Khotsong Baratuoa,
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) have faced disproportionate levels of violence from state institutions, the persistent legacies of slavery and segregation, and economic injustice and displacement. For centuries, the cognitive, spiritual, emotional, and physical resources of BIPOC communities have been disproportionately depleted due to structural anti-Black racism and White supremacy. The cumulative effects of living under dominant culture, anti-Black racism, and White supremacy continue to exacerbate racial trauma, devalue Black lives, and erase Indigenous culture and wisdom. In South Africa, as in other parts of the world, Black and non-white people are expected to live under the so-called Rainbow Nation without proper reparations or acknowledgment of the damaging effects of apartheid, not only on our material lives but also on our psychological and spiritual well-being.
As part of my calling to personal healing, healing my lineage, and contributing to the collective healing of Black people, I am researching how our ancestors’ experiences with white domination and oppression have affected us, not just physically, but at a psychospiritual level. This work has led me to epigenetics, the scientific study of interactions between genetic processes and experiences. This field increasingly shows that we inherit not only physiological traits but also memories of our ancestors' experiences through transgenerational and intergenerational epigenetic transmissions. This is something African people have long addressed through traditional ancestral healing modalities.
This realization makes me wonder just how deep the wounds of colonization, white supremacy, and anti-Black racism go. How intensely do Black and non-white people experience internal, relational, and structural racism, and what does this mean for us and our unborn descendants? Can we afford to mildly talk about decolonization while living with the consequences of a world burning due to a few melanin-deficient people "repressing their own feelings of inadequacy" and creating structures to give the appearance of Black inferiority (Dr. Frances Cress Welsing)?
Globally, societies are structured in ways that leave little or no space for Black and non-white people to rest, grieve, and recover, making it impossible to fully heal from this ongoing trauma. This collective trauma lives in the shared identities of Black and non-white people. Collective healing is critical for our ability to consistently facilitate recovery, shift our beliefs and values, cultivate care and support, build resilience, and restore our dignity in ways that help us resource our communities and remember the wisdom of our ancestors.
“The destruction of Black males now is indirect, so that the Black male victims themselves can be led to participate in – and then be blamed for – their own mass deaths.”
— Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
Episode 6 of Conscious Conversations Season 3 is here.
In this conversation, Rev. Diane Ford-Dessables and I reflect on hopes for collective recovery and restoration for Black communities. I continue to ask: what do freedom and liberation mean to you? What are you willing to do to ensure your sovereignty and that of future generations? What does revolution in the 21st century look like?
Rev. Diane Ford-Dessables’ vocational work at the intersection of faith and money in marginalized communities of color during this era of ecological strain, demographic shift, and transformative healing was spiritually inspired in Haiti in 2009. On Juneteenth, 2019, she launched a critical conversation on “beliefs, shifting values and resources” among and for people of color in the U.S. through the Gemstones in the Sun LLC blog. In 2020, Diane founded Gemstones in the Sun Incorporated, a nonprofit offering platforms and ways for POC globally to heal together from the damages endured from living in or being subjected to the corrosive aspects of white cultural normative society and addiction to that society. In 2002, as a seminary-trained and professionally ordained minister, Diane partnered with national and transnational coalitions, networks, and social movements on behalf of impoverished communities, both in the U.S. and abroad, in service to the United Church of Christ. In 2007, Diane became a community organizer for the Barack Obama Presidential campaign in Virginia’s Tidewater region. In 2008, she served as the mainline church relations associate for Bread for the World, managing a national anti-hunger community work portfolio until December 31, 2016. She holds master’s degrees in Divinity and Communication from Boston University, specializing in the integrated study of media, religion, and society. Diane, a bisexual Washington, DC, area native, is also an active recovery community member. She and her spouse, Djalòki Dessables, of Haitian descent, are the proud parents of four adults. Diane’s pronouns are she/her. She currently lives in Central America.
Conscious Conversations features spiritual teachers, seers, and thought leaders who, through their insights, help our listeners gather tools to navigate life, enriching their minds, bodies, and spirits. Our intention is to share with our community a deeper perspective on spiritual awakening, the journey that follows, and how we can utilize these tools in our daily lives. Our listeners are interested in our guests' personal journeys of transcending challenges, breaking boundaries, walking with spirit, and fulfilling their purpose.
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“I won’t rest until black children are taught to love themselves as themselves.”
– Mme Dr. Frances Cress Welsing
(born Frances Luella Cress; March 18, 1935 – January 2, 2016)
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