Nneka Okona, author of Self-Care for Grief, writes about how travel has been instrumental to Black grief and the bereavement process.
—against the backdrop of a global pandemic that has claimed millions of lives around the world. Black death engulfed me, both from police brutality and the virus. Loved ones slipped away as new statistics were released. In a perpetual state of mourning, my life morphed into something I couldn't recognize.
Mourning comes with a kind of yearning inherently tied to movement. From a guttural, spiritual place, you wish like hell to return to the past. One last phone call. One last hug. One last smile. One last laugh. There is never enough time. But there is travel. There is a pilgrimage to honor those who are no longer with us. There is selecting clothes, folding items, and making arrangements.
The same way a better life moves people elsewhere, death brings people back home. Starting in the 1930s, Black families in the U.S. used Even in the face of danger, we moved, migrated, and showed up. We braved unfamiliar roads to find comfort in the community, too. Maybe that's a reason Black folks call funerals homegoings. Yes, homegoings are a spiritual business, but for those born in other places, it often involves a return to the site of one's first breath.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Community Legal Aid amplifying Black voices with new Black History Month initiativeCommunity Legal Aid is shining a spotlight on Black History Month by allowing their staff members to share their own stories with their Amplifying Black Voices initiative.
Read more »
The Healing: Black men yoga takes shape to combat mental healthTristan Lewis and Andrew Smith started The Healing, a nonprofit aiming to promote mental health and wellness among Black men.
Read more »
Community Education Organization Works To Ensure Dallas Never Forgets Its Black HistoryRemembering Black Dallas is an effort to preserve, present, and promote the footprint of Black life throughout Dallas' dark history of racism and racial segregation and through the communities crafted by former slaves and their descendants.
Read more »
For Black Women, Hopes and Dreams Rest on Biden Court ChoiceBlack women have been buoyed by President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to the court.
Read more »
Economist Susan Collins appointed first Black president of the Federal Reserve Bank of BostonThe Federal Reserve Bank of Boston said Wednesday that it has chosen Susan M. Collins, an economist and administrator at the University of Michigan, as its next president.
Read more »