In-#NAH-guration 2017: A Reflection
Today was... a peculiar day. It was eerily warm. And I witnessed the end of an iconic era as it ushered in a new age of "WYD?!" I've felt a heaviness in the air since November 9. It's been hovering and I feel like it settled in this afternoon. Like, officially. We really elected a bigot Dorito as president. Well, #they did. And here we all are.I am grateful that I was able to witness such an era. I'm grateful that I voted for a Black man that I truly believed in in my first election. I'm grateful to have lived in a country where the First Lady was my mother's sister, as far as I'm concerned. I'm grateful for the honor of volunteering at the Moving Forward rally when he and Auntie FLOTUS came to my alma mater in 2010. I'm grateful to have watched Malia and Sasha grow into such beautiful, poised young women. I'm grateful for what President Obama represented and I'm humbled to have played a part in that rich history. They made the White House tangible. They handled the lovers and the critics with a finesse and a grace that is innate and genetic. They helped me believe in hope, love and movement. They gave us a positive image of family, marriage, class, dignity and pride. 8 years. All of my adult life, I had that to look to. I had that to lean on. That I was represented, and my back was generally had.I'm naturally a crier, so I've filled many buckets between Auntie Chelle's interview with Oprah, Uncle B's farewell address and all the nostalgic photos I've seen over the past several weeks. Remembering all of that, and facing the fact that now, what I got? NATHIN. It's the ultimate downgrade. From my nana's china, to those flimsy ass paper plates that fold under the weight of mac & cheese and the juice from the greens. Everything to nothing. It's all TEW much.So, most of us feel like Celie when Shug took off - we're just seconds from falling out in the dirt. Looking ahead, I am slightly daunted at the cloud that I see. I mean, it is MURKY. But it's up to us to pierce it with light. It came to me several months ago that it's not a coincidence that God placed so many ideas inside my friends and I. And right around the same time, we all started sharing them and vocally acknowledging them. These ideas are all crying out to be watered so they can BLOOM. Everything that we need is already within us - as individuals and as a community. It's up to us to cultivate these seeds and create our own gardens. I'm looking forward to doing that work. I think the days ahead will bring a surprising strengthening and uniting among us, and I look forward to being a branch in that vine. (YES, metaphors!)As for the in-#NAH-guration, I don't know her. Today was January 20th, the day my family left the White House. I'm not sure who's occupying the mansion now. Hope they keep it clean and cute.To my fellow creatives, curators, community leaders and other c-words: let us glow forth. The world needs each of us. Let's bloom.