Finding our humanity in these times
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
Dear Friends
We have reached a critical moment as a human race. Our world is on fire. Never before has the need for listening, reflection and conscious action been more important.
On Monday 25 May, a 46-year-old African American man named George Floyd was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The officer, who has since been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, kneeled on Floyd’s neck as he struggled to breathe. Since then, protests have erupted across the world, with people taking to the streets in cities across the US, London, Berlin and here in Dublin to demand justice for Floyd’s murder and an end violence and systemic racism towards Black, Brown and Indigenous people.
We recently found out at HedgeSchool that the word apocalypse is a Greek word meaning ‘revelation’ or ‘lifting of the veil‘. As I write these words the veil is being lifted and what lies beneath is calling many of us to action. What is being illuminated is very revealing. As someone in Ireland with white privilege I am becoming more aware of the role I play in benefiting from this system that I have inherited. And I have a long way to go.
We have had many mails from people in our community who are directly effected by what is happening here in Ireland and across the world and my intention is to listen and to include their teachings and feedback into our work at The Trailblazery going forward. It has never been more important to listen and learn from Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples and to integrate what we are learning from their lived experience into our consciousness, lives and work in the world
Our mission at The Trailblazery is to ‘nudge humanity forward by animating the spirit of the times we live in’ and to show up as ‘ancestors in training’. This means doing the work of dismantling the racism in our own systems and the systems we operate in. This is the time to listen and to educate ourselves so that we can participate in building a future that works for everybody. This is uncomfortable and necessary work. So I would like to use this platform to point towards some of those people who are teaching us how to be better ‘ancestors in training’.
Ava DuVernay : Winner of the Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody Awards, Academy award nominee Ava DuVernay is a writer, director, producer and film distributor. Her directorial work includes the historical drama SELMA, the criminal justice documentary 13TH and Disney’s A WRINKLE IN TIME, which made her the highest grossing black woman director in American box office history. Based on the infamous case of The Central Park Five, her latest project is entitled WHEN THEY SEE US is on Netflix. Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival's Best Director Prize for her micro-budget film MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, DuVernay amplifies the work of people of colour and women of all kinds through her non-profit film collective ARRAY, named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.
Black Futures Lab : Black Futures Lab works with Black people to transform our communities, building Black political power and changing the way that power operates—locally, statewide, and nationally.
Black Lives Matter : #BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
Ibram X Kendi: IBRAM X. KENDI is one of America’s foremost historians and leading antiracist voices. He is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and the Founding Director of The Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, DC
Layla Saad : Layla is unapologetically confronting the oppressive systems of white supremacy and patriarchy, while offering important teachings and tools for transforming consciousness, cultivating personal anti-racism practice and taking responsibility for our individual and collective healing.
Rachel Cargle : Rachel Cargle is a public academic, writer, and lecturer. Her activism and academic work are rooted in providing intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood. Her social media platforms boast a community of over 315k where Rachel guides conversations, encourages critical thinking and nurtures meaningful engagement with people all over the world. You can watch her here : Public Address On Revolution: Revolution Now
Rachel Ricketts: Rachel Ricketts is an international thought leader, speaker, healer + author. Her life’s mission is to help heal the collective divide by dismantling racist heteropatriarchy, supporting healing for Black + Indigenous womxn+ and helping us all reclaim our freedom - mind, body and soul.
Van Jones: Van Jones is a U.S. media personality, the founder of multiple social enterprises and a world-class change maker.
If you’ve been participating in the recent protests and want to do more, or if you’re unable to participate and want to do something, one way to help is to donate your money or your time. Here is a good place to start.
Addressing Racism here in Ireland
The system of direct provision here is inhumane. The U.N. called the system “a severe violation of human rights”. Asylum seekers are forced to live in overcrowded conditions, often suffer cruelty (being denied the right to bring food to their rooms, etc.), and many end up trapped in the system for years, unable to start their new lives in Ireland. During the pandemic, hundreds of legal and medical experts wrote an open letter to the government advising that direct provision centres were dangerous, and every family needed to be provided with own-door accommodation. This was ignored, and there were several outbreaks of covid-19 in direct provision centres across the country. This system needs to be dismantled, not just for the duration of the pandemic, but forever. To help you can connect with MASI - a grassroots group formed by asylum seekers to campaign against Direct Provision, deportations and defend the right to claim asylum
Stay safe
until soon
Kathy xo
