 Artist: Kim Phillips-Pea Check out our interview with our sibling Sartteka Nefer as we discuss the richness that is our community! Community Resiliency at work here...  Generations of trauma, systemic racism, and cultural barriers make resilience look very different from what we have meant in our society. This is not to say that we should discard resilience. In fact, I would say we should pay more attention to it. While resilience can be developed, we should consider how some have no choice but to be resilient. For a Black Man such as myself, being resilient is an act of resistance and survival.
As a Black Boy growing up during the crack era in Baltimore city, I certainly have had my share of need for resiliency. Whether it was due to dropping out of high school at the advice of my so-called counselor or being relentlessly bullied for my excessive stuttering, I learned quickly that you must keep going, no matter what. I also realized that there are some situations in which this bounce-back looks different depending on family structure, economic conditions, zip code, and educational level. So pull yourself up by your bootstraps, particularly for Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks can and has looked different. One of the most important aspects of resilience, in my opinion, is upset prevention. You heard the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” well, let’s begin to prepare for the next upset It could be manufactured, a natural disaster, or even a traumatic experience. No matter, let’s stock up on some water, can goods, rice, brans, tissue paper, batteries, flashlights, cleaning agents, large trash bags, kitty litter, a first aid kit, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide. Store a copy of your personal papers ( life insurance, mortgage papers, birth certificates, social security cards, vehicle registration, medical cards) and some books to help calm the mind and pass the time; these are the physical items we need. One of the most important items you and I will need is a strong mind and body, so let’s start walking at least 3 to 4 times a week, drinking more water, eat more fruits and vegetables, meditation and prayer. Everything we are allowed to acquire in this life is on loan; the spouse we have, the parents we have, the children we have. We are all here for a short moment in time so let’s make the best out of what we currently have and strive to get better results tomorrow. Till next time, start with just $10 a week purchases on emergency supplies and that daily walk. Bro. Dave, COO Check out how a Community Agreed-upon Value System can help us unplug from the Rat Race! Check out what I Am Green's CEO & COO have to say on this week's Community Care Wednesdays. What does our community need to come together and THRIVE not just survive? Let's have some conversations! Join the conversation! Leave a comment below.  Me & Ma Dukes So many ancestral questions are being asked of me as of late. Has this been happening for anyone else? I have been asked on more than one occasion in the last month, what has brought me to this work, my journey. My mother is always at the forefront of my mind when I think of my work and what I do. Who she was, who she is, and who she is becoming. Even as she nears 80 years old, and her movements are slower, her activities lessening, and her memory fading, she is still becoming. During this pandemic and paradigm shift, many of our parents and grandparents have joined our ancestors. This means we have had to deal with grief in the most unusual ways, have had to adapt to new customs in saying goodbye, and forging ahead in this new normal, in many cases, untethered and unsure. So, believe me when I say I sit in gratitude for having both my parents still with me in this realm, even though the dynamics of our relationships are changing. I know, at this point, you may be asking, "Sister Maria, what does this have to do with sustainability? Being green?" Well, the very foundation of what I do and why I do it is because of relationships—my relationship with the Planet and my relationships with the people around me. The relationship that is shaping much of what my life is going to look like for the foreseeable future is the relationship with my mother. Reaching in the past, at how my mother parented me, and how she showed up in the world independent of who she was to me, my siblings, and her spouse is intriguing. I Am Green Founders talk about the Red, Black, and Green New Deal and what's going on in I Am Green's neck of the woods. If you like to see it in its entirety, check it out on our Facebook Page The Red, Black, & Green New Deal is a bold, uncompromising stance on the current Climate Crisis... Black folks have always been a part of this fight and the Movement for Black Lives launching an initiative to put forward a Black Climate Agenda that prioritizes Black Lives and guarantees a green future for Black families.  When I attended the Black to the Future Action Fund's Climate Justice is Racial Justice Event I was beside myself with delight. We are talking about phenomenal black women who are talking my talk!
Do yourself a favor, and watch this fact filled hour of unapologetic black power. #Thankmelater The Climate Justice is Racial Justice Event was absolutely one of THEE highlights of my "Earth month." What resonated with you Sister Maria, you ask? Structural & Systemic Environmental Racism Collective Responsibility Land Have you all downloaded the new report by Greenpeace USA, Movement for Black Lives, and Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy. This is the most comprehensive analysis to date of fossil fuel racism and how fossil fuel production is creating a public health crisis for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor communities. But if you haven't, here's the gist... |
Black as Coal: The Blackest of Faces in the Whitest of SpacesMy Life in Sustainability Archives
March 2023
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