Audio - Who Are Your People?

Who Are Your People?

[00:00:00] Hi, my name is Jasmyne, and you're listening to "between starshine and clay."

[00:00:04] The title of this platform pays honor to the inimitable Lucille Clifton, who reminds me that the best is yet to come. If you're hearing this, it means you have shown an interest in my creative practice. Thank you for the gift of your support and your attention.

[00:00:18] Today, I'm offering a recitation of the essay that I published on July 10th, 2024, titled, 'Who Are Your People?'

[00:00:25] It reads: There's a common greeting in organizing circles and among black folks who may be related or know one another's family that goes, 'who are your people?" Those four words ask us to name our kinfolk, who and what we call home, and the people who call us to account when we need it.

[00:00:43] Recently in my Native Mythologies of the Americas class, Dr. Monica Mody asked us to write a creation story for our people. In a moment of synchronicity, not long after that class, a woman I hope to one day call friend asked me what I believe is the best way to go about [00:01:00] attracting the communities we want to build. In essence, I told her to build it, and they will come.

[00:01:05] When I think about the luminaries of myth studies and depth psychology, i. e. Joseph Campbell, C. G. Jung, James Hillman, etc., I understand what it looks like to be utterly driven by a creative impulse or sense of purpose such that it does not matter who or whether anyone likes what you create or thinks it's weird; you must do the work. Cultivating a public creative practice and living as authentically as possible often feels lonely and cringy. But I must do the work and keep faith that I'm the right kind of weird that is lighting a homing beacon.

[00:01:42] Those moments of synchronicity in class and in my DMs recalled that question black folks and organizers ask one another about community:" who are your people?" What follows are my notes from the writing prompt Dr. Mody offered in class and a modified draft of what I shared that [00:02:00] day.

[00:02:00] Prompt: Who are your people? Write a creation story for a world you want to imagine for your people. Ground that story in a physical aspect of the landscape of your people's origin and try to incorporate as many senses as possible.

[00:02:14] My people are the dreamers, the weirdos, those who stare at the sky and imagine wading among the stars. We gather around the hearth to feed one another with love and tall tales of the time before the end of time, when hubris ushered apocalypse to our doorstep, and we harnessed change and intention and magic beyond the brink. We held our hearts and our stories close, protecting ourselves from being torn asunder as the world devoured itself. We are the Wayfarers, children of the Trickster, and we do not fear chaos, for we have one another.

[00:02:48] That concludes "Who Are Your People?" This week's recitation is short and sweet because I am fully in the throes of final term papers and comprehensive exams.

[00:02:59] Before we head out, I want to talk about the term synchronicity that I used early in the essay. It refers to a Jungian concept that explores how events can be related in ways other than cause and effect. Most often, these related events manifest as meaningful coincidences that hold personal significance or symbolic value for individuals.

[00:03:19] Synchronicity is one of my favorite woo concepts, so visit this essay's footnotes at jasmynegilbert.substack.com if you want to learn more. Thank you for listening today. Please share "between starshine and clay" with your loved ones and consider signing up for a paid subscription for only $8 a month.

[00:03:39] Funds from paid subscriptions support the public study and research practice of a Black feminist scholar and cultural -mythologist- that's me, in case you weren't clear- which includes a virtual immersion in myth, culture, and speculative fiction where participants will awaken their creative visions of liberation.

[00:03:57] Enjoy the rest of your week. I look forward to returning to your inbox soon.