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Rest and Reclamation: A Time for Reprieve and Renewal
For too long, Black women have carried the weight of the world on our shoulders, at the forefront of every movement, taking the brunt of the pain and the power. We have marched, shouted, and fought in the streets, with our bodies bruised by the hands of those who would silence us. We’ve bled for change, only to watch the work undone, time and again. But now, we declare rest. It is not a rest born of surrender, but of strategy. We are stepping back to reclaim ourselves, to honor the deep well of fatigue that runs through our bones. Our bodies—our minds—need the space to breathe, to heal, to replenish. This moment is not a retreat but a pause, a recalibration. It is in this stillness that we will find the clarity to continue this fight, not just for survival, but for victory.
We are reclaiming the pieces of ourselves that have been lost in the cacophony of demands—reclaiming our families, our careers, our right to rest. Many of us have been impacted by the DOGE federal reduction in force, a cruel reminder of how deeply we are dismissed in systems that profess to serve us. Yet, we know our history has always been a testament to resilience. We’ve seen the struggles of past movements and the toll they took. Now, as we rest, we do so with the wisdom that our power doesn’t solely lie in the fight at the frontlines, but in knowing when to step back, when to let others carry the load, and when to let the quiet wisdom of reclamation guide us. This is a time to recalibrate, to remind ourselves of our worth, and to empower the next generation to rise with the knowledge that we’ve already made the path, even if we have to walk away for a moment.
Sample Themes
The Sacred Art of Pause
Choosing rest as resistance in a country that demands exhaustion
Relearning how to pause after chaos, collapse, or caregiving
Reclaiming Sabbath, silence, and sacred non-productivity
Rituals we inherited, or made up, to save ourselves
How do Black women rest under authoritarianism?
Joy & Choosing Ourselves
Choosing ease, softness, or quiet when others expect sacrifice
Saying yes to joy in the middle of political collapse
Vacations we needed more than movements
Finding magic in food, music, nature, laughter, romance
Can joy coexist with grief, rage, or survival?
While We Rest
Disconnecting to protect our nervous systems
Boundaries, sabbaticals, and spiritual quarantine
Turning off the news and feeling our bodies again
What happened when we slowed down? What came up?
Black Women, Unbothered
Soft living as a form of protest
The politics of laughter and shade
Humor as healing when the laws are falling apart
Jokes we made at work or in the group chat just to stay sane
Choosing beauty, leisure, and luxury without shame
Faith & Spirit
Talking to our ancestors in the dark
Old prayer circles, new altars, and how we kept believing
What we held onto and what we laid down
Divine rage, holy surrender, spiritual inheritance
Other Possible Themes
Other Possible Themes
Faith & Federal Work:
How I prayed in the stairwell of a government building during the shutdown.
The psalm that held me while I filed another compliance report I didn’t believe in.
Softness vs. Surveillance:
How do we rest in a world that’s watching, firing, or silencing us?
Body and Health:
My doctor said it was stress. I knew it was the state.
What happens to the heart under chronic outrage?
Intergenerational Wisdom:
What my grandmother taught me about spiritual grounding during an election year.
Songs and sayings I’m passing on to my daughter so she doesn’t burn out before 30.
Private Hope:
Where I keep my hope hidden when it doesn’t feel safe to say out loud.
My rest is my resistance—and my offering.
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