Starting tomorrow, we will enter our normal period of mass celebrations and acknowledgement of Black history.
However, for those of us who have started to and always live our lives inside and out around the principle that Black lives, all of them, matter, this month is a challenge and a call to us to usher in the Black future.
Time does not stand still, so it is coming anyway.
Holding back parts of that future was never acceptable, but now it is no longer tolerable or humane.
For me, my first step in this process was welcoming the future in my mind and imaging joy and abundance for myself and others.
I grew up with all the threats of violence and famine, the scary dystopian prophecies that spread far across galaxies and others that stayed close to home.
Often those fears flood back. In 2019 it was right after I read Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower for the first time and sat in fear of so many people knowing who I really was and failing to provide me with the income and resources I needed or stripping those resources away.
That was rooted in fears I’ve had since childhood and that showed up in my early adulthood years in North Carolina of not having control, of being a sin, of never being good enough, of being too good.
In my nomadic and diasporic years of late, the feeling that I’ve never be good enough bumps up against the cost of living and doing business in places that are further along on the measures of my humanity as it comes out of the box.
This pandemic time has been a grounding and healing force. More people have began to understand that we do not have time to waste to get things right when it comes to civil and human rights.
And yes, those of us who are place-keepers and makers are the front lines of ensuring positive futures.
I’ve elected to ensure that future is Black, Queer and Feminist, coupled with Urbanist, in its purest sense of supporting a transect of development and support of people and places.
You of course can be part of that vision! Here’s how:
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Join us in one of my online circles as we pilot becoming a full school
Fill out my survey on if your city is supportive to Black Queer Feminist Urbanists, either like me or similar to me.
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Mark your calendars and watch your social feeds for several virtual conversations with me and others, as well as more opportunities to learn about the school and online circles.
Thank you for filling out existing surveys, participating and getting value out of the circles, inviting me for keynotes and to contribute articles and and for facilitating my Black Queer Feminist Urbanist Future!
