Currently Reading 📖
February 2025 - Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism by Dr. Jenn Jackson, PhD
Takeaways:
Chapter 1 - Lessons on Freedom
Freedom from and Freedom to are different things
Freedom doesn't always look like big declarative statements, proclamations, the outcomes of a way or marching/protests. There is freedom in stillness and quiet - in waiting and strategizing. There is a freedom in choosing to be grounded and living your truth, understanding that we each deserve to be fully recognized for who we are. "Freedom comes when we are not doing anything but continuing to live despire a world that does not want us to exist." The mere act of existing - showing up for yourself every day - living in your truth despite a system that tries to erase you - is a form of protest and freedom.
Prompt for thought and discussion:
- What does freedom look like to you right now?
- What does protest look like for you right now?
Freedom is a process of personal responsibility - we must be accountable for our own entanglements with white supremacy and anti-Blackness so we can be aware of our complicity in the systems that make others unfree. "So how do we get free?"
Dr. Jackson lays out four ideas of freedom:
1 - My freedom can never be contingent upon someone else's unfreedom
Freedom and unfreedom work in a state of symbiosis - many people who live in excess are also committed to denying basic needs of others because they have a "get what's mine" mentality and they don't realize freedom is infinite. "Freedom is unlimited, fully accessible and available to everyone who simply believes we don't have to hoard/exploit our way into happiness."
Prompt for thought and discussion:
- What examples in your life or in our society come to mind when you think of a limited mentality?
2 - Freedom is not absolute, but it is complementary
3 - Freedom is about collective imagination rather than institutional barriers
4 - We all deserve freedom without suffering