In collaboration with Pūlama Long, Luanna co-founded Weaving Our Stories, a Hawai’i-rooted abolitionist program. Luanna harnesses storytelling as a vital tool for liberation and social change. Her commitment extends to her role as a Peace Studio Fellow, where she brought valuable insights and expertise to promote peace and understanding. Additionally, as the Director of Learning and Evaluation at Mothering Justice, Luanna empowers mothers of color, equipping them with resources to influence policy and enact meaningful change, highlighting her dedication to community upliftment and justice.
Her proficiency in creating and managing place and culture-based community programs is rooted in her extensive experience in this field. Luanna’s academic achievements include a dual BA in International Studies and Communications and an MA in Humanities and Leadership.
Luanna’s commitment to social justice is further exemplified by her involvement in key organizations. She is an active member of the Community Equity Committee, part of the Equity Governance System at Planned Parenthood Great North, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK). Additionally, she is a board member of the Hawai’i State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Luanna’s comprehensive approach to social justice, which combines grassroots activism, policy work, and community education, establishes her as a formidable advocate and leader.
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Weaving Our Stories: Return To Belonging – An Anthology
USD $ 5.00 – USD $ 25.00Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Weaving Our Stories: Return To Belonging – An Anthology
USD $ 5.00 – USD $ 25.00Weaving Our Stories is a Hawaii-rooted abolitionist program that utilizes storytelling as a vehicle for liberation. Our mission revolves around teaching storytelling as an act of resistance, dismantling harmful existing narratives, and nurturing our ability to weave counter-narratives that acknowledge and celebrate the inherent beauty and brilliance within our storytellers. Through our stories, we advocate for justice and liberation.
This anthology follows the trail of esteemed works such as “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings of Radical Women of Color” and “Na Wahine Koa: Hawaiian Women for Sovereignty and Demilitarization.” This anthology includes poetry, essays, visual art, and narratives penned by authors and artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color from Hawaii and beyond. While our contributors span a diverse spectrum of experiences and identities, they all share a common commitment to individual and collective well-being. Our contributors astutely showcase how their expressions of resistance and liberation, whether through visual art or written text, align with one or more of the central themes of Weaving Our Stories: resistance through cultural memory, accountability, resisting false binaries, and countering hegemony.
In tandem with the community collection of stories that revolve around resistance, this anthology also highlights the remarkable achievements of our six accomplished Black youth organizers. These young individuals dedicated a year to the Weaving Our Stories Youth Series during the pandemic, delving into the power and relevance of storytelling in our journey of resistance and liberation. Each of the six youth activists provides an overview of their Community Impact Design Projects.
These culminating endeavors addressed community issues by proposing interventions that harness our resistance themes and our three Pillars of Liberation—namely, institutions, structures/methodology, and people.
This anthology offers celebrations of our triumphs, our joys, and our unwavering resilience. Simultaneously, they advocate for our ongoing resistance, insisting on justice and a sincere confrontation with the often-overlooked lived experiences that deserve acknowledgement.
Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page