What If The Most Human Space Is Not Safe But Brave

Tolu is away at a training and we are trying something new! Bonus episodes where we record solo, share poems or other writings that we want to share with each other and YOU! So in this episode, I record one of my favorite poems, a poem that also has some contested history! 

“Safe space” is one of the kindest phrases we use in community work and also one of the easiest to overpromise. When humans gather, we bring scars, gaps in knowledge, and the real possibility of hurting each other even when we’re trying our best. So what do we build instead? In this short bonus episode, I offer a different frame: brave space, a shared commitment to truth, care, and growth without pretending we can guarantee perfect safety.

I read the poem Invitation to Brave Space twice, because I know poems don’t always land the first time. The lines are simple and sharp: we turn down the noise of the outside world, we amplify voices that fight to be heard, we call each other toward more truth and love, and we keep learning. It’s a powerful resource for facilitators, educators, DEI practitioners, community organisers, and anyone doing relationship-centered work who wants a practical language for group agreements and accountability.

I also name the poem’s complicated history, including its original authorship by Beth Strano, the later additions and popularisation by Mickey Scott Bay Jones, and how questions of plagiarism led to a transformative justice dialogue. That context matters because ethical sharing, clear credit, and honest repair are part of collective care, not an afterthought.

If you’re building a group, leading a team, or trying to host harder conversations with more integrity, this is a grounding listen. Subscribe, share this bonus with someone who holds space for others, and leave a review, then tell us: what would you add to a brave space agreement?

And here is a link to a podcast episode with folks discussing this poem: https://onbeing.org/programs/jennifer-bailey-and-lennon-flowers-an-invitation-to-brave-space/

PLUS, sign up to be informed about the group that Tolu and Gitika will be hosting in a few months! Kinnected Support Group: https://forms.gle/e9JAq7iv6DFi1UCt6

Thanks for listening, 

Tolu & Gitika 

You can reach us at kinnected.squarespace.com

Tolu is the Founder of Re-member Counseling & Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness 

Transcript

Safe Space Versus Brave Space

The Poem’s Origins And Plagiarism

Why The Poem Still Matters

First Reading Of Brave Space

Second Reading And Attribution

Show Notes And Interest List

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Hello everyone. Tolu is at a training this week, and then I am at a training another week, and I figured we would at least record a bonus episode with either one of us based on whoever was available. And unlike our typical episodes that consist of conversations between the two of us, I figured our bonus episodes could be something that we have wanted to share with each other and all of you as listeners of this podcast. Lou and I were discussing the importance of a space that is both safe as well as brave. And we were recognizing the limits of really promising safety in a world that is entirely unpredictable because all of us are human and we are likely to have gaps in our knowledge or respective experiences that make it hard for us to really speak without potentially hurting each other. So, of course, the commitment to do no harm always remains, but there is the possibility of hurting each other anyway. So I was reminded of this poem called Invitation to Brave Space. This poem actually became very, very important to me, and I had first heard about it through the work of Mickey Scott Bay Jones. And in the process of actually looking into the poem further, I discovered that the poem was originally written by Beth Strano, and Mickey Scott Bay Jones had seen it written somewhere and it had been anonymous. She made some modifications and then eventually passed the poem off as her own. This is really broad strokes of the story. Over time, I know that Beth Strano and Mickey Scott Bay Jones actually had like some kind of a transformative justice dialogue around the meaning of this poem and also the meaning of Mickey Scott Bay Jones's plagiarism of this poem. It seems that transformative justice dialogue happened sometime in possibly 2019. I do not know what the outcome of that transformative justice dialogue was, but I do know that this poem is now popularly associated with both Mickey Scott Bay Jones as well as Beth Strano, given all the ways in which this poem evolved in this poem's own lifetime. So I am offering this poem to all of us today, and I hope you find it meaningful, and of course, I hope you also benefit from the resources I shared in the chat about this poem and ways in which it has influenced a lot of social justice work, transformative justice work, and overall our work around collective grief. And here's the poem. Together we will create brave space because there is no such thing as safe space. We exist in the real world. We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds. In this space, we seek to turn down the volume of the outside world. We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere. We call each other to move more truth and love. We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow. We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know. We will not be perfect. This space will not be perfect. It will not always be what we wish it to be. But it it will be our brave space together, and we will work on it side by side. I will read it again because I know sometimes the poem doesn't land the same way if we hear it just once. So I'll read it again. Invitation to Brave Space. Beth Strano's original work with meaningful additions by Mickey Scott Bay Jones. Invitation to Brave Space. Together we will create brave space because there is no such thing as safe space. We exist in the real world. We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds in this space. We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world. We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere. We call each other to more truth and love. We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow. We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know. We will not be perfect. This space will not be perfect. It will not always be what we wish it to be, but it will be our brave space together. And we will work on it side by side. So I hope you enjoyed listening to that poem. And of course, check out the show notes of this bonus episode to know a little bit more about this poem, as well as sign up to be on the interest list for a group space that Tolu and I will be offering in a few months. And over time, uh we'll share more. Stay tuned. Thanks for listening.