As many times as I’ve spoken during Black History Month, I never tire of urging people to remember that it wasn’t a single individual or two who created [the 20th Century Black freedom movement], that, as a matter of fact, it was largely women within collective contexts, Black women, poor Black women who were maids, washerwomen, and cooks. These were the people who collectively refused to ride…
[King] transformed in his relationship with that movement, He did not see himself as a single individual who was going to bring freedom to the masses.” —Angela Y. Davis
As I’m going through my 2016 calendar and noting the major events and experiences I had, I’m noticing just how many of them involved other people.
So far, all of them involved other people. My work experiences. My relationships. My interactions with relatives. Even my insights won in the quiet of the Arizona desert.
All of life happens with other people. How smoothly we progress in life also depends on other people.
The 20th Century freedom movements that Davis addresses in Freedom is a Constant Struggle depended on people acting in cooperation with others, not acting unilaterally as if lone heroes.
Learn from them by taking another look at the dreams and goals you have in mind for 2017.
Who are the people you’ll need to work with this coming year? Which communities will you need to grow with? Which collective resources will you draw from and contribute to?
There’s always a cloud of witnesses that co-creates with us. Factor them in as you plan.