We Who Believe in Freedom...
Collage by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
This week over a hundred people decided to turn our faces away from the people the two major parties representing so-called democracy have foolishly offered as examples of leadership in these times and turn our faces, our hearts and our minds to two actual examples of leadership Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer. We took the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a process through which 60,000 disenfranchised citizens created their own embodiment of collective decision making and the Freedom Farm Cooperative a survival project that responded to the terrible policies of corruptly elected leaders by providing access to food sovereignty, affordable housing and education.
We were real about what we are “sick and tired” of (in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer. We shared our complicated and urgent relationship to the light we need to shine at this time and to close we stepped into the field of freedom Ella Baker activated with her speech at the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Democratic Convention that hailed all of us past, present and future who “believe in freedom.” Here is the poem we created together. I advise reading it outloud! (If you missed the workshop you can participate in the replay here: https://sangodare.podia.com/is-this-america-survival-and-creativity-in-the-face-of-electoral-foolishness)
We Who Believe in Freedom
by the participants in “Is this America?”: Creativity and Survival in the Face of Electoral Foolishness
we who believe in freedom find our light
we who believe in freedom are enough
we who believe in freedom spread sanctuary
we who believe in freedom act. again and again and again.
we who believe in freedom are devoted to practicing freedom
we who believe in freedom speak our truth
we who believe in freedom allow ourselves to be fully present in love as action
we who believe in freedom breathe deep
we who believe in freedom love and are loved
we who believe in freedom keep going keep going keep going rest keep going
we who believe in freedom trust our visions
we who believe in freedom imagine hard and strong and deep
we who believe in freedom practice the world you say is impossible
we who believe in freedom return so that we may remember and reclaim
we who believe in freedom give light and give name
we who believe in freedom must slow down enough to receive the medicine of the present moment
we who believe in freedom will loosen our own constrictions and hold others as they soften theirs
we who believe in freedom listen to the ancestors
we who believe in freedom are attuned to the resonant frequency of solidarity, listening for songs of transformation
we who believe in freedom sing
we who believe in freedom shall rest whenever necessary
we who believe in freedom tell the people, show the people, live the truth
we who believe in freedom hold each other tightly and softly and all the ways in between
we who believe in freedom are not afraid to dream and reshape reality and ourselves
we who believe in freedom move towards life together
we who believe in freedom are the ones we’ve been waiting for
we who believe in freedom are the ones we’ve been waiting for: we show up imperfect with our whole selves ready to embody change and revolution
we who believe in freedom are inventing on every level
we who believe in freedom know what it means for a tree to lose its leaves and change
we who believe in freedom are here inside of freedom now, led by the light of our past and future ancestors
we who believe in freedom cannot rest…at one time but the multitude who believe in freedom gives space for the weary and a place for sacred restoration
we who believe in freedom compost domination and plant seeds of collective joy
we who believe in freedom cry together towards softness and safety
we who believe in freedom bring forth our collective flourishing and liberation through our wisdom and love in action
we who believe in freedom stay curious
we who believe in freedom understand that discipline is a choice
we who believe in freedom are able to feel tenderly
we who believe in freedom hold each other as sacred and interdependent
we who believe in freedom are our ancestors wildest dreams
we who believe in freedom find strength in community
we who believe in freedom hold it with many hands
If you want to participate in the whole workshop, the replay is available here: https://sangodare.podia.com/is-this-america-survival-and-creativity-in-the-face-of-electoral-foolishness