Juneteenth is calling, will you answer?

Hey Y’all,

I hope you’re all doing well, staying cool, and taking care.

With Juneteenth approaching, I’ve been meditating on time, and our relationship to it.

This holiday exists because freedom was delayed - emancipation on hold as our ancestors in Galveston, Texas toiled for two extra years under a system that relegated their bodies, and thus their time, to property. From the field, to the factory, to the office place, as long as African-descended people have lived on this land, our time has not been our own. Forced to become machines, stripped of the rest and leisure humanness requires. And so, as I look forward to a day off, I am inclined to resist the ways in which time is weaponized - against our minds, and our bodies.

This email has been in the back of my mind and top of my to-do list for several weeks now. With each passing week, my guilt for not finishing and sending it has only grown. I take my commitments to Black Storytelling Week and you all seriously, and struggled to give myself grace, even as my well-being demanded my attention. The anticipation of Juneteenth has gently called me in, encouraging me to release the shame of not always having it together, of needing to sometimes put one ball down.

In a world designed to destroy Black lives, self-care becomes an act of self-preservation*. And so it’s in this spirit that I invite you to do the same this holiday. In lieu of a convening this month, I am calling us all to reclaim and explore a new relationship with our time, one rooted in restoration, refusal, and remembrance. Where rest is a right, where our care is the most urgent thing, and where we honor our lineage by doing WTF we want. Here are some ideas:

• Block 24 hours on your calendar to only do things that bring you joy (and take it a step further by turning off your phone, or notifications);

• Say “no” to something you don’t want to do;

• Slow down your morning or nighttime routine to 2-3 hours;

• Use PTO to extend the holiday into a long weekend;

• Read this incredible piece by Rasheedah Phillips on the link between Juneteenth and time.

Afterwards, I'd love to hear about your experience. What came up for you? Where did you feel challenged? In what ways did you feel a release? Reply to this email and let me know.

Warmly,

Martina

Our Next Convening: July 23 at 7pm EDT

Mark your calendars and RSVP for our July convening. The conversation will focus on how to organize, store and preserve your findings for safe keeping. We’ll convene again in August in preparation for Black Storytelling Week!

RSVP

Missed our Last Convening? Catch the Replay

In April, Austen Smith led us through a lovely discussion about navigating tender conversations with elders, Najah Hylton presented her Living Legacy Exhibit initiative, and we announced the BSW directory. Watch the replay (Passcode: Nad?g3Q=) and download Austen’s best practices for engaging elders.

Calls to Action

• Invitation: Join our Directory

  Let’s get to know each other! We’re assembling a directory of family history keepers, their work or projects, and skills to offer. Complete this form to join.

• Request for feedback: Living Legacy Exhibit

  At our last convening, Najah shared her plans to create a Living Legacy Exhibit template for families to honor living or transitioned kin. Take some time to review them; She’d love your feedback via this survey.

* Audre Lorde famously wrote, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." in the epilogue of her 1988 collection of essays, A Burst of Light.