May juneteenth be a reminder and invitation.

“I have been preparing for this keynote I am giving later today about the meaning of Juneteenth.  I have been wrestling with what to say. Do I bring more of my white appeasing self or do I honor more of my authentic Black self?  How do I honor the multiple truths about this day with all that I have learned about modernity (interlocking systems of oppression) in the past and in present-day while still leaving room for hope and joy and encouraging more resistance?”

”Here is my elevator speech at the end of my talk:

Black people are amazing and diverse.  Everyone should root for Black people to thrive.  The United States has an unpaid debt to Black people for 246 years of chattel slavery, 100 years of Jim Crow., and a couple of decades of mass incarceration. There is an intergenerational legacy of racial trauma, resistance and perseverance.  We have to address racial disparities, ongoing anti-black racism, voter suppression, and mass incarceration.  We have to continue to work on treating Black people as full citizens in all the arenas.  There is much work to do.  Let's experience some joy and rest along the way.  I am only because we are (ubuntu).”

-Dr. Nathalie Edmond ~ Mindful and Multicultural Counseling