In this moment when all of our rights are under attack within the U.S., we are all fighting multiple battles simultaneously. But there is one area which unites us - health care; each of us needs it, and far too many people do not have access. I caught up with Kelly, an organizer with the Non-Violent Medicaid Army (NVMA) which is “a growing, politically independent force of the poor and dispossessed, united across identities, regions, races and issues, modeled after MLK's 'nonviolent army of the poor' from the first Poor People's Campaign of 1968.” NVMA “is not a coalition or a campaign but a network of organizations and committees that understand healthcare to be a strategic front of struggle to unite the working class,” and there are chapters across the country within Wyoming, Wisconsin, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Vermont.

Throughout our time together, Kelly and I discuss her personal journey, and how liberation theology informs her activism, healthcare as a human right, the inequities within our healthcare system, and the need for collective action to address injustices while advocating for change. We also delved into the importance of community engagement and storytelling in pushing for healthcare rights, particularly through the NVMA; through #MedicaidMondays where they spotlight folks personal stories across their social media platforms (share your story by applying here).

The pain of our Congolese siblings powers our cell phones and electronic devices. “Approximately six million people have been killed since 1996, and more than six million people remain internally displaced in eastern DRC, " journalist Shola Lawal, writes in A Guide to the Decades Long Conflict in the DRC. Mom and I caught up with Maurice Carney, co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Congo (FOTC), a non-profit based in the Washington D.C., and founded in 2004; FOTC supports Congelese-led organizations working on the ground to end this genocide, and bring healing to the country.

We discuss the impact of European and U.S. colonization and imperialism on the Congolese people, and the many forces preventing the country from thriving today (for example, multinational corporations, the World Bank, Western governments, local elites, etc.). Maurice also uplifts the mission of Friends of the Congo, multiple ways to take action, resources (films, books, etc. to educate yourself), and focuses on some of the biggest ways we can all help — using our platforms to raise awareness, encouraging people in our communities to speak up, and shifting our purchasing habits towards sustaining the greater good.

As activists and folks of faith, particularly in these challenging times, we must simultaneously commit to inner revolution and collective liberation. Prioritizing healing from these oppressive systems is also “the work.”  bell hooks reminded us often: "Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion." Last year I sat down with Kimberly Brazwell, a two-time TEDx speaker, author, CEO and founder of KiMISTRY for our Move It Forward Monday IG Live series to discuss trauma-informed activism. And it feels like a powerful moment to revisit this conversation. 

We delved into healing as deeply connected to the work, softening around emotions instead of pushing past them, and guiding intentions to center for ourselves and others (grace, acceptance, and forgiveness). Kimberly worked with organizers in the wake of George Floyd’s murder to create a healing container that still thrives today as they continue to build community.

In part two of our conversation, Mom and I chat with Yaa Abbensetts-Dobson, writer and author (Departure Story), editor, entrepreneur and founder of Spoken Black Girl, and host of The Healing Entrepreneur Podcast, and Avril Somerville, writer, poet, and author of A Journey Of Life On PURPOSE. 

Throughout both conversations (listen to part 1 here), we unpack building beloved community, why the church must divest from the false ideology of white supremacy, continually organizing for collective liberation, decolonizing, resisting the rise of global fascism, standing in active intersectional solidarity with all who are oppressed (because of race, disability, sexuality, gender, gender identity, etc.) the importance of soul work, and the many ways our faith in God, and creativity can propel us forward (Micah 6:8).

As we honored Dr. King yesterday, we sit with the weight of this moment - stepping into another Trump presidency. Many of us remain committed to working towards a country rooted in collective liberation. Mom and I decided to root our discussion around Dr. King legacy, and his last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? In this two part conversation, we chat with three phenomenal women, Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, writer, organizer, speaker, and Consulting Minister for Justice & Community Organizing at Middle Church, the founder of Raising Imagination, Avril Somerville, writer  poet, and author of A Journey Of Life On PURPOSE, and Yaa Abbensetts-Dobson, writer and author (Departure Story), editor, entrepreneur and founder of Spoken Black Girl, and host of The Healing Entrepreneur Podcast. 

On the anniversary of Jan. 6th we are revisiting our conversation with Dr. Obery Hendricks, Jr.  and the discussion of his book - Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press, 2021). Across the country, far too many church leaders are pledging allegiance to the false ideology of white supremacy, American nationalism, toxic greed and exclusion of folks living on the margins. Dr. Hendricks is a life long social activist, and one of the foremost commentators on the intersection of religion and political economy in America. He is a Biblical scholar at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary.

We are living through unprecedented times; as each of us continues processing the election,  and moving through waves of grief, disappointment, overwhelm, etc., it is vital to remain rooted in God, and come into beloved community with one another. Mom and I share a few of our thoughts post-election (check out two recent Instagram posts, Jesus Is… and Reclaiming Christianity), drop into discussing what soul care is, why it matters, and share two soul care practices you can lean into for support - breath prayer and meditating on verses of scripture.