Last night was the LAST NIGHT of the Brilliance Remastered Sistorian Webinar. I’m not ashamed to say I teared up. Also I kinda sang Boys II Men’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye.” None of us wanted to get offline. It was truly a ‘you hang up, no you hang up’ situation. I am so grateful for this space and to each of the amazing sistorians who participated. As part of our process of moving forward affirmed and empowered to continue to act on the insights we came to together we collected quotations from geniuses (from Gwendolyn Brooks to Rob Base) to carry with us…post in our offices, keep in our wallets and to turn to as mantras when we need them. We hope they can affirm you too!!
“I am who I am, doing what I came to do.” Audre Lorde (Eye to Eye: Black Women Hatred and Anger)
“for we are the last of the loud, nevertheless live. conduct your blooming in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.” –Gwendolyn Brooks “The Second Sermon on the Warpland”
“come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.”
–Lucille Clifton
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” -Audre Lorde
“I love myself enough to be who I am.” Essex Hemphill
“I have hopes for myself.” Gwendolyn Brooks (Interview in Sturdy Black Bridges)
“Black women are inherently valuable.” -Combahee River Collective Statement
“I have everything I need within myself.” -Rah Goddess
“I got an idea that I want to share. You don’t like it? So what. I don’t care.” Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock (It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right—especially useful in a racist academic/activist workplace)
“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”
― Zora Neale Hurston
“Anyone working to resist white supremacy has to be a visionary..” Bekezela Mguni
For more affirmations check out this post we love from Crunk Feminist Collective’s Robin Boylorn: http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2012/10/25/overcoming-a-stigma-tism-an-affirmation-for-blackgirls-who-have-considered-suicide-when-closed-eyes-are-enuf/
Want to sign up for the October Webinar—Bright Black: Ending Slavery in Contemporary Black Intellectual Practice? There are a few days left to get on board! Sign up here.