About Us
Location: From Bethlehem to Ramallah Photo: zehra imam
Since 2012, Illuminated Cities has worked with communities impacted by systemic violence to offer:
Creative healing tools for expression through mediums such as poetry, visual arts, citizen journalism,
Understanding shared struggle through political education curriculum and experiential learning programming, and
Finding grounded pathways towards health and healing through spiritual, indigenous, and ancestral practices.
Our Team
We are a team of experienced educators, psychologists, creative artists, and community organizers who believe in the power of expression as a pathway to reclaiming health, equity, and sovereignty.
Photo: Artwork honoring Egyptian singer Umm Khultum at a Palestinian restaurant in Yaffa
“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.” - James Baldwin
Why do we work with communities impacted by systemic violence?
Violence is a life-altering adversity and witnessing or experiencing it can change us on a cellular level. If we examine all the adversities mentioned in the Adverse Childhood Experiences index - with full recognition of its limitations as a tool - violence stands out from other adversities such as poverty or neglect.
The part of our brain that is impacted when we experience trauma is the Broca’s Area, which is our speech and language center and has to do with the imagination. This is the reason we focus on health and healing through creative expression.
Photo: Mural commemorating Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot in the head by Israeli forces while on assignment in Jenin Location: Bethlehem, Palestine
“As you return home, to your home, think of others (do not forget the people of the camps).” Mahmoud Darwish
Where We Work
We collaborate with local partners across the globe to ensure that our programs are sensitive and responsive to the needs of each community.
Our programming has existed in: India, Kuwait, Palestine, Rohingya refugee camps; college campuses such as Harvard, MIT, and St. Joseph’s University; communities such as Chicago’s south side, the South Bronx, Brooklyn, metro-Detroit; and online.
Photo: Illuminated Cities student Duha Hasan shares an image from her home in Gaza after the ceasefire. Location: Gaza, Palestine
“And when we speak, we are afraid our words won’t be heard nor welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid, so it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.” Audre Lorde
Our Logo and Our Name
Our logo was inspired by a poem titled The Conference of the Birds written by Fariduddin Attar in the 1100’s. Legends say that the hudhud (hoopoe) is an enlightened bird that has powers of healing. Healing is central to Illuminated Cities.
The hudhud is a bird mentioned in the Quran as part of King Sulayman’s army known to travel to different kingdoms and bring back new knowledge to share. Being part of Illuminated Cities means undertaking transformative journeys of awakening that can lead to healing ourselves, our communities, and our environments.
The name of our organization comes from a poem titled The Cities Inside Us by Mexican-American poet Alberto Rios in which he writes about each person being a city unto themselves. Illuminated Cities is meant to be, both, a reference to each person who works with us as well as each community.
Photo: Logo designed by Jordanian artist Tasneem Toghoj
Our Inspiration
There are too many to name but below is a list of a few brilliant minds whose work we consult to understand and inform our frameworks:
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) whose ask to take care of orphans, women, the elderly, and those in greatest need as well as his message to bow down literally and figuratively to a higher power evoked a radical internal and external transformation.
Our students from Gaza who somehow found the strength and creative reservoir within them to write unforgettable poetry during an active and on-going genocide.
Our students globally whose feedback has guided us on how to course-correct approaches to our work.
Dr. Lisa Delpit’s work on power and pedagogy illuminates for us how vital it is to acknowledge the “culture of power” that exists around us. She details five rules of power that are enacted in the classroom and provides pathways to deconstruct them.
Toni Morrison who wielded her words to unveil truths.
Dr. Refaat Alareer who spoke to the power of the imagination, retained his gentle spirit as he taught amidst the cruelest of horrors, and loved and cared for his students.
Fadwa Tuqan who situated the struggles of women within the greater struggle towards liberation.
Mohammed El-Kurd whose questions, critiques, and poetry serve as a guide and inspiration.
Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade who centers hope in pedagogy
James Baldwin who refused to mince his words, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Susan Abulhawa who twice found her way to Gaza.
Dr. Mads Gilbert’s persistent work for helping those in critical need.
Grace Lee Boggs
Abdul Sattar Edhi for being the most stubborn person when it came to humanitarian work.
Fariduddin Attar who wrote about the spiritual path as an allegory of birds traversing seven valleys of love.
