Defined: To believe with all our heart in our power, our relationships, our ancestral wisdoms, and our liberation.
" i don't pay attention to the
world ending.
it has ended for me
many times
and began again in the morning."
- Nayyirah Waheed, Salt
For those of us who may have been traumatized by organized religion, the word faith may be a loaded term. Traditionally defined, Faith is hope for things unseen.
By this definition, Trans / Queer / Black / Indigenous folx are faithful people, in the purest way. Our survival has been rooted in daring to imagine unseen futures. Our survival has been rooted in our persistence to achieve and sustain dignified lives.
We remember the example of Black Southerners fleeing Jim Crow, who planted their faith in the yet unseen possibility of a freer, more dignified life in the budding northern cities of Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia.
We remember the example of West African, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Dominican ancestors who planted their faith in the yet unseen reality of making a better life for their families free from the imperialist exploitation that made the land of their ancestors no longer liveable.
We remember the example of every Queer child who summoned the courage to believe that they can stand unapologetically in their identities, despite the hatred of a homophobic / Transphobic world.
The invitation of Imani asks: How do we reclaim the liberating potential of our faith? What must our hope be grounded in to bring about the world that we envision?
On the first day of a new calendar year, the seventh and final Nguzo Saba principle of Imani invites us to ground our hope in the courage to create a world where all marginalized beings are free from oppression . When we plant our hope here, what outgrowths are possible?
What is possible when we plant our hope in our resilience and collective care strategies?
When your eyes fluttered open this morning, the world began again. What a gift, indeed.
Our resistance is an act of radical faith when it is grounded in our communities, when it is grounded in love and compassion, when it is grounded in the knowing that liberation is our birthright.
Every day that this world continues to crumble around us, our resilience and care for one another has sustained us.
On this first day of a new calendar year, the world has begun again. What is possible in this newness?
The invitation reminds us to ground our hope in care, compassion, love, and courage
Though yet unseen, a world where we are housed, where we are resourced, where we are cared for and loved deeply is certainly possible.
All it takes is the courage to believe it.
When we believe in our liberation, know that it is already done. What is possible when we believe in our liberation with all our hearts?
Care Reflections
This new year, what might it look like to deepen relationships with those you hold close? Might it look like regular check-in phone calls? Might it look like sharing more meals with your friends? Might it look like spending more time in gratitude? Spending more time in awe of nature?
What do you hope for? Make a list. Reflect on your list. Now, what do you need to bring your hopes from the unseen into the tangible. Take stock of your relationships. Chances are that what you seek is closer to your grasp than you might have once thought.
These reflections were inspired by the words and inspiration of Black women/femmes including but not limited to LoriKim Alexander, Leah Penniman, Gwendolyn Brooks, June Jordan, Angela Davis, Miriam Kaba, Audre Lorde, Octavia E. Butler, my grandmother, my aunties.
-Images & Writing By Vic Collins