Traveling to three cities in the US, Brazil and Ghana, the men spent days in shared contemplation and dialogue, convening community gatherings organized around collective inquiry into liberation in our world.

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Our explorations in Los Angeles, at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, were potent and far-reaching. One emergent focus was Black men’s tenderness and need for nourishing connection that honors their aliveness and dignity. We also offered an open-to-everyone daylong event. Along with the reflections and teachings of the three men, the joyful Black-centering gatherings incorporated art, song, dance, rituals of deep care, inquiry practices and small-group conversations.

In Salvador, Brazil, our Brazilian partners spoke of their grief and frustration over the high level of violence against Black bodies, especially Black women. Men and women spoke of their commitment to peace, unity, and women’s well-being. Our team was spiritually anchored by a historic Candomblé temple—Ilé Àṣẹ Ìyá Nasò Ọka, or Casa Branca—led by three Black women elders, and founded in the 1800s by three free African
women.

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In Ghana, our group of international travelers connected with Ghanaian ritual practitioners, to explore the medicinal plant resources of the land and, at a Vodou shrine, learn from the shrine priest about African spiritual technologies and practices—tools given by our ancestors. The stunning Asenema waterfall invited cleansing and renewal, with traditional priests leading libations.

A wrenching and profound experience in the center of the journey was a ritual ceremony at the Cape Coast slave dungeons, the departure point of so many abducted Africans. After ceremonial washing of our feet,
hands and faces, we wore white and walked barefoot through the streets of Cape Coast to the dungeons. There each of us entered into our own unique experience, grieving, praying, visioning, reflecting and connecting with the ancestors.

 

As we integrated the raw intensity of this encounter over the following days, our journey was balanced and leavened with drumming, dancing, hugs, delicious Ghanaian food, many rich conversations in community
gatherings with Resmaa, Bayo and Orland, and opportunities to both digest the experience and touch joy.

 

The thread of joy in community wound its way through the journey from beginning to end.

 

A deep bow of gratitude to the cultural curators and space-holders in Brazil and Ghana who made our journey possible: Bira Azevedo in Brazil, and Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin in Ghana.