Spoken Word

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⁣⁣ What do you do when the thing you love the most is from a culture/lineage that does not match your ancestry?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ (Not only that, but is from a historically oppressed lineage and you look just like the oppressor?)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ What do you do when enjoying the thing that brings you most alive could potentially be painful for someone else?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Do you stop? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Do you continue? ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If so, how?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ How do you honor your love of that thing AND the lineage it comes from at the same time?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ These are just a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself and living into for years, and the guiding lights for Let the Church Say Amxn.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Since I was a child, singing Gospel music has been THE most visceral, direct way to my joy and soul. Nothing lights me up in this way I can’t even describe like Gospel. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ But I didn’t know about cultural appropriation when I was a kid. No one was talking about spiritual bypassing or whiteness, and call-out culture and social media were not a thing. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I just knew that I loved what I loved.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ So for many years I did not understand that, in this white body, me singing this music could be problematic for some black folx. Even seen as disrespectful because of it’s history, and our history as a country.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There are so many layers. It’s complex, messy and heart-breaking but ultimately it boils down to something far greater than race. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Long story short, there is no simple answer. There’s no right or wrong. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This is why I have been making this piece for over 4 years. Because it deserves its own container, its own ceremony, its own sacred space with fellow visionaries who may be asking themselves and their communities similar questions. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ You’re not alone. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Let’s tune in and find the most humble and joyful ways forward.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Together. ⁣⁣ ⁣ 📷 by Anna Maynard
OK DIVINE MASCULINE I SEE YOU
THIS AINT A SHOW. ⁣ ⁣ This aint a concert. ⁣ ⁣ This aint a quaint night at the theater. ⁣ ⁣ This is a ceremony. ⁣ ⁣ This is an opportunity for badass changemakers doing the work to come together in one room and co-create an initiation into 5D with joy, grace and music at the helm.⁣ ⁣ Because as my mentor and friend Kelly Germaine says, these opportunities are what we lost when we became white. White folx are HUNGRY for the opportunity to be in ritual space because our bones and cells miss it and crave that togetherness our ancestors knew. ⁣ ⁣ So don’t come if you just want to be entertained. ⁣ Don’t come if you aren’t willing to be a little uncomfortable together in the name of stepping up and in. Don’t come if you’re not invested in a faith-filled, joy-centered music loving culture. ⁣ ⁣ Come ready to shake some shit up, look right where it hurts and then in the face of all that is crumbing, rise up singing. ⁣ ⁣ T minus 1 month. ⁣