It seems to me that black creativity is one of the most powerful forces in the world. In all the arts, black expression, black rhythm, black realness and black tenderness remind us ALL what it means to be human. Maybe white people are jealous and afraid of black power and that’s why we’ve gone to such pains to suppress it… And still it rises!
I know why the caged bird sings... To set its soul free. And so many black souls have spoken to me with the most tender poetry. From Muddy Waters to Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye to John Coltrane, Jurassic Five to Roni Size, Grace Jones to Quincey Jones, Donna Summer to Diana Ross, Frankie Knuckles to Aretha Franklin, Run DMC to Bob Marley and Feel Kuti. These voices have moved me and changed me. I wouldn’t be who I am without them.
I am so grateful for all the black artists, friends and lovers that have touched my life. I salute you. I appreciate you. I honour you. And in the face of recent atrocities, I recognise my position of privilege and how it is propped up by a legacy of violent oppression of people of colour.
Western culture was founded on the delusion of white supremacy - a delusion that justified the imperialist/colonialist project which catalysed the triple-pronged crisis we currently see playing out on the world stage:
The Climate and Ecological Crisis
The Inequality Crisis
The Mental Health Crisis
All of these are crises of disconnection - from self, other and the natural world - stemming from the conception of separateness. With the perception of separateness comes positionality, hierarchy and a will to control that which might threaten, undermine or overwhelm MY reality.
Separateness is a vulnerable position. It requires an incredible amount of vigilance to maintain a delusion of being separate, superior and in control in a world that is intricately interwoven on so many levels.
The delusion of white supremacy is so fragile it must be made ‘real’ by acts of abhorrent violence against black bodies. How did white people become so disconnected from our own humanity that we could justify cruelty and enslavement in the name of our ‘advancement’? What arrogance. What hubris. What a disservice to the sacred fabric of life.
Everyday our mother and our black brothers and sisters are being brutalised by white entitlement. White I’ll-take-it-if-I-want-to. White need-to-feel-superior-or-I-won’t-know-who-I-am. White fear-of-living-in-a-world-of-equals. White incapacity-to-love-unconditionally.
The white supremacist delusion is a toxic lie that makes the whole world sick.
It is time for us all to reckon with this fear-based fallacy. To do serious, uncomfortable and vital mental and emotional work - individually and collectively - to untangle the internal and external dynamics that create oppression and discrimination.
There is a lot of difficult and complex work to do. Let us rise in love and respect. Let us listen to each other fully, honour each other deeply and love each other fiercely. Black lives matter so fucking much. Black rage is so fucking justified. Black creativity is so fucking powerful. Let us protect and serve, uphold and uplift black hearts, minds and bodies.