As Black History Month comes to a close, the fam at FEEST is honored and proud to share our Staff Spotlights of some the incredible humans who make our organization what it is. Check out below to learn about what Black Liberation means to the Black staff on our team! In addition to dreaming about Black Liberation, the staff also shared some Black Joy Offerings for you all to enjoy. Happy Black History Month, from FEEST! ?
What does Black Liberation Look like to you? What does it feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like?
Black Liberation looks like ease. I am deeply inspired by the work of Tricia Hersey of the Nap Ministry who writes endlessly about the connection between rest & creativity.
Black Liberation is both an unlearning and creating of something and it takes being still and rested to truly be guided.
Black Liberation is being planted in the ground, communing with nature, practicing meditation and mindfulness, dancing, making & sharing home-cooked meals, and drinking coffee slow with loved ones while eating popcorn.
Belina’s Black Joy Offerings:
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
From the GirlTrek Podcast:
Fela Kuti & The Birth of AfroBeat
About the GirlTrek Podcast:
GirlTrek’s epic 21-day walking meditation series to remember where we came from and to gather strength for the road ahead. We celebrate Black stories and the lessons of our ancestors to help guide us through these uncertain times. Each episode, is a conversation on learning, living and elevating to our highest self with guidance from lessons of the past. Hosted by GirlTrek Co-founders Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison. Produced by: Ebony Andrews
What does Black Liberation Look like to you? What does it feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like?
Black liberation looks like waking up in a world that honors and respects me, my loved ones, my ancestors, and my descendants. Black liberation is safety, support, resources, and community for Black Trans People.
It feels like laughing until tears stream down your face and your belly hurts. It feels like the first time you heard your favorite song or the first time you won a game of Spades. It smells like wet grass on a warm day.
It feels like your first retwist, or a fresh haircut. It feels like waking up from an amazing guilt-free nap in the middle of the day.
It smells like fried fish and grits, tastes like Nana’s fruit punch, it sounds like carefree shenanigans under the summer sun. Black liberation is access to authentic rest, joy, and softness. It is access to clean water, fresh food, clean air, safe & free housing.
Devan’s Black Joy Offerings:
Power & Magic: A Queer Witch Anthology
Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
What does Black Liberation Look like to you? What does it feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like?
I personally define Black Liberation as the ability to thrive and lead a joyful life in harmony with my values and community while unapologetically expressing my creativity and desires knowing that my community can do the same! We need more spaces to create a vision for what Black Liberation looks like!
It feels like the sun warming my skin while my toes are tickled by the ocean. It feels like moving freely expressing myself without fear or doubt; just contentment and pride. It smells like a buffet of my favorite foods, eaten with hands, while the sound of uproarious laughter resounds over a meal shared with loved ones.
It sounds like a crackling fire warming me while I stand amongst the trees and look up at the stars taking in the beauty of a healthy, rejuvenated planet. It looks like serving in a community where resources are abundant and needs are met and collective grief is erased by unyielding care. Liberation feels like accountable love!
Jamiée’s Black Joy Offerings:
All About Love by bell hooks
What does Black Liberation Look like to you? What does it feel like, smell like, sound like, and taste like?
Black liberation is a deep knowing that you belong, that you are felt, seen and rooted. I think of full dinner tables with plates of food from different cultures, the sweet sweat that goes into making dishes with our ancestors for our loved ones.
I feel warm inside like ginger tea or 4-star curry.
Liberation makes me think of weeding on the farm for hours with the sun on my back feeling a little bit dehydrated but content. It feels like dirt under my nails and under my knees.
It feels like laying on the grass after a hard day and letting the earth hold me. It feels like in the same exact place I was crying, dancing in the field with the hummingbirds, sunflowers, tall weeds, and little croaking frogs. It feels like the range, the fullness, and capacity to laugh, weep, dance, seed, tend, and breathe.
Jude’s Black Joy Offerings:
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Undrowned by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our incredible team, and how they view Black Liberation, and their joyful offerings! Stay connected to our movement by following us on social media:
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