Day 29 - Meditate On Your Journey
We are incredibly grateful to have shared this Liberation Calendar journey with you. We hope you’ve gained new insights and feel a deeper connection to your ancestors. Our practice doesn't end here. Liberation Calendar is an awareness practice, meaning that in spaces beyond this calendar, beyond Black History Month, we must continue honoring our past, pushing the boundaries of our present, and building the future we wish to see.
We hope that the Liberation Calendar has served as a reminder that we come from greatness and contain infinite reservoirs of power. To close out this Liberation Calendar practice, we will begin today with a guided meditation. This meditation is both for beginners and those more experienced.
Afterward, we invite you to take some time to reflect upon your Liberation Calendar experience. We would greatly appreciate any and all feedback you have for us so that we may continue to improve both the Liberation Calendar and Liberation Table.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Enjoy a 10-minute guided meditation.
DAILY REFLECTION: What traditions from this Liberation Calendar would you like to carry forward? What did you learn about yourself through this experience?
TAKE ACTION: Complete the Liberation Calendar Survey.
Day 28 - Imagine Our AfroFutures)
Have you heard of Afrofuturism? Today, we’ll learn more about Afrofuturism and the myriad ways it has inspired and continues to inspire Black culture.
“Afrofuturism’s ideals began in diverse African societies and traveled through enslaved Africans’ experiences of slavery and freedom and emerged in our contemporary world. At every point Africans, and then African Americans have envisioned their own freedom. Their ideals, while situated within a distinct African American experience, speak to larger human demands and calls for freedom, for understanding, for expression, for life.
…Afrofuturism enables its authors, thinkers, artists, and activists to interpret the history of race and the nuances of Black cultural identity on their own terms. Reimagining the Black experience of the past provides new templates for reimagining Black futures to come–while also informing Black life in the present…By envisioning a history unimpeded by the restrictions of racism, Afrofuturism provides an alternative pathway for African American artistry and creativity” (Strait & Conwill, 2023, p. 10-12).
References: Kelley, Robin D. G. Freedom Dreams : the Black Radical Imagination. Boston :Beacon Press, 2002.
Strait, K. M. A., & Conwill, K. (2023). Afrofuturism: a history of Black futures. Smithsonian Books.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Explore the Smithsonian Museum of African American History’s Afrofuturism exhibit here and watch this short video on Afrofuturism.
DAILY REFLECTION: What is one bright and beautiful thing you see in your Afrofuture?
TAKE ACTION: Learn more about Afrofuturism by visiting The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
Day 27 - Liberate Your Whole Self
Intersectionality is a framework that helps us understand the varying ways in which our identities dictate our lived experiences. We all face different sets of challenges based on our race, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, and more among the cornucopia of identifiers that make us human. Intersectionality has been indispensable in helping many of us uncover unwritten histories, analyze overlooked social problems, and address failures in human rights. From Black women fighting the twin threats of state violence and high maternal mortality rates to queer youth of color protesting the censorship of LGBTQ+ and anti-racist books, an intersectional framework can empower us all to push towards liberation.
Today, we invite you to contemplate how your identity in its full complexity may affect your experience, as well as those around you. And to consider how you might use the prism of intersectionality to see and think differently about real world problems you encounter.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Watch The Urgency of Intersectionality with Kimberlé Crenshaw.
DAILY REFLECTION: How can you interrogate both your power and vulnerabilities within your own intersecting identities?
TAKE ACTION: Sign the Open Letter on Fighting ‘Anti-woke’ Censorship of Intersectionality and Black Feminism at bit.ly/NoErasure.
Day 26 - Restore Your Black Joy
“As Audre Lorde has written, “Once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that they feel in accordance with that joy which we know ourselves to be capable of.” Black feminisms have dared to imagine worlds where our humanity is affirmed and our belief in Black futures reigns. Our collective imaginings are boundless and liberatory. Joy as an act of resistance reminds us to celebrate because every day something has tried to kill us and failed” (Strait & Conwill, 2023, p. 109).
“Black Joy as Resistance” by Ariana Curtis
Reference: Strait, K. M. A., & Conwill, K. (2023). Afrofuturism: a history of Black futures. Smithsonian Books.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Watch a Black film along with this short video about Black filmmaking.
DAILY REFLECTION: What are your everyday joy practices? If you don’t have them, which ones would you like to start?
TAKE ACTION: Listen to Jill Scott’s Golden or any song that brings you joy.
Day 25 - Reflect On Your Liberation Table
Liberation Table is a space for Black people to redefine ourselves and emerge with a new understanding of Blackness. We recognize that Blackness is multidimensional and vast. Here, we embrace its expansiveness, as liberation knows no limits. We hope that as you practice, you bring your full selves to the Table, with all the intersectionality your Blackness possesses, and let yourself expand beyond the boundaries we place on ourselves and on others.
Take quiet time today to slow down and reflect upon your experience thus far. In what ways has Liberation Table or the Liberation Calendar shifted or reaffirmed your relationship with your Blackness or with your connection to your ancestors or community?
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Find a journal and write about your Liberation Table or Liberation Calendar experience thus far.
DAILY REFLECTION: What moved you most about your Liberation Table experience?
TAKE ACTION: Complete the Liberation Table Survey.
Day 24 - Rejoice In Your Liberation Table
Our Liberation Table meal is inspired by this beloved Black family tradition. As you enjoy your Liberation Table practice, allow your bodies to relax and sink into your seats as your ears fill with harmonious laughter. Let the warmth of the food fill your hearts and your bellies. May it open you up to love and connection and foster the transformational conversation, intergenerational healing, and expansive love that Black people so deserve. Our connections to our ancestors and each other have the power to heal our wounds, freeing us to experience life in all its beauty and possibility.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Host, Attend, or Plan a Liberation Table!
DAILY REFLECTION: What moments of joy are emerging as you plan and execute your liberation table?
TAKE ACTION: Enjoy a meal or dish with African roots.
Day 23 - Set Your Liberation Table
In Liberation Table, the Table is a symbol of the shared foundation upon which our unique Black cultures and traditions rest. The salt represents the tears our ancestors cried, the sweat of their toil, and the ocean they were forced to cross into slavery. We light a candle to remember our heritage is our light. The wisdom and traditions of our inheritance illuminate our present. The candle also represents the passing of this flame from our ancestors to us.
Setting the intention to participate in a Liberation Table now will help ensure you are fully prepared to bring this practice to life. Our hope is that by the end of your Liberation Table, you will feel more grounded in your connection to your family, friends, and culture. Together, we heal the wounds that have estranged us from our ancestry, our history, and our connection to each other.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Review pages 4, 7, 8 of the Liberation Table Guide in order to prepare for your Liberation Table this weekend.
DAILY REFLECTION: How can you engage your community to help create your Liberation Table?
TAKE ACTION: Ensure you have all of the Essential Items for your Liberation Table this weekend— page 8 in the Liberation Table Guide.
Day 22 - Explore the Role of Sugar Cane
Today, we begin our 48-hour sugar fast in preparation for our Liberation Tables this weekend.
Enslaved Africans were forcibly brought to Central and South America and the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations. These enslaved people labored under some of the most brutal conditions, one of them being the powerful Carlota Lucumi, whom we learned about earlier this month. The production of sugar continues to oppress people around the world. In the Amazon, for instance, the creation of sugar plantations has led to local Indigenous people being violently evicted and poisoned by pesticides.
We fast from sugar in honor of our ancestors who were not able to indulge, as well as those who continue to suffer under the oppressive system that is the sugar industry. We recognize our complicity in their harm and will take this time to reflect on how we are complicit daily in the harm of others. However, our guilt will not hinder us. Instead, may it make us aware of our relationships to each other and our possessions and inspire thoughtful action so that pleasure need not be tied to suffering. We also fast to offer gratitude for the abundance of natural sweetness in our everyday lives. Even without sugar, we can take delight in simple pleasures such as laughter, being in the sun, embracing a loved one, and resting.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Listen to the 1619 Podcast episode, “The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2”. Read “Sugar Fast”, page 9, in the Liberation Table Guide. Begin your sugar fast tonight!
DAILY REFLECTION: How has this exploration impacted your thinking about the role of sugar in your food?
TAKE ACTION: Finalize your menu for your Liberation Table and prepare to tell a brief history of one of the dishes you’ll be serving.
Day 21 - Rediscover Delicious Family Recipes
The most significant meal for enslaved people during the week was Sunday Supper. Sunday was a treasured respite—however brief— offering enslaved people more freedom to gather together and break bread. Sunday supper was and, for many Black families, still is a time of shared connection and joy. Our Liberation Table meal is inspired by this beloved Black family tradition. Today, we’ll visit the recipes with African roots that are personally meaningful to us.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Write out a family or personal recipe or ask an elder to share a recipe with you.
DAILY REFLECTION: What are you planning to make for your Liberation Table?
TAKE ACTION: Prepare for your Sugar Fast (page 9) tomorrow. Tomorrow we fast from sugar for 48 hours in honor of our ancestors.
Day 20 - Curate Meaningful Cultural Artifacts
In the spirit of remembrance, today we’ll identify cultural artifacts that are meaningful to us. Cultural artifacts are physical representations of our memories. Examples of cultural artifacts include, but are not limited to such items as photographs, clothing, recipes, jewelry, and other family heirlooms. These objects do more than hold sentimental value, they bear witness to what has come before; they link the past to the present and remind us to tell future generations about their rich heritage.
During Liberation TabIe, we share what our cultural artifacts mean to us and how they relate to our family histories. Engaging with these objects helps us to recover stories of the past to inform our present and inspire a better future.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Read Cultural Artifacts, pg. 25 in the Liberation Table Guide, and choose your cultural artifact.
DAILY REFLECTION: What does this item mean to you? What would you like to share with others about your artifact at your Liberation Table?
TAKE ACTION: In preparation for your Liberation Table, ask each of your guests to bring an item that they feel connects them to their ancestors.
Day 19 - Reflect On Your Own History
“When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground.”
In 2021, I worked with my uncle to film a series of short interviews with my 95- and 96-year-old grandparents. My grandfather was showing signs of dementia and I wanted to capture his and my grandmother’s stories before they were lost. When my grandfather passed away last year at 98, I was incredibly grateful to have these videos and to be able to share them with my family. Black people, on the Continent and across the Diaspora, have a long-standing oral tradition. Storytelling is in our bones. I’m proud to have participated in this practice with my grandparents and will continue to foster storytelling in my life. (Hillary Bridges, Liberation Table Co-Author)
In preparation for our Liberation Tables at the end of the week, we encourage you to take time to reflect on your own personal and family histories. One way to do this is to interview an elder in your family or in your community about their life story. Whether you plan to conduct an interview now or in the future, who would you be interested in asking about their history? What questions would you ask? Alternatively, if someone were to interview you, what stories would you share?
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Watch an Oral History Interview with Edward Theodore Taylor from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History.
DAILY REFLECTION: What are your family’s stories? Who are the people who shape who you are where you come from?
TAKE ACTION: Determine who will facilitate your Liberation Table. The Liberation Table Guide leads you through the Liberation Table practice from A-Z.
Day 18 - Create As An Act of Joy)
Life is more than struggle and survival. It is also abundant and flourishing. Even in the harshest conditions, life is jealous for itself, and love finds a way. In addition to remembering the suffering of our ancestors, we must also highlight their joys and victories. The stories of our ancestry teach us that in the face of the violent history and a callous present, some of us have dared to laugh. Some of us dared to pop gum, double dutch, forget our troubles, experiment, invent, pun, love ourselves, love one another, and love the culture that we’ve made. Our past has embraced highs and lows, inspiration from the Continent, and innovation across the Oceanic. Black artists continue to depict our dynamic experiences as people of African descent. Today, we dare to create art as an act of joy and resistance.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Draw or color in a coloring book as you feel inspired.
DAILY REFLECTION: When do you feel inspired? What makes you feel most creative?
TAKE ACTION: Invite guests to join you for your Liberation Table next weekend. Ensure you have printed a Liberation Table Guide for each of your guests.
Day 17 - Recharge Through Dance
Today, we encourage you to be your own choreographer and “carve the space” around you. If you’re able, get up and move your body to music of your choosing. We also invite you to learn more about the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
“Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company based in New York City that celebrates the uniqueness of the African American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage” (Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, “About the Company”).
We strongly encourage you to watch and dance along to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performances and AAPF Artist in Residence Dina Wright Joseph via the links below.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
Watch the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Chroma, Grace, Takademe, Revelations at Lincoln Center.
Watch AAPF Artist In Residence Dina Wright Joseph.
DAILY REFLECTION: What styles of dance are specific to your area? What joyful memories are tied to dance and dancing?
TAKE ACTION: Prepare for your Liberation Table. Read page 7 in the Liberation Table Guide: Creating the Liberation Space.
Day 16 - Break the Silence: #SayHerName
Breaking the silence about injustice and speaking the names of those whose lives have been taken from us are both vital to mourning and resistance. But do we as a community recognize the names of Michelle Cusseaux, Tanisha Anderson, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Kayla Moore, India Kager, Shelly Frey, or Korryn Gaines? Black women and girls as young as 7 and as old as 93 have been killed by the police, though we rarely hear their names. The #SayHerName campaign was launched in 2014 to bring awareness to the often invisible names and stories of Black women and girls who have been victimized by racist police violence, and provides support to their families.
During each #Say Her Name gathering we say the names of the women, girls and femmes who have been killed at the hands of the police. On the anniversary of SHN, we read every name. In 2022, we read the names of 178 people and, by 2023, that number had, unfortunately, increased to close to 200. Knowing their names is an essential, but insufficient, first step. To lift up their stories, and illuminate the wide-ranging circumstances of police violence against Black women, we need to know who they are, how they lived, and why they suffered at the hands of police.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
Watch the #SayHerName video by The African American Policy Forum.
Listen to the “#SayHerName: The Art of Bearing Witness on the Page and Stage” episode from the podcast “Intersectionality Matters” with Kimberlé Crenshaw.
DAILY REFLECTION: How can work to combat the invisibility of Black women, femmes, and girls in your family and community’s understanding of state violence?
TAKE ACTION: Read the newly-released book #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of State Violence and Public Silence available here.
️Become a #SayHerName Advocate here.
Day 15 - Uplift the Case for Reparations
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “The Case for Reparations” explores the devastating effects of state-sanctioned theft of Black-owned land and of racist housing policies on Black American economic prosperity. If you have not done so already, or if it’s been a while since you have, we strongly encourage you to take some time to read this powerful article. “The Case for Reparations” is a fairly lengthy read, so we invite you to continue your reading throughout the month.
Coates’s work has been targeted by ‘anti-woke’ extremists via books bans and legislation censoring teaching about race and racism. One Tennessee teacher lost his job for teaching Coates and another in South Carolina was required to stop teaching his work just last year. You can read here about the difficult process she has had to go through to teach Coates again.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Read The Case for Reparations— additional links to the article here and here.
DAILY REFLECTION: What does repair mean to you? What would be necessary for true reparations for Black people to be possible?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #booksunbanned).
Day 13 - Bear Witness to Those Who Cultivated the South)
Our ancestors found ways to fight oppression even as they walked shackled onto slave ships or labored in fields cultivating the crops that created economies throughout the Americas. “Their fight was fugitive, creative, insistent, unbowed. It is important for us to remember their resistance. Have you heard the story of Carlota Lucumi?” In today’s practice, you’ll read more about Carlota’s story. On February 22, we’ll begin a sugar fast to honor enslaved people like Carlota Lucumi, who labored on sugar plantations under some of the most brutal conditions and who risked their lives to fight back against these inhumane conditions.
Nielsen, Euell A. “Carlotta Lucumi, ‘La Negra Carlota’ (?- 1844).” Black Past, 8 June 2020, https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/carlotta-lucumi-la-negra-carlota-1844/.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Read pages 34-35 in the Liberation Table Guide.
DAILY REFLECTION: How can you leave space for mourning as you celebrate Black History Month? How can you meditate on loss even as you honor our triumphs?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 12 - Hold Space to Mourn the Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was a forced migration. In the end, 10 to 12 million people were ripped from their culture, their languages, their heritage, and their land (Iliffe, 2007, p. 135).
Our society does not provide opportunities to mourn the trauma and unfathomable suffering of the Middle Passage. But we as a community can hold that space for one another. In Liberation Table, for example, a ritual with salt represents the tears our ancestors cried, the sweat of their toil, and the ocean that still separates many of us from our ancestors’ countries of origin. We also take that time to remember our ancestors who died at sea.
Reference: Iliffe, John. Africans: The History of a Continent. 2nd ed., Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007.
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Listen to the 1619 Podcast episode Introducing ‘1619’. Read page 32, “Thicker Than (Salt) Water,” in the Liberation Table Guide.
DAILY REFLECTION: How can you honor those whose names have been forgotten to history: children, ancestors, loved ones, the people lost in the Middle Passage?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 11 - Rest through Music
“From slave work songs and spirituals to ragtime, blues, jazz, soul, funk, gospel, and hip-hop, African Americans have used music as an instrument for social and political change….
However, African American music speaks of much more than racial injustice and historical suffering. Black music has profoundly inspired each era of sociopolitical upheaval and artistic development in American culture. Whereas black history is sometimes represented as a long cycle of struggle and degradation, African American music reveals strategies black people have used to resist injustice, preserve historical memory, celebrate self-worth, and exert powerful influence over our sense of American national identity.”
Alexia Williams, 2018
TODAY’S PRACTICE: Listen to music of your choosing (see the Liberation Calendar playlist). (optional) Watch this video on the history of gospel music in Chicago.
DAILY REFLECTION: Which genres of Black music have you explored? Which unexplored genres would you like to get to know?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 10 - Explore the Ritual of Libation
We offer libations to our ancestors to honor their sacrifices and celebrate our lineage.
Libation is a practice that connects present to past and remembers the many generations that made way for us. By filling a cup with some form of liquid, often water, and ceremonially offering this to the earth, the ritual provides a tangible representation of gratitude. Libation is embedded in a number of African communities where it fills religious, social, political, cultural, and artistic roles.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
WATCH this Libation video. Read pages 16-19 of the Liberation Table Guide and perform a Libation before a meal.
DAILY REFLECTION: Whose names will you uplift as a part of your libations? Which ancestors (either related or not) will you call in?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 9 - Journey with Ancestors Who Migrated)
“It was during the First World War that a silent pilgrimage took its first steps within the borders of this country. . . It would not end until the 1970s and would set into motion changes in the North and South that no one, not even the people doing the leaving, could have imagined at the start of it or dreamed would take nearly a lifetime to play out. Historians would come to call it the Great Migration.” So many of the families leaving the South were fleeing daily acts of white supremacist terrorism. Regressive social studies curricula in states like Florida and anti-truth education laws that whitewash the history of enslavement, Jim Crow laws, commonplace lynchings, and structural racism in this country make it impossible for students to learn these stories that are central to the foundation of the United States.
Reference: Wilkerson, Isabel. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. Vintage Books, 2011.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
LISTEN to the episode “The Great Migration and Black Foodways” from the podcast Setting the Table.
DAILY REFLECTION: What is your family’s migration story?
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 8 - Defend the Freedom to Learn Our Stories
Did you know that Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye was one of the most banned books last year? That 22 million kids are affected by laws censoring teaching about racism?
The threat to our ability to tell a fuller story of our history is a threat to our democracy itself. Our freedom to live in a fully realized multiracial democracy depends on our freedom to learn the full story of who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going. Last year, the Freedom to Learn network came together in a National Day of Action on May 3rd with over 150 actions across the country. Get informed and sign up to get updates on how you can join the fight in 2024 at freedomtolearn.net and aapf.org.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
WATCH AAPF’s 2023 Freedom to Learn Video or read AAPF’s report on AP African American Studies.
DAILY REFLECTION: What are the banned books, thinkers, and histories you are uplifting this month and year? (See a list of banned books at https://booksunbanned.org.)
TAKE ACTION: Uplift a photo of yourself with a banned book that changed your life (post with #freedomtolearn).
Day 7: Practice Ancestral Gratitude
Our connections to our ancestors and each other have the power to heal our wounds, freeing us to experience life in all its beauty and possibility. Today we remember our ancestors who have struggled, those who perished, and those of us who have thrived despite centuries of enslavement, colonialism, and systemic racism. We will not allow their stories of courage, resistance, and survival to be banned, whitewashed or written out of our children’s textbooks altogether. Take some time today to give thanks to our ancestors and our elders.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
DAILY REFLECTION: How can you express thanks to your loved ones or ancestors? Write a letter (or even a few words) to share your gratitude and/or love for them.
GET INSPIRED TO RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR OUR ANCESTORS STORIES with The Truth Must Be Told song video
Day 6: Connect to A Story from Nigeria
Today we head to Nigeria, the most populous country on the African continent, home to many ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Hausa (pronunciation: house-uh), Yoruba, and Igbo (pronunciation: ee-bo). As you may know, the term “ase”—meaning “may it be so”—comes from the Yoruba language. Have you heard of Afrobeat, not to be confused with the popular “Afrobeats”? Afrobeat was created by the legendary Nigerian artist Fela Kuti through combining traditional Yoruba music with jazz, funk and other Black American genres. Afrobeat is vibrant and political and embodies Pan-Africanism. Take some time today to watch and enjoy.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
WATCH The Genius of Fela Kuti and Afrobeat (link below)
DAILY REFLECTION: What songs and music did your family, loved ones, or ancestors give you?
RAISE YOUR VOICE Against the Erasure of Our Ancestors’ Stories and Culture
Day 5: Retrace the Route Back to Mali
This week’s theme is “Connecting.” Today we retrace our connections to the beauty and brilliance of our ancestors on the African continent. We’ll take a closer look at the bustling empire of Mali from 1200 to 1500 AD. Scholar P. James Oliver noted: “Thousands of students and scholars were also drawn to Timbuktu by the city’s famed university. Their books and manuscripts, tens of thousands of them, still exist.” Too few of us learn about this rich legacy, and regressive social studies curricula in states like Florida are making it even harder for students to access our true history. Learn more in the video linked below.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
READ pages 23-24 in the Liberation Table Guide.
DAILY REFLECTION: What is Pan-Africanism? How can it help you connect more deeply to your own roots and other Black people?
TAKE ACTION: Raise Your Voice Against the Erasure of Our Ancestors’ Stories.
Day 4: Liberation Table Intention)
Each day of the Liberation Calendar stands alone, but it is also a stepping stone to hosting or attending a Liberation Table the last weekend of February. Setting that intention now will help make it a reality. We know it can be intimidating to facilitate a new kind of gathering, but, we promise, the Liberation Table Guide walks you through everything you need to be an amazing host. We invite you to make it uniquely yours by incorporating your own traditions, foods, and religions!
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
READ: pages 4, 7, 8 of the Liberation Table Guide.
PLAN to host or join a Liberation Table!
INVITE friends and family to attend and ASK them to join in the Liberation Calendar
Day 3: Understand the Crops that Link Our Diaspora
The food we eat today links us to enslaved Africans who were forcibly brought to Central and South America and the Caribbean to work on sugar plantations. These enslaved people labored under some of the most brutal conditions, one of them being the powerful Carlota Lucumi who risked her life to fight back against these inhumane conditions. The production of sugar continues to oppress people around the world.
Learn more on pp. 33-34 of the Guide.
TODAY’S PRACTICE:
SUBSCRIBE to the Liberation Calendar
LEARN about the diasporic pantry in “High On the Hog” (Season 1, Episode 1 - Netflix link below)
DAILY REFLECTION: What is the history of food cultivation in your own family? How can you learn more about those stories?
JOIN: the community: subscribe below to receive daily emails
Day 2: Remember We Are Our Own Sun
Senegalese filmmaker, Ousmane Sembène, reminds us that in a world that asks us to see the Western and European countries as the center of civilization and desirability, that we, in fact, are the sun. We understand our Blackness as a compass gifted to us by our ancestors, guiding us to liberation and expression. It leads us back to ourselves while carrying us into the future.
TODAY’S PRACTICE
SUBSCRIBE to the Liberation Calendar
WATCH/LISTEN: to the full quote. (Link below)
DAILY REFLECTION: In what ways have you decentered Black voices in your life? How can you recenter our ancestors, thinkers, and artists in your daily practices?
Day 1: Welcome to Liberation Table
Happy Black History Month! We are thrilled to bring you the 2024 Liberation Calendar, in partnership with the African American Policy Forum and the Freedom to Learn network!
The Liberation Calendar will guide you through a daily, intentional Black History Month practice to feel more grounded in your connection to your family, friends, history, and culture. We hope to open up a space for liberation in your day all month. See today’s practice below:
SSUBSCRIBE to the Liberation Calendar
RREAD in the Liberation Table Guide : A Note from Co-Authors, pg.3
DDAILY REFLECTION - In what ways do you want to feel more connected to your own history and lineage?