What is ancestral memory?
Our grief and trauma today is with our ancestors’ grief & trauma of yesterday. Our grief is not limited to the Black death we see in the news cycle, and those who passed before them; it is a collective experience of systemic anti-Black racism which leaves our nervous system in a constant state of fight, flight, freeze, and/or befriend. Our Afro-ancestral memory is not limited to grief & trauma, and has an endless capacity for joy and strength when rest is available to us. Healing from racial trauma starts by giving ourselves permission to re-process our pain in spaces of collective care. Collective care allows us space to co-regulate our nervous system, so we can have access to joy, inspiration, and informed decision making.
Movement with the ancestors
May you move with your ancestors,
May you feel your ancestors,
May your ancestors be an anchor,
May your ancestors witness you fly,
May your ancestors be a resource,
May you experience the light within you.
Melissa Taylor, 2022.
