We center Black Women and Femmes' liberation, wholeness, and wellness. I am the founder and CEO of The Free People Project and the USA Bestselling Author of “All The Black Girls Are Activists: A Fourth Wave Womanist Pursuit Of Dreams As Radical Resistance.” My Spiritual Mentorship Program, entitled “Dream Yourself Free,” is designed to support Black Women to heal intergenerational wounds and prioritize pleasure. I created Black Girl Mixtape, a platform and safe think space that elevates the intellectual authority of Black Women. I speak from a Hip Hop Womanist perspective. I earned my Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science and a Masters of Arts in Social Change with a concentration in Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice. Welcome.
In Pursuit of My Ancestors
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Hello Reader, I must share with you a quote from a recent lecture I did last week: "She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it." - From Beloved by Toni Morrison In this lecture on Dreaming as Radical Resistance, I spoke about Beloved by Toni Morrison and the visuals from Lemonade as sacred text because of how they tell us where we are going, how we are headed there, ways to deepen our dreaming, how to hope and remember what is possible. You can watch that lecture here and reply to this email and share with me a personal sacred text that has been guiding you in life. This work of knowing where we are going and keeping hope alive is not possible without our Ancestors...
In many Christian families, ancestral reverence is considered “demonic.” Family traditions and religion affect Black girls and women in very specific ways. There are many ways the church sends the message that ancestral reverence is demonic. “The terror I had about not sharing the same truth system as the rest of my family kept me in the closet for years beyond the time I had reconciled for myself that Jesus was a thing for me, but Christianity was not… When I share this experience with my queer friends, the anxiety, the terror, the fear of rejection, and the loss of relationship that often happens when you “come out” as something other than what has been deemed socially acceptable for the community of folk that raised you, all of my beloved queer friends have said some version of, “Girl. That sounds like what it felt like to come out as gay/lesbian/bisexual/queer/trans to my family. It was hard, and I’m still healing through some of the trauma of lost relationships as a result of my truth system.”
EbonyJanice, Chapter 11 of All The Black Girls Are Activists
For those who wish to honor their religious practices and honor their ancestors, we must first acknowledge the ways in which Christian practices may have promoted the "forgetting" of your Ancestors. And why? We can also:
Dream With MeThis year in my upcoming 6-week Dream Yourself Free Masterclass, we will be using the tools of ancestral veneration to manifest our dreams. Learn more about my other dream coaching offerings, the Year Long Sovereignty Mentorship Program and the One-Day Dream Yourself Free 1:1 Retreats here. You can also donate to this work by supporting my 501(c)3 Emma’s Legacy Foundation here. JoyMy Egungun initiation was a beautiful transition into the deepening of my priesthood journey. Helping my baby nephew make his pumpkin book report project reminded me nobody Auntie’s the way I Auntie because yes the pumpkin does have hand wound kinky twist hair Bantu knots! And what? Speaking at the ECLA Womanist Initiative event at Advent Lutheran Church in Charlotte this weekend brought me great womanish joy. Preaching and teaching is the work my soul must have. In joy and ancestral reverence, EbonyJanice |
EbonyJanice & The Free People Project Newsletter.
We center Black Women and Femmes' liberation, wholeness, and wellness. I am the founder and CEO of The Free People Project and the USA Bestselling Author of “All The Black Girls Are Activists: A Fourth Wave Womanist Pursuit Of Dreams As Radical Resistance.” My Spiritual Mentorship Program, entitled “Dream Yourself Free,” is designed to support Black Women to heal intergenerational wounds and prioritize pleasure. I created Black Girl Mixtape, a platform and safe think space that elevates the intellectual authority of Black Women. I speak from a Hip Hop Womanist perspective. I earned my Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and Political Science and a Masters of Arts in Social Change with a concentration in Spiritual Leadership, Womanist Theology, and Racial Justice. Welcome.
Sign up for updates on my forthcoming book, Real Soft Girl Shit: A Womanist Reclamation of Black Girl Vulnerability. Hi Reader, Three years ago, I put All the Black Girls Are Activists into the world. Tomorrow, July 28th, we’re gathering on my Patreon for the anniversary lecture and Q&A, and before we get there, I want to tell you what these three years have actually done to me. I feel quieter. Not smaller. Definitely not silent. Just… Quieter. I have less to prove, and that’s a very specific...
Hi Friend!! We are halfway through the year. I wanted to pull up a chair and check in with you the way I have been checking in with myself. I will be honest, because you didn't subscribe to this lil newsletter for me to lie. I have been navigating some things (plural) this season. Tender, emotional, real-life things. And here is what I know about myself, and maybe about you too if you carry any Capricorn (or earth sign placements): when we are going through it, we do not die. We build...
Hi Reader, Here’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about. Right now, every day looks pretty much the same for me. I wake up, I tend my shrines, I say my prayers, I go to the gym, I come home, read something super Black, read something super woo woo, and I get in the bathtub. I take a nap. I wake up, and I prep content for the YouTube series I’m currently working on. I check on my herbs. I check on my blackberry plant to make sure the squirrels haven't stolen all my bounty before it's...