seniors with a beautiful and deeply rooted in culture, science, reading, poetry and HERstory.

Thirteen years later in 2026, we are not ending the school. The school lives forever in our hearts and our multi-generational liberation work at POOR Magazine. It also lives on in PeopleSkool- a liberation education for adults. But due to the rising costs of keeping the school open full-time and our capacity to do all the work we do supporting fellow houseless folks and Mama Earth, we need to put the full day school on pause and we look foreward to the day when the powerful students and alumni will come back and re-open the day school again. 

Starting in September 2026 we will be launching our free Liberation Afterschool program which will include Danza Azteca with Uncle Muteado and Alvaro (Aztec Dance practice), Martial Arts with Brother Mink, Revolutionary Media mentorships with me teacher/mama tiny and Aunti Frances Moore, Arts and Crafts with Teacher Ifalayo, and Tutoring/Science, Cooking and love with Teachers Maya and Trina, to name a few offerings. We will provide healthy organic snacks, care, love, rides and more, like we always have since 2013 and no matter what we are here to support families and community in poverty, like we always do.