Find connections to this work that go beyond this moment.

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” – Fannie Lou Hamer

Words cannot truly express the pain, grief, and anger I feel toward the system and culture that continues to treat Black bodies and souls as anything less than human – no matter a person’s political or economic status. The safety, dignity and right to be and belong in this world is worth fighting for. The Black community, in particular the Black community in Detroit, has been devastated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in true United States fashion, were not provided the space and time to actually grieve and grapple with the toll in our community and how to keep our families healthy and safe without being re-triggered by the realities of police violence. Black people in this country are [and have been] in a state of heightened awareness of our identity. The continuation of violence on all scales must end. Whether it be police violence or the violence of disproportionate health outcomes due to a myriad of detriments steeped in structural racism. The violence has to end.

As a Black woman who has experienced and witnessed both – police violence and the unmerciful grip of the medical industry – I took time before writing to breathe, rest, and more importantly be in spaces and conversations that reaffirmed my humanity. My hope is that you too have found the time to rest, breathe, and reaffirm humanity. From that place I write this – a love so deep for the humanity of Black bodies and souls that it emanates to all.

Structural racism as a manifestation of colonial ideology and culture is the water we are all swimming in. Yet, it is not the whole of history. Therefore, we recognize the ways of being that came before this system that devalues human life if it is not used for the means of production. We give thanks and honor all Indigenous people whose practices remind us that to be in right relation with self is to be in right relation with nature. We acknowledge this land, Detroit – a majority black city – as the Indigenous land of the Anishanaabe people. We honor the ancestors of all lineages that have fought for liberation – may their lessons guide us. And to those speaking up, protesting, feeding people, lighting sacred fires, holding community grief, or using whatever platform you have to liberate the people – we stand with you! 

The DEAL team is committed to holding space for the hard conversations about the nuances of structural racism, anti-Black racism, and white supremacist culture. We will continue to be a part of the development of leaders from all sectors who are committed to ending structural racism in Detroit and working toward co-liberation. This team will continue to uplift and highlight the work of fellows and community leaders that lend to changing our political, social, and spiritual landscape. 

Finally, for those reading this, I encourage you who are coming into the fight for liberation of Black people to listen to what has been roused in you and explore your lineage – find connections to this work that go beyond this moment, because having your own connection to stories of liberation will drive you. For allies of Black liberation, continue to do the work within your communities and understand this system has dehumanized us all. For the Black people reading this, I affirm your dignity and fight for the right to live, to be safe, to love and flourish in this world.

Ubuntu – I am because we are and I believe that we will win.

P.S. Also, read the collaborative op-ed from members of the DEAL team.