About this Event
Join us for Black Parents and Black Youth of Berkeley Writing Circles: The Guide!
Come and share your experiences of being a Black parent and caregiver in Berkeley, on Thursday November 12 , 2026 from 5:30pm-7:30pm . We will gather at Tarea Hall Pittman Library (South Berkeley Branch) 1901 Russell St, Berkeley, CA 94703, for an evening filled with writing, sharing, and connecting.
Whether you're a seasoned writer or have no experience writing at all, this event is for you! Our Writing Circles provide a safe and supportive space for Black parents in Berkeley to explore their writing skills, share their stories, and engage in conversations with other Black parents.
During the event, we will engage in grounding techniques, various writing exercises, and discussions to spark your imagination and encourage self-expression.This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other Black parents in Berkeley , exchange ideas, share narratives and build community.
Inspired by poet Khalil Gribran's "On Children," from the Prophet, participants will explore the theme of being a "Guide" as a parent to our children, and what that truly means and looks like as a Black parent.
"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you."
Food, Childcare and Giftcards will be provided! Please contact Milani Pelley directly at [email protected] for any accesibility and access needs.
Let's make Berkeley Black Again!Don't miss out on this chance to be part of the Black Parents of Berkeley Writing Circles!
Parent and Youth Writing Circles are separate. The youth circle will take place in the Teen Library with Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate Nolawit Ketema.
* PS: How might we create positive experience for Black parents to come together in Berkeley? is an ongoing question Milani is trying to address. If you would like to be apart, collobarate and/or finiclally sponsor more events around Blacks parents coming together in Berkeley, email Milani Pelley at [email protected].
Facilitator Milani Pelley
Milani Pelley
Milani Pelley was born and raised and gave birth in Berkeley. She believes Black people belong in Berkeley and strives towards Making Berkeley Black Again. Milani believes in Matriarchy and Divine Love and uses her gifts as an abolitionist educator, liberator, philanthropist, poet, and facilitator of self expression and healing to actualize her innovations into reality. Milani sits on the Superintendent's African American Success Advisory Committee of the Berkeley Public Schools.
Milani has performed at the Opera House in San Francisco and for activists Will i.am, Saul Williams, Jesse Jackson, and Angela Davis. She solely represented Oakland in the Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2010. She was a part of Team Oakland in 2010,placing top four in group-piece finals, and was a member of Team Oakland in 2011, ranking top ten in the nation. She has been a Poet-Teacher for California Poets in the Schools since 2022. To hear, read and speak Milani’s words is truly an unforgettable experience. To participate in her workshops is transformative.
Amani Carey-Simms is a Black nonbinary parent, artist, certified life coach, somatic practitioner, facilitator, and community-builder whose work explores how we stay human, connected, creative, and free across generations. Through Inner Equity Council, Amani brings more than 25 years of experience in youth development, counseling and council practice, mindfulness, restorative and relational work, facilitation, and community care. Their training includes Somatic Attachment Therapy, Brainspotting Phases 1 & 2, NLP, EFT, mindful facilitation, and Reiki.
Amani’s current work lives at the intersections of parenting and fatherhood, relational intelligence, embodied healing, racial and gender justice, conflict transformation, ancestral practice, art and music, and human–AI systems design. They are developing Keep Close, a field guide, practice, and card game for nurturing connection between parents and children across distance and change; convening and contributing to intergenerational men’s/fatherhood and healing work; and creating music and cultural projects as Amani Will.
Across these forms, Amani returns to a shared question: What can our practices, relationships, and systems hold so people don’t have to hold everything alone?
For Parenting as a Guide, Amani will offer grounding practices that invite parents back into the body, relationship, lineage, and the wisdom already present in how we accompany our children.
Berkeley Youth Poet Laureate Nolawit Ketema
Writing, especially poetry, is how I make sense of emotions and experiences I don’t yet know how to say out loud. It allows me to slow down, to sit with what I’m feeling, even when those feelings are uncomfortable or unresolved. Through writing, I give myself permission to notice, to feel, and to understand.
Most of my work is rooted in genuine emotions and lived experiences. When I write poetry, I also write for the little girl in me who loved reading and dreamed of becoming a writer. For a long time, that dream felt unrealistic, something better hidden away. When people asked what I wanted to be, I learned to give safer answers. Now, every poem is a way of honoring that younger version of myself, the one who felt the need to conceal a true part of who she was. I write for children who are told, directly or indirectly, that their dreams are impractical or not enough. I write for the people who have walked with me through both joy and hardship, shaping the person I am today.
I know that many people, especially young children, don’t always feel drawn to reading or writing so my hope is to create work that feels honest and approachable. Poetry shouldn’t demand perfection or expertise, only openness. If even one piece makes someone feel seen, understood, or less alone, then the words have done what they were meant to do.
Event venue & nearby stays
Berkeley Public Library - Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch, 1901 Russell Street, Berkeley, United States
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