Peaceful and rising together

Querida Amiga,

We are still far from our collective liberation. Last week was a reminder of just how far we are.

The coup/insurrection/riot that happened last week was not a surprise. However, it brought up a lot of emotion for me and others. I tried my best to be informed and not absorbed in all the details. That was not an easy task to accomplish.

I had moments where I was absorbed with work, then I was reading every article and text coming my way, and I caught myself at moments staring out the window letting my thoughts wander.

If you’ve ever seen my computer screen, you would notice 4 desktops open with 20-40 tabs on each. I know it’s not the nicest thing to do to my computer. However, there are tabs I will open and find exactly what I need at the moment I least expected it.

Case in point, this link to a lyric poem by The Peace Poets. It was shared at a workshop I attended a couple of months ago. I opened it during the workshop and then completely forgot about it until I stumbled upon the tab again this past weekend. The lyrics spoke to me and this moment we are in.

The People Are Peaceful

We Know What To Do:

We Rising up Together

Til We 

STOP THIS COUP!

I appreciate the opening line, “The people are peaceful.” Though we would be justified to be filled with hate and anger at all times, we are a community that is learning to turn inward and find calm and answers within ourselves when life gets to be overwhelming.

We are striving to be peaceful because it serves our soul and helps to bring clarity on what is needed to move towards liberation. Being clouded by anger stifles dreaming and clarity of purpose. A calm and peaceful mind gives us space to dream of what else is possible.

Focusing on me and us also helps the dream of liberation to not be tied to oppression. I want to dream of what is possible because it is meant for us and not just a move away from oppression.

What possibility lives inside of us that we have lost touch with because of the systems we live in? Peaceful people know how to tap into that.

The line, “we rising up together,” feels alive and true while also an area to dig in for growth. The last few months have shown the power we hold when we come together as a collective of Black/Indigenous People of Color. In states like Arizona and Georgia we saw a variety of Black, Latinx, and Asian/Pacific-Islander organizations partner to mobilize our communities for change.

We cannot ignore where our non-Black Latinx community can grow in service to the collective.

The leader of the Proud Boys, one of the white supremacist organizations that organized and contributed to the attempted coup in DC is led by a Latino. There was also an incident a couple of weeks ago where a Latina attacked a young Black boy claiming he had stolen her phone, she had left it in a car.

There is still much work to be done for non-Black Latinx people to unearth our anti-Blackness, process the discomfort of knowing it exists within us, learn what will better serve the Black community, and take action to truly be able to rise together as a collective towards liberation.

We must lean into the fact that we will work to undo our internalized anti-Blackness for the rest of our lives. What I have internalized for over 40 years by living in an anti-Black world, will require more than a year of reading books to dismantle. I have messed up. I will mess up moving forward. The point is I am learning and moving forward to be a part of moving our collective liberation forward.

This poem is reminder to tap into our personal wellness, especially in times of struggle. And a call to action to learn more about the ways we contribute to oppression of others so that we can truly rise together.

Together we are powerful. 

Together we can dream of a world where we are free to be our authentic selves.

Together we can take action to stop oppressive systems.

Together we will find liberation.

Quiero saber de ti.  How are you working to undo anti-Blackness in yourself and our communities?

Un Abrazo, 

Michelle

P.S. Throughout the month of January, I will be hosting meditation sessions on Clubhouse Monday/Tuesday/Thursday at 5:15 pm PST and on IG Live Fridays at 12:30 pm PST. Please join me for 15-20 minutes to meditate and process what we have brought into the new year and what we want to claim moving forward in 2021. Let’s set up our physical, emotional, and spiritual selves for an abundant year.