Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan
Like many of you, the movie “Sinners” brought up so many things that I’m still unpacking. Specifically, the connection between the movement work for Black liberation and African spirituality. At times, this can be a push-and-pull battle. As someone who is in both spaces, I often feel torn. I have my movement comrades pushing resistance with little rest, and the spiritual community not fully acknowledging their role in the resistance. I am not saying this happens all the time. I do see people adding cultural work, such as libations to actions, talking about self-care, and honoring our ancestors by naming them. However, I do think that there needs to be a deeper connection that involves truly connecting with our traditional spirituality. “Sinners” opened up a portal of collective consciousness, and I think it’s important to have these ongoing conversations. This is an opportunity to learn from each other. To start this, I am going to do what we all should do: look at our past to guide us.
You see, Black people fighting in the resistance and African spirituality have always been connected. This starts with slavery. Our ancestors fought hard to keep a connection to their beliefs. For them, this looked like connecting with nature and the elements of fire, water and air. They grew their food and used herbs as medicine. During times of resistance and revolt, they would do rituals against the oppressor, etc.
For example, this occurred in the 1739 Stono Rebellion. The largest slave rebellion in the Southern Colonial era. An article by the History Bandits discusses this connection. The revolt leader was named Jemmy, and all the slaves he recruited were Kongolese. They used drumming, song, and Kongolese spirituality to communicate their message of freedom. Additionally, they performed traditional war dances in African dialects.
Moreover, our ancestors used spirituality and ancestral connections to get justice. Black communities had medicine men and women, root workers, and conjure women. Root workers such as Father Simms and Dr. Buzzard would use natural elements to seek justice before a court case. This was our practice for years until we were forced to assimilate to Christianity. Despite this, a lot of our ancestors held onto these practices and used them for everyday life with healing, fighting and celebrating Black joy, even in the most traumatic times.
This can also be seen in the elements of the Haitian Revolution, which was led by enslaved Africans. The revolution led to the establishment of Haiti as the first independent Black republic and the first nation to abolish slavery. Leaders of the revolt practiced Haitian Voodoo and other forms of spirituality to instill fear in their oppressors.
The Haitian Revolution and some of the names mentioned in this column may be new to you. You won’t see their names in the history books. Countless names have gone unknown. However, by embracing our traditional practices, we can connect with them and use this to both rest and resist. And yes, it’s possible to do both.
Black people’s connection to their ancestors is deep and rooted in the trauma of racism. They were brutalized, raped, kidnapped, and displaced. We are still dealing with the effects of this today. Furthermore, much of this ancestral trauma is held within our bodies. Therefore, having a laser focus on only spirituality or resistance is not sustainable. To truly heal, we must embrace both resistance and spirituality, just as our ancestors did.
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