Peace, love, and light as always fam! The hot days of summer have descended upon us and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I have begun to start my days a tad different lately. Instead of sitting around and collecting my thoughts (or rather getting lost in them) when I wake in the morning, I rise and ride my bike a few miles each day. The daily bike ride serves me in several ways—it of course is strengthening my body, it is also a time for me to meditate and zone out, it is building my endurance, it is also allowing me to see the world and my surroundings more clearly. Riding my bike each day allows me to see my community for what it is.

I wish I saw more unity among our people. I spend time online as well as out and about within my community and the lack of unity is apparent. We have families that don’t even have relationships and it is a sad state of affairs. Have we lost the core love we had for each other? What has happened to us? No matter what word you use for unity, whether it be umoja or isokan, the lack of unity is literally killing us. Sadly, I see more of us getting together for nonsense than for events, discussions, and likewise that are serving us. Why is it that we don’t mind gathering to party but refuse to show up to events that would help build and sustain our people? Is it complacency? Is it lack of consideration? Or is it that most of us truly do not care?

We live in a very materialistic world. We are bombarded with media that is full of misogyny, violence, superficiality, and things that degrade our people day in and day out. What will it take for us to tune out the noise and tune in to what matters? We don’t realize how truly powerful we are. Yesterday, I spoke to my dear friend Mia who lives in Memphis. She told me how a friend of hers, who  is a little person, had been mistreated at a local store. She said he was going back to the store and she told him to stay away from the store. Why would he continue to spend money at a store that had treated him poorly? Now, she will not shop at the store either because she is standing with him. This is unity. Now, imagine if that community decided to boycott the store. If no Afrikan spent money with the merchant, the store would be forced to close. This is just one example of unity as strength. Imagine if we stood together on all fronts—our children’s education, our healthcare delivery, where we purchased our household goods, our groceries, etc. We have to grow beyond waiting on anyone to come in and make things right. We have all the power. We simply have to apply knowledge and be consistent. Onipa nnye nwura (Unity is Strength!)

Hetepu,

Ashaki Ma’at Mirembe Ali