My people, my friends, my family....
It took everything in me to sit here and pull this piece together. A large part of me wanted to go on with my day and continue my personal healing, but my heart wouldn't let me leave you guys hanging.
Part of my struggle is the fact that I feel like I've written a post like this every few weeks. "Let's check in, how're we doing, where's everyone's mental meter at?" It's sad to say, but this is our day to day reality. My goal for "A Word" was always to be as inclusive as possible. I‘ve always want my pieces to remain relatable to all groups of people, but at this time more than ever I have to talk to MY people.
2020 has indeed been a tough year for us. We've gone through quite a bit emotionally from quarantine isolation, watching our people die from COVID at disproportionate rates, watching our people slaughtered in the streets at the hands of people that swore to protect them, all while prematurely losing our legends, our icons, the few that gave us hope in many times of uncertainty. And for the first time in a long time, this collective grief is being felt throughout the entirety of the African diaspora, uniting us all in a way we've haven't quite seen before.
I'm going to keep this short and sweet when I say our strength lies within that unity. There was a time where the African diaspora truly had no meaning to us. Africans, Af. Americans, Af. Caribs, etc. all considered ourselves as different communities. Those that were forced to forget their origin developed new cultures that reflected our trauma, and through that we were divided further. But throughout this world-shaking period of loss, an awakening has occurred. We're all realizing that the root of it all is African, this is us, we're remembering who we are. We were separated for some time but we were still experiencing the same struggles, the same fights and the same triumphs despite where the ships docked.
I've been asking myself, exactly how us as a collective are supposed to pick up and keep moving through another heavy day, another day of smiling through the pain when all we really want to do is cry, to rest, to breathe and regroup. The truth is, there is no correct answer to that question. Some of us aren't supposed to move through it all gracefully, but the others will now be there to help them through. These may be the troubling moments that turn us all into who we're meant to be from the beginning. We're watching others live out their purposes and in that we're understanding our own. Together is where we'll truly understand our purpose and our power, the strength in our struggle and the truth that lies within our trauma. What grows from that will truly be a sight to see.
"Inhale and exhale this moment, and thank God for the unique beauties and wonders of this day. We should take advantage of every moment we can to enjoy the simplicity of God's creation, whether it be clear skies and sun or clouded over with gloom."
-Chadwick Boseman
This was a great one. Don’t feel like you’re repeating yourself with these posts, because some people need this and need you more than you even know. As far as the diaspora, we are definitely waking up to the fact that we essentially are one as black people, but we still have a very long way to go. But progress is progress through it all.