Hello sweet ones. Today is the first day of Black History Month, and a great way to kick it off is by starting the reading of My Grandmother's Hands. In this week's readings, we start with the prologue, as well as part of chapter 1. I encourage you all to really pay attention to the invitations given about paying attention to where you are feeling things in your body as we read this, as well as remembering to acknowledge what comes up, but also knowing you don't have to stay in whatever emotions come up.

For this book reading, I would like to pose a question that can be answered in the comments for community discussion (if you feel comfortable doing so), and I will also be giving a journal prompt. This week's question is what did you feel during this week's reading and where in your body did you feel it? You can go into detail if you choose to, but it isn't "required".

Your journal prompt for this week is to think of a time that you responded from your "lizard brain", and responded before taking a pause or a beat. What was the situation and how did you respond? In addition to that, how has that shown up in your life since then, and how do you feel that situation could have gone differently putting into practice taking a beat/pause.

Hello sweet ones. This episode is another reading and discussion. If you are subscribed to my Patreon or YouTube, then you'll know that we have been reading White Rage together. This week's reading is finishing chapter 4, which is Rolling Back Civil Rights.

In this chapter, we talk more about the drug crisis that Ronald Reagan created to then create the war on drugs. As a result of that, there was and is over policing of Black people, to the point that the population of Black Americans was roughly 13%, however the percentage of Black Americans that were imprisoned was 45%.

There is also a way to look at how propaganda showed up in the 80's and 90's versus how it shows up today. You are able to see how its power has diminished.

I offer some journal prompts from the reading as well. These readings are published weekly on my Patreon with the opportunity to dive into deeper discussions, and I would love for you to consider joining my Patreon community.

Hello sweet ones. This episode is going to be a bit different than past ones. If you are subscribed to my Patreon or YouTube, then you'll know that we have been reading White Rage together. This week's reading is finishing chapter 2, and while reading it, some correlations between what happened in the early 1900s and what's happening now in 2023 between Palestine and Israel. It's a loose correlation, but there are still connections.

I invite you to be gentle with yourselves through the readings, as well as in life. The world is hard right now.

For centuries, when it's come to speaking to the rights and needs of women, what has been looked as the face of the demographic is that of a white woman. We see it often when there is a cause that is at the forefront, or more commonly, some sort of legislation coming forward that would affect women. While white women face the varying levels of oppression, to be intentional about the message, and what's needed for true liberation, the voice that's heard the most should be that of a Black woman. Black women will meet at every intersection of identity under the umbrella that is women. And part of the act of liberation is being intentional in the fight for it, and that calls for making the most marginalized voices the loudest.

Listen to Black women, and truly LISTEN to Black women. Listen to what we say, listen to why we say it, and understand why we say it.

Liberation for Black women is truly liberation for all.

There is this thing that happens when Black people, specifically Black women, talk about our experiences and how we face varying levels of abuse, and that is the almost instant dismissal or downplaying of what we are sharing. Black women are told to rise above, set our feelings aside, and often even to not feel at all. On the other side of it, Black women are also expected to stand alongside non Black women when things affect them. We deal with a "stand with us, but you all will be fine on your own" mentality. And there needs to be a change in that.

Grab your journal and some water and be ready to sit in whatever feelings are activated, as it is very likely that you will feel activated in some way.

And remember, when you are hearing of others' experiences, believe it first, understand it later.

We talk about the need for community a lot in this work, and the importance of it cannot be minimized. The way that we have been conditioned is that the group mentality is the one that's needed, however, groups lean into the requirement of thinking, acting, and believing in the exact same way, as opposed to communities which allow for individuals with the same goal in mind to collaborate in ways that bring different thoughts and learning to the front as part of creating effective change.

In this episode, we will further discuss the difference in the two, as well as how punitive justice relates to groups, while transformative justice relates to communities.

What happens when in what you call your activism, your focus becomes more about individuals rather than that dismantling of the systems of oppression? The priorities shift, and the work stops. When people make the intentional decision to un-doctrinate, to dismantle, and to decolonize, there needs to be room for errs and slip ups. There is the consistent act of unlearning and relearning, and with that comes missteps. When the space for that is removed, what takes over is the need to be a moral authority, upholding the very thing that needs to be dismantled.

We talk about this in relation to a specific event, and the invite is to listen with ears of intention and of learning.

This will definitely be a "grab your journal" moment, and it will be so worth it.

Welcome back to TikTok Talk with me and Rebecca! This episode is another one with topics plucked from videos and comments from TikTok, specifically the way that activism and the bigger picture go to the way side when the decision to defend a fave comes to play.

Activism and advocacy are only intentional and impactful when big feelings and ego are set aside for the purpose dismantling the systems of oppression that are in place. Especially when the systems you find yourself hesitant to dismantle are the ones you benefit directly from.

As always, grab a journal, some water, and enjoy this with ears of intentionality. This work is about the bigger picture, and that is something that needs to be remembered and prioritized.