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The Penniman Sisters

“The Apple Does Not Fall Far from the Tree”

This phrase, derived from elders’ sage reflections and sayings, is steeped in down-home kitchen-table-talk and exchanges over country cooking, nimble fingers quilting or repairing worn clothing, while fussing and discussing life’s woes, joys and mysteries.

Rev. Dr. Adelle Smith-Penniman, the fourth Black clergywoman to be ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister, produced two offspring whose voices and activism have made Mama Adelle proud because their vision has touched so many lives in such extraordinary ways.

Sister Souurce, Inc. salutes Rev. Dr. Adelle’s two amazing daughters, Naima Penniman and Leah Penniman. Both sisters are leaders in the movements for environmental justice and racial, economic and gender equity. They also perform together under the name Climbing PoeTree.

“My people know what it’s like to eat and still be starving. So, we’re turning hardship into harvest, lawns and schoolyards into gardens, homegrown bounty in our palms. We come from soil and stardust. And so, we conjure.” – Naima Penniman

Naima Penniman, Director of Education, invites all pronouns. Naima is a lover of freedom and a justice fighter whose activism is rooted in ancestral courage and perseverance. Naima is a woman married to the land, a powerful griot/storyteller, an artist gifted in multiple genres, community organizer, medicine woman and grower of food, a healer and educator. All these roles and identities catapulted her superhero energy that was destined as a defender of Mother Earth.

Naima has devoted her life’s work to the creative community-building skills necessary to nurture and regenerate humankind in the spirit of communal interdependence. Naima serves as the program director at SOUL FIRE FARM where she teaches and equips Black, Brown and Indigenous farmers with the almost lost skills necessary to reclaim leadership in the food system that repositions them in greater harmony and respect for Mother Earth, as a living breathing entity.

Naima is also the co-founder of WILDSEED, a BIPOC-led, land-based community initiative focused on ecological collaboration, transformative justice, and intergenerational accountability. She is a published author of books that include All We Can SaveWe Are Each Other’s HarvestFarming While Black, and Semillas. Naima is also a mesmerizing poet whose compelling performances, along with her sister, Leah, have inspired countless individuals and movements around the world through their dynamic group performed as Climbing PoeTree. She is an original member of the Black healers collective, HARRIET’S APOTHECARY. She is also founder of the Haitian resilience project, Ayiti Resurrect, a grassroots collective of African-heritage individuals that identify as healers, artists and farmers working with survivors of earthquakes in Haiti. Naima has sought out and fostered collaborative partnerships that promote the healing of Mother Earth, while fostering human growth that emphasizes the love and care for our bodies, the communities that we reside in and beyond, while embracing lineages and descendants, past, present and future.

“Earth has the endless capacity to compost trauma and give us back ourselves, give us back our whole hearts and our whole beings.” – Leah Penniman

Leah Penniman welcomes all pronouns and is a Black Kreyol farmer with multiple identities that include some of the following: mother, farming nerd, author, and food justice activist. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York in 2010. It seeks to “end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land.” It presently consists of 80 acres of integrated crops, livestock and buildings.

As co-executive director and farm director, Leah is part of a visionary team that facilitates powerful food justice programs that include farmer training for Black and Brown people, and a subsidized farm food distribution program for marginalized individuals and families living in communities in food deserts. Her goal is to create equity in the food system.

No stranger to farming, Leah has been playing in the soil since 1996. She holds a Master of Arts degree in science education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental science and international development from Clark University. And she is an active clergy member in the West African Indigenous Orisa tradition.

Leah has benefited from extensive training in the United States, including Many Hands Organic Farm, a farm school in Massachusetts. Her expertise is enhanced from the insights and experiences of international farmers that she trained with in Ghana, Haiti, and Mexico. She also served as a high school biology and environmental science teacher for 17 years.

The work of Leah and Soul Fire Farm has been recognized by several organizations including: the Soros Racial Justice Fellowship, Fulbright Program, Pritzker Environmental Genius Award, Grist 50, and James Beard Leadership Award, among others. Her books, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land (2018) and Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists (2023) are invaluable resources for anyone interested in food justice.

(Source: The information for this post was adapted from an interview by Cara Benson on August 28, 2024, titled “The Legacy of Seeds: An Interview with Leah Penniman”)

Kudos to Naima Penniman and Leah Penniman for standing in their power, living in their purpose and showing up as defenders and protectors of Mother Earth as they teach and model food justice!

– Elder Rev. Dr. Qiyamah A. Rahman

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Staying Abreast in a World on Fire

by Elder Rev. Qiyamah Rahman

Media Entities

More than eighty-four percent of the world’s 595 state-administered media entities in 157 countries were surveyed in a recent report from the Media and Journalism Research Center. The report indicated a lack of editorial independence, meaning most media entities are government operated.

While none of the media entities examined were American based, the American public may need to cast a discerning eye on its own media outlets. The institutional biases of American media tend to produce biased coverage, contributing to the severe information distortion which hinders Americans’ ability to objectively discern the realities of national and world politics.

During times of instability such as we are currently witnessing – increased attacks on democracy, repressive state and federal policies – vigilance is required. How free media is from government influence can determine the state of that government’s democracy. In the face of such controversial issues, short video clips and sound bites are not always a helpful or effective way to become informed about these important and controversial issues.

Cognitive Distortions

Challenging and changing cognitive distortions, i.e., thoughts that cause individuals to perceive reality inaccurately, are not totally the fault of individual Americans. Media biases and so many other factors contribute to cognitive distortions. Consequently, negative thinking patterns reinforce negative emotions and thoughts.

To facilitate my own awareness, I developed a curated list of resources on three topics of interest: Haiti, student protests, and Israel/Palestine. This represents my small effort to identify some of the available progressive sources whose values position human lives above profit, peace above war, and critical thinking above a herd mentality of conformity.

Haiti

Little is known about Ayiti (aka Haiti) except that it is poor and violent. Yet, this nation mired in ongoing crises is just a ninety-minute plane ride from Miami, Florida. In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the island and named it Hispaniola (little Spain). In honor of the indigenous population, Jean Jacques Dessalines renamed the island Ayiti, or Haiti. Haiti was once the wealthiest Caribbean country during its existence as a French colony, when it flourished from its sugar forest industries, made possible with the free labor of enslaved Africans. In 1607, Spain yielded ownership of the western part of the island to France, and that became known as Haiti.

With its then population of 500,000 enslaved Africans, which vastly outnumbered the slave-owning French, the Africans rebelled in 1801 under the leadership of General Toussaint Louverture. In 1804, Haiti became the first independent Black country in the western hemisphere, yet it is now the most impoverished. How is that possible, you might ask? Years of civil unrest, political corruption, social economic crises, food insecurity, AIDS, tuberculosis, cholera, and natural disasters have contributed to Haiti’s poverty and instability. Fast forward to January 12, 2010, when a devastating earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people and injured over 200,000.

The recent assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021 has escalated violence. Additionally, gangs are collaborating to overthrow the remainder of the government, including a prison break of over 4,000 prisoners. In Haiti’s capital, many families have been forced to flee their homes, seeking safety with very few safe places to go.

Haiti’s history is one of resistance, revolt and instability, reflected in its numerous coups and militarization, including US occupation from 1915-1934. A little-known connection between Haiti and African Americans exists. A group of more than 500 Haitians known as Les Chasseurs Volontaires de Savannah fought in the 1779 Battle of Savannah. In October 2009, a memorial was erected to these heroic Haitian soldiers.

Many Haitians settled in Louisiana when the 1791 revolt started in Haiti. In the nineteenth century, Haiti’s legacy as the first Black independent country to achieve independence was a huge inspiration to African Americans in the US. Emigration movements led by Martin Delany and James Theodore Holly encouraged African Americans to move to Haiti. Nearly twenty percent of free Blacks from the north went to Haiti before the Civil War. Unfortunately, many returned due to linguistic and climate differences. The later occupation of Haiti by the US – and their altering of Haiti’s constitution – led the NAACP to denounce these US policies.

Student Protests

Student protests are not new. Student protesters often mirror a society’s social ills and issues writ large. This was evident during the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights era. Journalist Kayla Jimenez assembled an overview of past student protests that mirror present-day student demonstrations.

University of California, Berkeley: Free Speech – In the sixties, students began protesting the University’s limits on political activities and free speech, both during the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War era. According to Jimenez, nearly 800 students were arrested. The University eventually overturned policies that restricted the content of speech or advocacy.

Kent State University, Ohio: Vietnam War – Students gathered on May 2, 1970, to protest the Vietnam War and the US invasion of Cambodia. Two days later, the National Guard fired on the protesters and fatally injured four, wounding several others. Nationwide protests at hundreds of colleges and universities required a closure of these institutions.

Jackson State College, Mississippi: Racial Injustice – On May 15, 1970, just days after the Kent State killings, Jackson police opened fire into the women’s dormitory at Jackson State College, killing two and wounding twelve students.

Nationwide: Apartheid South Africa In 1985, anti-apartheid protests swept campuses across the country. Many students felt strongly about the oppressive system of apartheid in South Africa and demanded that their educational institutions sever ties with groups that supported this ideology. Columbia University was at the center of the protests and was one of the first to divest from business ties with South Africa. They were followed by 155 more universities. The US Congress also passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 to prevent new trade and investment between the US and South Africa.

Israel/Palestine

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) hosted a ninety-minute webinar on November 6, 2023, for religious professionals and congregational leaders titled, “Why We Cannot Turn Away: Resources for UU Leaders Engaging on Israel & Palestine.” While SisterSouurce was not present, we have attempted to provide a curated list of resources for those whose shared desire is to eradicate violence.

In a world driven by profit and greed, it is important that we speak out to end violence and replace it with the message that human lives matter. And while there is no one perspective or analysis within the UU community, what we share are our seven principles that recognize the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings and acknowledge the interdependent web of all existence. We cannot advocate for animal rights, pristine water or air, and not endorse the elimination of genocide and violence.

This webinar includes the voices of many speakers representing a wide range of experiences and identities. Individual presenters represent their own perspectives and opinions, which may differ from those of the UUA. For more about the UUA’s historic and current public statements about Israel/Palestine, please see our page UUA Statements, Public Writings, and Community Conversations on Palestine/Israel.

CURATED LIST OF RESOURCES

Articles

Bogues, Anthony. “Haiti: A Saga of Democracy, Sovereignty and State Rule.” Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs. Brown University. July 12, 2021. https://watson.brown.edu/clacs/news/2021/haiti-saga-democracy-sovereignty-and-state-rule-anthony-bogues

Godin, Jake, “How State Media Became a Weapon of Information Warfare.” Scripps News. July 18, 2017. https://www.scrippsnews.com/world/how-state-media-became-a-weapon-of-information-warfare

Lauren Kelly, “Blinken calls for Hamas to accept “extraordinarily generous” cease-fire deal.” The Hill. April 29, 2024. https://thehill.com/policy/international/4629393-blinken-hamas-israel-generous-ceasefire-deal/

Mines, Keith. “There is a Path Forward in Haiti – But It’s Not the One We Are On.” United States Institute of Peace. June 29, 2023. www.usip.org

Godin, Jake. “How State Media Became a Weapon of Information Warfare.” Scripps News. July 18, 2017. https://www.scrippsnews.com/world/how-state-media-became-a-weapon-of-information-warfare

Reports

A Brief Background to Conflict in Haiti. Collaborative Learning Projects. www.collaborative.orghttps://www.cdacollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/A-Brief-Background-to-Conflict-in-Haiti.pdf

Hands Off Haiti. Progressive International. https://progressive.international/wire/2022-10-22-hands-off-haiti/en

Haiti: Conflict Analysis 2023. Carleton University. https://carleton.ca/cifp/2023/haiti-conflict-diagnostic-2023/

The State of State Media: A Global Analysis of the Editorial Independence of State Media Based on the State Media Matrix (2022). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364289716_the_state_of_state_media_a_global_analysis_of_the_editorial_independence_of_state_media_based_on_the_state_media_matrix_2022_edition

Videos

“Police Storm Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, arrest protesters: Shocking footage.” https://thehill.com/video/police-storm-columbia’s-hamilton-hall-arrest-protesters-shocking-footage/9655327/

“Unbelievably Dangerous: Journalist describes chaotic scenes at site of UCLA Protest.” https://thehill.com/video/unbelievably-dangerous-journalist-describes-chaotic-scenes-at-site-of-ucla-protest/9655537/

“Whoopi Goldberg warns media to tread lightly on campus protests.” https://thehill.com/video/whoopi-goldberg-warns-media-to-tread-lightly-on-campus-protests/9655591/

Websites

Center for Disaster Philanthropy. www.disasterphilanthropy.org

Institute of Haitian Studies, The University of Kansas College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. www.haitianstudies.ku.edu

Children of the Nations. www.cotni.org

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Recovery – Struggling to Grasp the Positive in a Violent World

Happy New Year! Happy birthday, Dr. King! And here we are in Black History Month! We at Sister Souurce, Inc. took a break to recover from the physical, psychological, and spiritual exhaustion of 2023. While there were many joys, there were also challenges – personal and societal – that tested our resilience. Twenty twenty-three will be remembered for different reasons but most of all, I hope to embrace the lessons I’m still pondering.

I sit at my desk thinking about a simple Buddhist saying to get me through the heartbreak of world affairs. “Families are filled with ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows.” It is not my biological family, but the human family that I think of as I contemplate these words. In these times when the world feels like it’s on fire, I must remember that the human family is filled with thousands of joys and sorrows. Why must I focus on the negative?

There are those who turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the pain and suffering occurring around them. There are those who spew hatred, act out of the lower energies of anger, hate, frustration, greed, envy, jealousy, and violence. These individuals and groups contribute to the detriment of the world. There are those who care deeply about humanity and wish to promote freedom, justice and equality – who continue to be hopeful and act in ways that model change. They may be associated with faith traditions, or not. On the other hand, I believe there is a growing group of individuals that once identified as, let’s call them “progressives,” that believe humankind has lost its humanity, its sense of what it means to be human – the capacity to empathize, the ability to control emotions and to practice critical thinking and decision-making. I’m less judgmental of them now because I’m beginning to doubt humankind’s ability to transform. Masses of people continue to accept the tyranny of the minority that places profit before human lives. When the world appears to have gone mad, what do we do?

I am emotionally and spiritually tired. I’m growing cynical and defeated. I search for the positive while I try to hold the weight of the world on my shoulders and those suffering in my heart. My heart breaks for the millions around the world being oppressed and mistreated. So, instead of complete withdrawal from humanity, I recall my re-evaluation co-counseling partner, Horace Williams, a 90-year-old Catholic, who told me about a non-profit organization committed to supporting Israel’s only intentional Arab-Jewish village. The Neve Shalom/What Al-Salam community (Arabic and Hebrew for Oasis of Peace) was founded by Father Bruno Hussar in 1970 with seventy families. Half were Jewish and half were Palestinian – all were Israeli citizens. Located an equal distance from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaff, the residents stated goals of equality, democracy, and peace to guide them in their endeavors. I wonder how they’re doing in the midst of this horrendous atrocity on both sides – this village that committed to govern collectively as they worked and played together prior to October 7, 2023? In days past, they collectively enjoyed programs that included a primary school, a school for peace, The Spiritual Center and Oasis Art Gallery, and the Humanitarian Aid Program and Youth Club.

Haled, a person who has early memories of the village community reminisces about his childhood days. He has since moved from What al-Salam-Neve Shalom to live in Haifa. He commented that when he left the village he learned about racism, among other things.

He says, “The most important thing I got here [the village] was an ability to understand the other side … I can put myself into another’s shoes, and that is useful. If I had been born Jewish in this country, I would have served in the army; in Gaza I would belong to Hamas. When I speak with someone from Kiryat Malachi [a southern district in Israel] I know how to overturn that mantra in his head that says – they are like this, they are like that.”

Rawnak Natour, a civil rights activist who focuses on equality in employment and education, while advocating to end discrimination against minorities, serves as co-executive director of veteran New Israel Fund grantee, Sikkuy – The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, a shared organization of Arabs and Jews in Israel. She seeks to effect change in government ministries, public agencies, local authorities and among the public, and to encourage better government policies toward Arab citizens while creating a new reality of a shared and equal society.

She says, “Every day, the village gives us proof that building knowledge and trust is essential if we really want to reach agreement at the end of the day. It gives us proof that peace is possible.”

As I struggle to regain my perspective amid current world affairs, I invite you to offer up what you do to stay sane and centered during such devastating events. I close with the following quote:

Outside the Circle of Care

“The ground is shifting beneath our feet. Old truths are falling away. Old stories are collapsing … A movement, led by Black people and young people but welcoming to all races, gender identities, religions and generations, has done the work of imagining a radically different and more beautiful world, and they are already fighting for it.” ~ Naomi Klein, journalist and author – Ware Lecturer, Unitarian Universalist General Assembly 2020

Warmest regards,

Elder Rev. Qiyamah A. Rahman

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“War is humanity’s ultimate failure.”

“It is not just the failure of one nation over another, it is not just the failure of one leader over another, and it is not simply the failure of one diplomatic strategy over another. It is the failure of us all.”

The news of the conflict between Israel and Palestine is devastating. Whether I have friends and colleagues in or from either country is not the issue. Neither is it a matter of choosing sides. There are men and women, mothers and children, elderly and disabled people – on  both sides – who are suffering and dying.

In my despair, I came to wonder how many places in the world there are human beings at war with one another. According to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Conflict Tracker, there are currently twenty-seven ongoing conflicts worldwide; 2 billion people currently live in conflict-affected regions. In her 2022 Global Citizen article, “13 Heartbreaking Facts About Ongoing Conflicts Around the World,” Tess Lowery outlined the three categories of conflicts as identified by the Council: worsening, unchanging and improving. I would agree with the Council’s classification of the conflict between Israel and Palestine as “worsening.”

The United Nations stated that “peace is more under threat around the world than it has been since WWII.” The most vulnerable among us, i.e., women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, are disproportionately affected, and are often referred to as collateral damage. That is, they were not the intended targets, but were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Tragically, “One child dies every ten minutes in Yemen,” according to a 2021 United Nations report.

Prevailing notions of patriarchy also exacerbate the vulnerability of women during wartime.  This culturally perceived dominance of men over women puts women at greater risk of experiencing sexual violence. Acts of rape, one of the most common violations against women during wartime, is a most brutal expression of male dominance. Women’s bodies are weaponized as instruments of war. For example, the intentional raping of women in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Rwanda was part of a military strategy to emotionally demoralize the opposition.

Rev. Lee Barker’s observations on UUism and the struggle for peace appear in the anthology, In Time of Need: Sermons & Essays from the Meadville Lombard Theological School Community. While Rev. Barker’s sermon, “War is Humanity’s Ultimate Failure” focuses on Iraq, his observations apply equally today:

The news from Iraq can be heart[-]stopping. But it doesn’t have to defeat our spirits, not if we are willing to act in a manner that is suggested by this great religious tradition of ours [Unitarian Universalism]. Hope will come to all of those who make a room in our church for persons of each and every opinion. Peace will come to those who open a place in our church for people of every stripe. There is a better way of dealing with human difference. In our church we can both prove it and make some peace with a warring world … If we are going to paint for ourselves a new, complete world, then we’d better be prepared to put together a reflection of that new complete world, in our lives, in our here-and-now lives. And if we are searching for that new, peaceful world where people of difference are reconciled to one another, despite those differences, then we’d better be prepared to put together a personal world where we are so reconciled to those who are different from us.

Some who supported the Iraq war were present in the audience when he preached the above sermon. Addressing those parishioners, Barker stated: “In my life you represent humanity’s best hope for peace for you are here. In this church, worshipping in a place where you are the distinct minority.”

While Barker’s sermon was delivered eighteen years ago and focused on Iraq, it is equally relevant today, given the Israel-Palestinian conflict. We pray for peace in the world, and the day when people of all nations can get along. As Unitarian Universalists, we recognize that warfare kills, maims and devastates not only human lives, but also destabilizes a country’s economy, causing increased poverty.

Let us pray and work for peace in the world! May it be so and blessed be!

Rev. Dr. Qiyamah A. Rahman

• • •

SOURCES:

Lee Barker, “Making Peace with a Warring World,” in In Time of Need: Sermons & Essays from the Meadville Lombard Theological School Community. 1st ed. Meadville Lombard Reader 2005. Edited by Tina Porter, (Chicago: Meadville Lombard Press, 2006), 74.

Christina Lamb. Our Bodies, Their Battlefields: War Through the Lives of Women (New York: Scribner, 2020).

Lowery, Tess. “13 Heartbreaking Facts About Ongoing Conflicts Around the World.” Global Citizen. April 1, 2022. www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/facts-about-world-conflicts.

UNICEF USA. “Remarks on the situation in Yemen” by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore at the 8840th meeting of the UN Security Council 23.

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Blessings to Our Newly Ordained Ministers October 2023

The new church year always brings a burst of busyness and excitement for me. I am occupied trying to discern what if any new trends are surfacing among our congregations, ministers and leaders. For many congregations August ushered in the arrival of newly settled ministers. For others, congregational staff have been busy over the summer reviewing and refreshing, some evaluating the resulting attrition from the pandemic and busy breathing vitality into congregational life. Perhaps worship has been tweaked and the liturgy now includes new components or maybe some elements have been removed. If you are lucky, growth required a new way of doing joys and concerns. If you are among the congregations that had to downsize to part time ministry, or no minister, or to reduce the number of services, there will be some push back and adjustments to the changes.

Ordination

Leaving behind the safety of familiar practices and dealings within ministry, we recognize that while only the Ministerial Fellowship Committee (MFC) can grant preliminary fellowship, congregational polity allows UU congregations the right to ordain whomever they deem worthy. We are pleased and proud to recognize five newly ordained ministers into our midst. It is my honor and pleasure to welcome the following individuals into the small and distinguished body of Black UU clergy women. Your hard work and dedication have qualified you to assume the title of Reverend, Pastor, Minister as conveyed by the MFC.

• • •

We speak your names:

Rev. Petra Thombs

Rev. Jane Davis

Rev. Latifah Griffin

Rev. Althea Smith

Rev. Dianne Daniels

• • •

Blessing

May your ministries be long and fruitful.

May you know your value and worth.

May your vision guide your passion and your wisdom direct your path.

May you be unencumbered by life’s distractions as you bring the best of yourselves to your ministries.

Ministry can be a lonely calling as our new UUA President, Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt recently reminded us at Rev. Chris Long’s powerful ordination ceremony. She stated, “There is a loneliness that lives at the center of our callings.”

May you nurture supportive environments filled with friends, family, self-care and spiritual practices that balance your callings.

We welcome you! We welcome all of who you are and all that you will share.

May it be so and Blessed Be!

Rev. Qiyamah A. Rahman

• • •

(Sometimes a lay led congregation will ordain an individual that has been functioning in a ministerial role. I have known instances when a lay person was ordained so that they could perform weddings, memorial services and represent the congregation in public functions. I have met some fine Commissioned Lay Ministers. But that is not the case here. I will talk more about that in a future post.)

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Awareness Leads to Action: Reflections on Cuba June 2023

In 1972 I traveled to Cuba under the auspices of the Venceremos Brigade, an international organization focused on solidarity with the Cuban people. Most recently I returned to Cuba on April 23 – May 7, 2023, fifty-one years later under the auspices of the National Network on Cuba (NNC). I had the opportunity to revisit Cuba as a Unitarian Universalist minister, activist and historian. I engaged in a fact-finding trip with the intention of presenting the information upon my return.

The most harmful policy I soon learned is the six-decades blockade that has created harsh conditions and imposed immense suffering on the Cuban people and its government.  The sixty-year blockade has essentially become an act of genocide and includes:

  • Limitations and access to credit to Cuba in order to maintain control of the distribution of energy and fuel and other essential services;
  • Foreign banks’ denial of services to Cuba. European banks are afraid of doing business with Cuba and incurring fees for violating US sanctions. Those that do are imposed high interest rates;
  • Insecurity in food availability–rice and milk, two staples, have increased in cost by 80%;
  • Medical services are stretched and a shortage of medical supplies exists;
  • Loss of tourism and recently slow recovery in tourism;
  • Sugar cane industry and markets drastically impacted by the blockade. Cuba has to sell its sugar cane at very low prices since it lost it natural market, the US, after the revolution and agrarian reform;
  • Shortages and lack of raw materials exist as a result of the blockade; if a ship makes port in Cuba they are fined by the US;
  • Lack of access to international scholarships to train scientists and other professionals due to the blockade;
  • Inability to obtain payment by venders abroad due to blockade; and
  • Fuel, oil, and equipment shortages.

Despite the severity of the blockade the Cubans have been able to accomplish some of the following:

  • Highest ratio of doctors to patients in the world–every community has a doctor and a nurse;
  • Almost complete elimination of illiteracy;
  • One of the lowest rates of infant mortality in the world;
  • Health care and education are free;
  • Sugar cane industry has diversified to include bio products, animal feed, sanitizer, rum and medicinal gels;
  • Only 8,530 deaths occurred over four years due to COVID-19 or 0.17% (the world’s rate of deaths is 1.54%);
  • Unemployment rate is 1.5%;
  • Five vaccines manufactured by Cuba have been created but not recognized because of the blockade–three are injected and two are breathed through the nose. The fatality rate from COVID-19 is the lowest in all of Latin America. 98% of people have been vaccinated, including children;
  • Life expectancy in Cuba is 78 years old;
  • Cuba’s Latin American School of Medicine, established in 1999, provides a tuition-free medical education to applicants. The only condition is graduates must commit to practice medicine in poor and underserved communities after graduation. Two hundred and twenty of its graduates are currently working within the US healthcare system without the crippling burden of medical school student loan debt;
  • An extension of the country’s internationalism is its health care ambassadorship which sends doctors and other healthcare workers to the world’s most underserved areas. They are currently serving in 32 different countries around the world; and
  • Cuba recently updated its Constitutions Family Code that now recognizes same sex marriages and other family structures previously excluded from the benefits of marriage.

Cubans possess an unrelenting tenacity despite the hardships suffered due to the economic blockade. Furthermore, they welcome solidarity with Americans such as our delegation. They distinguish between the aggressive policies of the US government and individuals who desire to promote peace and solidarity between the two countries. The Cubans have experienced immense suffering because of the sixty-year blockage. COVID-19, combined with US sanctions has been devastating to Cuba. The US government has used the blockade to try to destroy the Cuban people and to prevent the success of socialism. However, I believe the right of a people to self-determination and sovereignty should not be dictated by the US. In addition to the blockade the US has unjustifiably placed Cuba on a list of state-sponsored terrorists. It appears that the US has no immediate plans to relinquish its chokehold over the Cuban people. We must realize that the Cuban people have a right to a socialist Cuba and to declare their form of government without fear of repercussions.

It is impossible to fully relay what I observed and the amazing accomplishments this tiny island of about 11 million has achieved despite an illegal and immoral economic blockade for over 60 years.

The country could do so much more, and the people of the United States and the rest of the world would benefit, if the blockade–a relic of the cold war–were ended. Removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and returning Guantanamo Bay back to the island as a piece of its sovereign land would demonstrate the desire to re-establish peaceful relations between Cuba and the U.S.

Recently the DC council voted on and passed a resolution to end the over 60-year US blockade against Cuba. This sentiment represents a growing international movement. Of 193 United Nations members, 185 voted to condemn the blockade last year. The only two dissenting votes were the US and Israel.

Conclusion

The Cuban people are making a great effort to survive an economic crisis that is unparalleled. Solidarity with the Cuban people is on the rise. Even the majority of Cuban Americans oppose the blockade. Attempts by the US to undermine the cultural identity of Cuba are unacceptable and represent acts of aggression. The approach to the big problems of the world cannot be resolved with hostility and aggression. There is no basis for such extreme policies such as the six-decades blockade.

The spirit of independence of the Cuban people will not be swayed by acts of aggression or other forms of intimidation by the US government. We should be building bridges of communication instead of animosity among our respective populations. Tension and conflict characterize the current relationship between Cuba and the US. It is not a crime to be a proud, industrious, and resilient nation.

It is our hope that Unitarian Universalists will affirm our role as a beacon of justice and join efforts condemning the blockade against Cuba, the removal of Cuba from the state-sponsored terrorists list and the return of Guantanamo Bay to Cuba. For information about mobilization efforts in Washington on June 25, 2023 demanding the end to the Cuban blockade visit National Network on Cuba. Please write President Joe Biden requesting immediate attention to these demands at: President Joe Biden, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20500.

Featured image above: Nubia Kai, Chas Simmons and Qiyamah A. Rahman (self-named “Detroit Posse”) at an organic farm during their May 2023 International Tour with the National Network on Cuba.

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Participants in the May 2023 International Tour with the National Network on Cuba

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In My Sisters’ Gardens: Women’s History Month March 2023

Suggestions for things you can do for your Congregation and Region during Women’s History Month:

  • If you do not already know about or have a membership in these organizations, contact them to subscribe and lend your support to UU women.
    Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation (https://www.uuwf.org/ email: uuwf@uuwf.org)
    Unitarian Universalist Women’s History and Heritage Society is now part of The UU Studies Network (https://www.uustudiesnetwork.org/womens-history/)
  • Visit the National Women’s History Alliance website for additional information about women’s contributions to our cultural heritage, at https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org
  • Research the accomplishments of UU women and create a sermon or talk highlighting these accomplishments.
  • Plan intergenerational events in your covenant or small groups sponsoring discussions or forums about women’s contributions and related issues.
  • Host a party to celebrate the contributions of women and invite local community groups. This creates an opportunity to build relationships with your local battered women’s shelter, women’s centers, women scholars, activists and clergy, along with social justice groups focused on women’s issues.
  • Start a women’s group if your congregation doesn’t currently have one.
  • Purchase books about UU women from inSpirit, the UUA Bookstore and Gift Shop https://www.uuabookstore.org/ and place them in your congregational library. Or if your congregation doesn’t currently have a library, start one.
  • Research your church archives to discover the women who have been important to your congregation’s history. Then lead oral histories among your charter and senior members discussing these and other women who have contributed to the well-being and life of your congregation. Document this information as part of your congregational history and host additional discussions with this focus.
  • You can contribute letters, papers and special artifacts regarding significant women in your congregation to Meadville Lombard Theological School https://www.meadville.edu/. You can also contribute to several different Women’s Archives or the Sankofa Archives regarding histories of historically marginalized women.
  • Prepare for next year’s Women’s History Month using the above suggestions for an outstanding tribute to UU women and all the women who have helped inspire us and make our lives better!
  • Have a look at our informative “Tending to Unitarian Universalist Women’s Ministries” (from a Black women’s perspective) to find out something you may not have known. Click here to download the PDF: Tending to UU Women’s Ministries
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Next Level Thinking for Our Breakthrough Year February 2023

I have declared the year 2023 as my year of fearless living. That, in itself, would make it a breakthrough year. I have been working on attracting the energies of fearlessness and boldness of spirit. Numerous experiences confirm that I am moving in the right direction to heal some of the experiences that have prevented me from living my best life. Initially, the words “trauma” and “brokenness” surfaced to describe my experiences. Because I am striving to be mindful of the power of words, I declined to use them in this post to describe myself. However, I want you, the reader, to benefit from lessons that have taken me many years to internalize. Remember Tony Robbins’ admonition that the words we habitually use and attach to our experiences become our story. I have talked about my trauma and brokenness all my life. It is time to do the work to heal.

Recently, I attempted to get online to begin my day. However, I discovered that my WIFI connection was down! I almost panicked until I recalled the steps the IT person walked me through when this previously occurred. I quieted a mind that was already racing into panic mode. I reminded myself, “What is the worst thing that can happen if my efforts don’t succeed, and I have to contact the IT person?” Remembering the steps, I proceeded to disconnect everything – the power source, battery – everything! To my pleasant surprise, after reconnecting everything and waiting a few minutes, my WIFI was restored.

Often, in the face of life’s challenges, we must get still (rather than panic) to disconnect and, with a renewed spirit of boldness and confidence, proceed anew. The energy that is normally channeled into a fear reaction is redirected to allow creative problem-solving. How would we know and experience a different reaction if our default is panic? Many of us have been beaten down by life; when we feel overwhelmed, a sense of powerlessness can easily overtake us. Before we know it, we find our thoughts and emotions spiraling down the rabbit hole of doubt and insecurity. When we do this, we have triggered the law of attraction, and not in a good way. Just as our positive thoughts attract like thoughts, our negative thoughts attract like thoughts. I invite you to shift your behavior and install some stopgaps before you hit freefall, before you panic, before you give up on the life you want for yourself – the life you convince yourself you cannot have. You know the script: “I can’t have (fill in the blank) because I am (fill in the blank).” As I did when my WIFI went down, remember to disconnect, and reinstall. Reinstall positive thoughts. Declare a spirit of boldness.

Following are some steps that are endorsed by master coaches such as Tony Robbins and others, that I have found useful over time.

  • You must know what you want and where you are going. So, get clear on what you want and where you want your life to go. Speak the words; hold them in your mind. Envision what your life would be like with (fill in the blank). Start focusing – even obsessing! – on the thing(s) you desire. In my earlier years, I extensively used visualization as a tool to focus my energy to manifest my goals. Visualization is the use of images and visuals to harness the energy of creative thought in manifesting goals. Treasure maps, vision boards and collages are ways to practice visualization. When visualization is combined with affirmations, meditation, and prayer, these become even more powerful ways to direct the brain’s energies toward the intended goal(s).
  • Affirmations are positive self-talk to retrain the brain and to harness energy toward a particular focus. In working to eliminate a belief that I was not enough and therefore, not good enough, my affirmation was, “I am more than good enough to experience all my good.” Another was, “Today in every way I am getting better and better.”
  • Focus on the feelings of joy, gratitude, and peace that you will experience when (fill in the blank) is in your life. Tony Robbins reminded viewers that “Thought plus feelings = outcome.” We are powerful individuals whose innate drive is to create. While we are busy complaining about what we don’t have, our energy is going toward that. Robbins suggests an exercise asking, “What was a dream in your life that seemed impossible at a time, but is in your life today? How did it happen?” Get busy reclaiming the power and energy that allowed you to manifest your dream! Pay attention to what is working in your life. What happened to manifest your success?
  • Examine your beliefs. Our beliefs are the stories we tell ourselves. Robbins reminds us, “Change your story and you will change your life.” One of the things that keeps us from getting what we really want is the stories we keep telling ourselves about why we don’t and can’t have (fill in the blank). In his podcast Robbins reminds us that our beliefs have the power to create as well as destroy. We must be vigilant and remain in charge of our beliefs. According to Robbins, we must crush the limiting belief systems that get in our way. We must delete stories of limitation and lack, the oppressive patterns that prevent us from living our best lives.
  • One of the ways to live our best lives according to Robbins is to rewire our thinking. If we don’t rewire our thinking, nothing will be different, and we will continue to do the same things and expect different results. And we know what that is! Insanity! What have been your limiting belief(s)? Ask yourself, “What does this limiting belief system cost me?” Some other questions Robbins provided: “What is total bull shit about this belief system?” “Why is it not true?” and “What is the truth, that is, the opposite truth that would set me free?”

Now that you possess some basic tools, it is time to annihilate your old “truths” or, more accurately, lies masquerading as truth. Robbins reminds us that the words we attach to our story about who we are literally become who we are. The words we habitually use and attach to our experiences become our story. Eliminate the words and negative emotions that do not serve you. Let your life work for you. When things are going badly, don’t get stressed out. Get up, dust yourself off, reload, recalibrate and in Robbins’ words, “Go all out for the attack and annihilate the problem.” This man is a beast when it comes to personal growth. He lets nothing stand in the way of changing for the better. Remember, in many instances we are fighting for our lives; lives stolen from us that we can reclaim. Les Brown, motivational speaker and author states, “You gotta be hungry!”

Robbins utilizes several questions to move participants towards their goals. One question was particularly insightful for me, “What does the best year of your life look like?” Images of love, travel, romance, writing and publishing, family time, and consulting all surfaced in my responses. “Where are you?” and “Where do you want to go?” made me anticipate his next question, “How are you going to get there?” Dreaming is not enough!

Investing in the most important asset – ourselves – before we leave here to create a legacy is a constant theme of mine. Changing our stories and belief patterns can create a compelling future reassuring us our existence made a difference. To be successful, we must be consistent. We need to believe we deserve joy, abundance, and love.

As I embark on 2023, coming up on 75 years of living on this planet, I am mindful of the principles of the master trainings I’ve attended, and the wisdom of coaches I have sat with over my many years. As an elder, it is time that I employ what Robbins calls, “Massive Action” – that is, stepping up and doing the things I am most afraid of. He reminds us that Big Actions net Big Results. Dreaming is not enough!

It is not enough to understand or know – I, you, we – must change our thinking and conditioning. Are you ready? Set? Go!

Rev. Q

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Reflections on a New Year January 2023

Happy New Year!

While such rigorous exploration of my interior landscape is possible at any time, aligning myself with the construct of the calendar year puts me in a harmonious space that promotes a higher energy, thus inviting rebirth, renewal, and recalibration. The calendar year provides me with the structure of a designated time to formulate goals and ideas, to check progress – or lack thereof – and to adjust if necessary. Both the concept of time travel, and the recognition that master teachers have long deemed time a mere construct, reinforce the notion that I am not limited to January. I can engage in this process whenever and wherever needed. Taking advantage of the calendar year works for me. For several years, I would walk for miles in the rainforests of St. Croix on my birthday, enjoying the solitude of my thoughts and the majesty of nature. Many people do something similar on their birthdays or other anniversaries.

While many folks now consider new year’s resolutions passe, I continue to derive benefits from the symbolic ritual of taking a deep dive into my life. For me, using the ending of one year and the beginning of another is not just a perfunctory verbalization of the statement, “out with the old and in with the new.” It is a time to do some serious soul-searching. I begin by asking myself questions like, “What is the state of my soul? What shall I claim in this new year? What shall I leave behind? What have I learned that stretched me and grew my soul? What broke my heart? What terrified me? What brought me joy?” Countless other questions push me into my fears and doubts, my brokenness, and my complacency, yet they also take me closer to my places of wholeness. Learning how to remain fully present without taking in additional trauma while healing from past distresses has been a huge challenge.  

In a past television comedy whose name I no longer remember, the characters greeted one another with the words, “How ya living?” As I conclude 2022, a year filled with so much joy and pain, and step into a new one filled with endless possibilities, I get to ask myself, “How ya living?” Of course, my heart automatically and lovingly responds with Dr. Phil’s famous line, “And how’s that working for you?” Well, some of it is and some of it is not! So, I will continue to utilize the New Year’s tradition to cavort through my conscious and unconscious mind spaces, reveling in the marvelous belief that I can create the life I dream of when I believe that it requires my active participation. And what better way to do so than to make a date with myself every year to proclaim my victories, mourn my regrets, and announce to myself and the world that I am here – still standing, still growing! 

Happy New Year! Elder Rev. Q

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“The Woman King” Film Review October 2022

by Rev. Qiyamah A. Rahman

The Woman King tells a fictionalized story of the Agojie, (pronounced ah go gee), an all-female military regiment in Dahomey, now known as the Republic of Benin, in West Africa. The Agojie existed in the 1800s, and were renowned for their bravery, grueling training, and skillful fighting. They represented the last line of defense between an enemy and the King, thus they were prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect him.

Some of the women that were conscripted into the ranks of the Agojie were throw-aways – women considered unmarriageable because they could not be controlled, those with “bad manners,” and girls that were not deferential or feminine enough. While these women were not subject to the same cultural norms for women of that time, they were governed by rules to which their male warrior counterparts were not subjected. According to Sylvia Serbin, author of the book, The Women Soldiers of Dahomey, the Agojie began their training as teens. While celibacy was not a requirement for male soldiers, the Agojie were not allowed to marry or have children. They lived their lives apart from their people behind a walled enclosure in the King’s palace. When the Agojie were in public, the people were required to avert their eyes.

While the movie is heavily dramatized, the Agojie warriors did, in fact, exist. However, the film takes some liberties, beginning with the main character. Nanisca, the general of the Agojie played by Viola Davis, is not based on a real character, yet Davis brings this fictional gladiator to life with the honed skill of her craft. At 57 years of age, Davis masterfully performs over ninety percent of her rigorous stunts. Her performance expertly juxtaposes the fierce warrior with the woman who ultimately faces her demons, and discovers the collateral beauty born of her brutal rape.

So, what is historically accurate? The Agojie warriors represent the only documented front-line female soldiers in modern warfare history. At one time, the Agojie numbered 6,000, and existed for over a century. The last known surviving Agojie woman, Nawi, was interviewed a year before her death in 1979 at over 100 years old. Nawi is played in The Woman Kingby Thuso Mbedu, a South African actress who was nominated for an international Emmy for her role in the drama series Is’Thunzi. She also starred in the Amazon limited series, The Underground Railroad.

The character King Ghezo, played by John Boyega, ruled over the Dahomey Empire from 1818 to 1859. He came to power when he replaced his brother Adandozan, who ruled from 1797 to 1818. The coup to bring King Ghezo to the throne was successful due to assistance from the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Felix de Sousa. This provides a glimpse into the complicity of the Dahomey people, who participated in the slave trade along with their archenemies, the Oyo people.

Although King Ghezo was a young and inexperienced King, he demonstrated a radical inclusiveness not only with his acceptance of General Nanisca’s counsel, but also by welcoming the participation of females in his cabinet. In his book, Black Women of Antiquity, John Henrik Clarke comments, “Africans had produced a way of life where men were secure enough to let women advance as far as their talents would take them.” The Dahomey society did in fact hold a progressive view of women, and evidence of this is demonstrated in the presence of a woman King.

The film does acknowledge the Dahomey Empire’s participation in perpetuating chattel slavery among their own people and other tribes. What is not revealed in the movie is that Dahomey continued to engage in the slave trade even after both the French and English had abolished slavery (in 1794 and 1833, respectively).

While the Dahomians never ceased their slave trade, during King Ghezo’s rule, the human sacrifice of slaves was abolished, and the death penalty for certain non-fatal offenses, such as adultery, was eliminated. Furthermore, King Ghezo discontinued the trade of Dahomians, which had occurred under his brother’s rule. In the movie, Viola Davis’ character, Nanisca, encourages King Ghezo to cease the trade of humans, and to instead invest in palm oil production to generate revenues.

Oyeronke Oyebanji, a Nigerian public health professional, states in her recent review of the movie: “The sad truth is that the Dahomey people built their kingdom’s massive wealth by capturing and selling other human beings long after the British declared the slave trade to be illegal.”

The movie depicts this ugly truth but presents such compelling dramatization of the Agojie fighting the French and the Oyo people that the duplicitous nature of the Dahomians is minimized. While the Dahomey Empire’s battles against the Oyo Empire were real and illustrated their long-time enmity, the fact that both Empires participated in the selling of their people is downplayed.

Critics

Critics boycotting the movie cite several concerns. One such viewpoint is that the Agojie were violent, and do not deserve to be valorized. One critic stated the movie is “nothing more than two hours of Black women murdering Black men.” It is important to note that different cultural lenses create vastly different interpretations. Africans viewing the film see tribal wars between the Dahomey Empire and the Oyo Empire. African Americans, applying a cultural construct based on different realities, perceive a gender war, not tribal wars. African American critics seem to have reduced the ancient enmity between two powerful empires to race and gender, thus ignoring African cultural mores.

Other critics have stated that the film is a propaganda tool of feminists. These African American critics are applying a cultural perspective that emerged out of the theoretical conflicts between Black feminists and Black nationalists. Many Black women in the 1960s did not participate in the white women’s movement because of white women’s inherent racism, and due to white women’s failure to prioritize racism over sexism. Their failure to understand that while Black women suffered from sexism from Black men, Black women and their families, which included men, also suffered from white supremacy. They were therefore committed to work in concert with Black men and their communities, rather than to separate from them as many white feminists were wont to do.

Black women who embraced feminism and womanism instead chose to call Black men on their bullshit. Black feminists were comfortable with casting their Black gaze on the violence against Black women committed by Black men along with other forms of sexism. When movies like The Color Purple and Waiting to Exhale debuted, many Black men and women felt Hollywood was legitimizing the attack on Black men, thereby using the media to humiliate and debase Black men. These same critics view The Woman King as “Hollywood theater propaganda targeting an audience of feminists.”

While film can be used to reach a wide audience to inform, inspire change, and promote cultural norms, it can also promote and foster negative cultural beliefs. Hence, nationalists often view strong independent Black women that challenge Black men as ball-busters committed to destroying Black men. Some of the same critics assert that the film’s white writers and producers are subtly fostering hatred and rivalry between Black men and women. They point to Nansica’s archrival. While they focus on the fact that he is a Black African, they fail to recognize that he is an Oyo, the hated enemy that has overpowered the Dahomey people for years. While some feminists see a Black female sexual assault survivor and a Black male rapist at odds, and Black nationalists see rivalry between Black men and women, many Africans and African Americans see two competing and historically antagonistic empires competing for dominance.

Other critics point to the fact that Viola Davis was the producers’ second choice to play Nanisca, the Agojie general. Their first choice, Lupita Nyong’o, refused the role after traveling to Benin and conducting research that revealed the Agojie warriors were brutal to their people. For the movie’s supporters, however, this knowledge did not warrant sufficient reason to boycott the film.

Some of the same critics maintain that Hollywood should not be in the business of telling Black history. And that may be a valid criticism. However, a documentary is very different from a feature film based on true life. Hollywood has long been accused of mixing too much fiction with reality and is guilty of distorting history when exercising their white privilege to narrate Africans’ history.

Still other critics point to the feminist plot in the narrative. Boyce Watkins, an African American author, political analyst, and social influencer notes that he is all about girl power but asserts that the movie is theater propaganda that targets an audience of white and Black feminists, and LGBTQ. Watkins points to a “gender war” that is subtly being waged.

Let’s be clear. This is not a documentary. Hollywood is not in the business of producing Black or African documentaries. I personally liked the movie and was intrigued enough to do my own research to determine how much of it was based on historical fact and how much was fiction. I liked the diverse cast that included African Americans, South Africans, West Africans, and Londoners. I enjoyed the action of the fight scenes and the glimpses into the lives of the Agojie.

Viola Davis was recently interviewed about the film and her preparation. She recounted her journey to learn about and understand the Agojie by watching videos and reading books. One of her comments speaks volumes about her role in this and other outstanding performances. She states, “A life is measured by the footprints one leaves behind.”

Viola Davis and the cast of The Woman King are leaving behind some powerful, poignant, and profound footprints!

Note: The Woman King premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and debuted in the US on Friday, September 16. The Woman King was produced and directed by Maria Bellow and Cathy Schulman, written by Dana Stevens with contributions by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and Basketball), and produced by Tri Star Pictures, Nelle Entertainment, JVee Production, and Entertainment One Ltd. Music by Terence Blanchard and Lebo M. (The Lion King).

Ashé,

Rev. Qiyamah

The featured photograph above is from my personal collection, taken at The Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/