Black Spirituality

My name is AJ. I'm 24, my pronouns are they/them, I'm Black, and I am queer. This is a place for ideas, tips, words of caution, motivation, & in general a mood board.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade on Chicago’s South Side, 1973.

[spells4poc]

A Litany for Survival: the Life and Work of Audre Lorde (1995)

[bossymarmalade]

For the past few years, a photograph has circulated on social media of a Black women’s writing group from the 1970s called the Sisterhood. Pictured are the writers Nana Maynard, Ntozake Shange, Louise Meriwether, Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, Alice Walker, Audrey Edwards, June Jordan, and Toni Morrison—all the current patron saints of literary culture, before they were anointed, when they were working artists.

“They weren’t brands, and they weren’t celebrities.”

[brooklynrwhitegrier]

Black women and their words.

[ajsbrainundone]

Spring is finally welcoming me 🌻

[kxevn]

stay away from black people that don’t like black people.

[msprotagonist]

The Color Yellow. Lol.

[manynamedshe]

It’s Wednesday, which is a great day to point out that sometimes? Without your mental roads opened, every road to what you seek can be closed. If you’re accustomed to following any set number of paths and all they’re doing today is leading you in a circle, it’s not the paths that are the problem - it’s that you’re still on them.

You’ll know this is the case when stuff doesn’t seem to be working the way it should, and you’ve exhausted the same options to no avail. If you’re of the divining sort, divination will either show this to you in advance or reveal that your perspective is the problem. Remember that even if you try 20 solutions that don’t work, there is always a 21st; you just need to be able to perceive it. Ask for that ability, and you will receive.

[wintercorrybriea]

deme yoko’s hair by dnayzja

[ipadbaby]

Happy black history monthhhh

[cuntatthecrossroads]

Please be specific.

[cuntatthecrossroads]

Prayer is the one spiritual tool that we always have with us and that we never have to purchase. And prayer can take so many forms. Speaking, singing, writing, dancing, and cooking can all be/incorporate prayer, and prayer is one of the most effective tools we have available to us in conjure.

We don’t always need a million herbs or candles or a long ritual. Sometimes (most times) we just need to call our spirits to us and pray.

Pray honestly and often and watch things move.

[teaboot]

Not to be a drooling socialist cuck, but if a full day's labour can't purchase three square meals, 24 hour's worth of rent and utilities, a fraction of a month's clothing budget, and a reasonable portion to be saved for when you can no longer comfortably work, what the fuck are we doing shit for

[mahoganymamii]

90s Black Hairstyles

(via, @hiphopurbanpop)

[polkadotmotmot]

Jewel Ham - Did I Stutter?, 2021

[itsstillsweetiebythealtar]

Remember that our ancestors were more than their pain.

[blackafemmetalks]

I think about the assumptions that being perceived as a cis woman equals safety and protection, and that masculinity is inherently demonized and ostracized ignores a lot of nuance between black people. 

I think the general idea that people will be more accepting of someone who presents more femininely and who is/looks like a cis woman vs. someone presents/is a cis man is very narrow minded. 

Black femininity will always be feared and ridiculed on black skin. Black women and femininity has been tied to the devil, to casting spell over white men, to being “our fault” for sexual assualt and rape. Black femininity has been something feared by white women and white men alike, and often the justification for white women to treat black women like dirt. 

When you bring up cis women, be clear about who you mean. Because yes, certain trans people do hold a lot of privilege over black women, even if they are cis. 

The assumption that all feminity is honored and that masculinity is feared is such a bad take. 

People will accept and embrace white masculinity over black femininity any day. There are literally movie tropes about the white masculine hero, that is an image that is honored and revered. 

If you are white, and your a masc presenting, there are a lot of doors you will have open that someone who is black and femme presenting won’t be able to access. 

Even if you are trans, and even if they are cis.

Just please be clear.