Hoes Mad: The Threat of Black-Ass Spaces
Welcome to the 74th installment of This Black-Ass Life! This week, after a long conversation about how we can’t escape the exhausting concept that is whiteness any time soon (worthless passports and all), we’ve decided to celebrate Black-ass spaces instead. Read on as we explore the power and threat of Black-ass spaces for our personal and political freedom.
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I. The Facts
Black people have no choice but to think in the collective. Being in community is a way for us to protect ourselves, both physically and spiritually. Specifically in America, when Black people have organized together, white people have seen the Black collective as a threat and have worked to terrorize and destroy them. A few historical examples:
Black Wall Street, a neighborhood in North Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the wealthiest Black community in the United States in the early 20th century. It was destroyed by mobs of deputized white residents in what is now known as the single worst act of racial violence in America. Using private aircraft and fire bombs, the mobs destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood. Between 200 – 300 people died, 1,256 homes burned, and 10,000 were left homeless. North Tulsa remains one of the poorest parts of the state today.
Seneca Village, was once called “epicenter of black political power in Manhattan.” Occupying the western edge of Central Park, the thriving enclave included Black homes, gardens, a school and cemeteries. The village inoculated its inhabitants from the racist and still actively slave trading New York City. Starting in 1855, the City and real estate interests would later push out residents by calling it a “shantytown” and a “nigger village.”
Africatown was founded by descendants of enslaved people aboard the Clotilda, the last slave ship that docked in America in 1860. Carrying 110 enslaved Yoruba and Dahomey people, Africatown was home to the last survivors of the transatlantic slave trade. While its inhabitants didn’t suffer the fate of Black Wall Street or Seneca Village, given its location along waterways, Africatown was near a paper plant that residents say have led to serious industrial pollution and a high rate of cancer.
Read Barracoon, the story of the last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade.
Why does it matter?
If Black collectives weren’t so intimidatingly effective, white people wouldn’t work so hard to dismantle them.
Even the most innocuous Black-ass gatherings can be perceived as a threat. Remember when white women were so mad at all-Black yoga classes that they made a White Women Yoga Meetup in D.C.?
Y’all. Financial literacy classes, capitalism, elite colleges, stacks of degrees, rabid individualism and entrepreneurship are not our ticket to freedom. We can’t support a movement without coming together to organize, heal and recharge.
As you already know, Black mental health is suffering and our collective wellness must be a priority.
What can my Black ass do?
Take pride in being in community with other Black people.
Check out Villij, a virtual healing and wellness space for women of color founded by two Black women.
For $17/month, you can join Ethel’s Club (named after the founder’s grandma), a wellness space for creators of color.
Are you someone who loves long-distance running? We can’t relate, but try RUNGRL for Black women distance runners.
More our speed: Sign up for GirlTrek for these AMAZING daily walks at noon where you learn about Black history icons for 30 minutes.
Try Black Girl In Om, a space for Black womxn interested in yoga and spiritual healing.
Find healing, fellowship, residency programs, therapy funds and more at The Loveland Foundation.
Want a meditation app made specifically with Black folks in mind? Download Liberate.
ll. Other Things
Black womxn are everything.
Check out this round-up of upcoming Black-ass movies. I (Mitu) can’t wait to support them all, even the scary ones I’ll buy on on-demand but not watch.
Please consider donating to support Maya Moody’s GoFundMe to support her housing and education. This is the young woman Talib Kweli has been actively harassing online for WEEKS.
Watch this Desus & Mero interview with Jennifer McLeggan, the single mom in Valley Stream, NY who feared for her life because of her neighbors who violently reacted to her Black-ass presence in their precious community.
What we have here, folks, is an unreliable ref. Baby Jalen did NOT travel. Check the tapes!
Marsai BEEN iconic. HBD, queen!
We stan Kaavia, witholder of love and demander of respect.
Our Black-Ass song(s) of the week (Jumoke):
I keep cycling through the three same emotions. These songs are currently on loop: Anger. Love. Gratitude.
Things we are looking forward to / things we are not looking forward to:
I (Jumoke) look forward to slowing down and taking deeper breaths.
I (Mitu) look forward to taking walks with GirlTrek calls playing in my headphones.
lll. Text from a Black-Ass Mama
My (Mitu’s) mom has been sending me photos of food to both tease me and make me miss home. It’s working.
Stay Black, thrive and prioritize your mental health! We’ll hit your inbox next on August 31.