The Rhapsody Project’s MARCH Framework underpins the work we do as educators, community builders, and artists. First articulated by Briar and Joe Seamons in 2020, the acronym stands for:
Movement. Acknowledgment. Renewal. Collaboration. Heritage.
Here in 2025, we are using each week in the month of March to demonstrate what we mean by each of these five tenets. This week: Movement!
Movement
There are many beautiful movement traditions here on Turtle Island that weave together multiple meanings of the concept of movement. For instance, Gullah Geechee people in the Southeastern United States developed powerful dances called Ring Shouts that embedded spiritual elements of West African cultures within lyrical stories of The Bible in order to preserve sacred rituals and culture under the noses of racist slaveholders.
Ring Shouts not only reflect the value of moving our bodies – to process emotion, express feeling, and get the blood pumping – they also demonstrate the vitality and essential act of resistance in the face of violence and oppression.
When we celebrate and highlight Movement at The Rhapsody Project, we emphasize the necessity to march with larger movements that are committed to counteracting oppression, as well as the need for personal and internal movement – whether it is breathwork, dance, gardening, going for a walk, yoga, or any other form of movement that allows us to connect with, acknowledge, move through, and recognize both our feelings and our invisible bias.
In Rhapsody’s Face the Music program, we highlight the living traditions of Ring Shouts as they are carried forward by contemporary communities such as the McIntosh County Shouters and the Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters.
Check out a modern Ring Shout from the Weeksville Heritage Center. Warning: This music will encourage movement. Be prepared to tap a foot, bob your head, or dance with your whole body.
Book Recommendation: Shout Because You’re Free: The African American Ring Shout Tradition in Coastal Georgia
Follow along for the rest of the month to learn about the rest of the MARCH framework that shapes the work of The Rhapsody Project.
Written by Joe Seamons. Edited by Liz Castillo. Graphic by Katana Sol.
