Jaliyah Consulting seeks to connect and support people in recognizing patterns, challenging, and transforming white supremacist culture.  We aim to support committed to building a more just city, state, country and beyond any borders through:

• Freedom singing
• Facilitating story circles
• Training in story circle process
• Developing grassroots leadership workshops/ trainings
• Meeting facilitation

Our work is rooted in practices I learned from civil rights movement veterans.  Jaliyah Uses freedom singing, to apply movement values and lessons from the past to change conditions in the contemporary moment. We get groups to listen and tell stories of life experiences to encourage people to organize across a broad range of issues and identities to practice being fearless enough to build working class people’s power to live whole, creative lives for our families and communities.

As a cultural worker, activist, facilitator, and educator, Wendi O’Neal works to connect social and economic justice groups’ mission, vision and values with how everyday work gets done. She uses spiritually grounded practices, visual art, story circles and song sharing as tools for growing inspiration and building democratic process.

Born and raised in New Orleans, she has worked in local, regional and national organizations; but her heart’s work is rooted in the Deep South of the US, especially the kind of organizing that happens around kitchen tables and good food. She is a dancer, “markers & scrap paper” visual artist, freedom-song-singer and teacher.

One of her favorite teachers is her father, John O’Neal, co-founder of the Free Southern Theater, a Radical Black Theater project that grew out of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the 1960’s. In 1991, she helped found one of the first documented out lesbian and bisexual women’s alliances at a Historically Black College, Spelman, in Atlanta, GA – which continues to exist as the group, Afrekete, today.

Some groups Wendi has worked with include: Amnesty International, Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, Southerners on New Ground, The Highlander Research and Education Center, INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, and Junebug Productions’ Free Southern Theater Institute

The People’s Community Sing

This bi-monthly event is a chance for people to build a vocal community through singing freedom songs together.  All levels of experience are welcome – especially children and elders.  You don’t have to know how to sing to add your voice and have a great time.

There are two sings scheduled every month 4-6pm @ The People’s Assembly Office, 1418 N Claiborne Ave:

• The People’s Community Sing happens every 1^st Sunday of the month
• The People of Color Community Sing happens every 3^rd Sunday of the month
• (Community Sing events have paused for the summer and will resume in August)

Upcoming Events