it feels like i've aged 10 years this week. joints creaking, muscles spasming, and all i can do is sleep. my body responds very quickly to trauma. ancient ancestral wounds buried deep within, carried by my mother and my father and all that came before, have ruptured. again. my soul is tender, my flesh flagellated by the echo of all lives matter, the violence of apathy and the disrespect of wilful ignorance.
i don't usually have a sweet tooth, but this week different iterations of desserts have been swirling around in my brain. we all need an extra bit of sweetness sometimes. i wish i could nourish and nurture you all.
instead, i have collated several incredible resources i have seen this week. i have included links to support self study, some to give you pleasure and some to aid your healing journey, as well as specific resources to support activists on the ground in the US and UK. we can not let this become just another moment. thank you to everybody sharing and posting.
this list is not at all complete, please send me things you think should be added.
all Black lives matter. Black joy, Black healing and Black futures matter. i hope these resources can bring us further to this vision.
we must always remember:
-
(the poem below doesn't yet have a name, but it is how i feel)
i want to wrap my people up in an everlasting embrace.
hold them tight and not let go.
ancestors! fill me with the power of the phoenix.
let my tears
fall
fierce and defiant.
let the wounds begin to heal.
cover me with your grace and help me wade through the waters of our collective grief.
there is space for all of us on my back.
when i get tired, let us rest in the depths while yemaya holds us
close
and carries us to the freshwaters.
maferefun oshun,
mama,
warrior woman,
let me nourish myself with your sweetness.
adorn me with the apparel of war and
remind me of my battle cry.
recall the flood and bring us home.
-
resources:
for healing:
@allyssarochelle
@ournakedtruths
@therapyforblackgirls
@healingjusticeldn
@alexreads
@alex_elle
@yumisakugawa
@krystalnaomi.bodyandmind
@yung.pueblo
@leonanicholeblack
@dawn_ estefan_psych
@suhailyashakuwra
@thenapministry
@alafiahealth
news/commentary
@wearyourvoice
@galdemzine
@blackballaduk
@chantayyjayy
@tobikyere
@symeonbrown
@practicalmyth
@amahra_
@ashindestad
@aliyahhasinah
@ivieani
@jasebyjason
@blackvisionsmn
@reclaimtheblock
@ur_ninja
@ukblm
support/donate
ways we can demand justice for Belly Mujinga https://twitter.com/ceevalentina/status/1266611295891136512?s=19
Minnesota Freedom Fund @mnffreedomfund
education
@freeblackuni
@blackabolitionist
@abolitionistfutures
@melzdot
@jadebentil @divanificent
@seizethevote
@thewomanistreader
support for those protesting in the UK
@ystop
UK mutual aid
things that have brought me joy
@theyhavetherange
@theloosiesproject
@theresnosignall
@datspod
@blanguage.online
@marysho
@micantifa
@passthedutchpot
@munchclubtv
@trapfruitslondon
@emikomusic_
@thefloormag
dance. sing. scream. trauma is stored in the body and must be released. call your peoples. be tender with one another.
a reminder it's also Pride month and ALL BLACK LIVES MATTER. support your Black queer siblings:
queercare.network
@azmag
@tanyacompas
@kuchenga
@melzdot
@jasebyjason
@ukblackpride
@sistrenoffical
i am holding space for you all.
saf xxx