Wild Holy & Free

New Name, New Vision

You know those people who struggle with putting up boundaries and sometimes need a little encouragement to enforce healthy boundaries? Well, Im not one of them. lol. If anything, I have too many boundaries, and my friends are regularly asking me for a gate, a window, a door- any invitation to move beyond the walls I have erected. There are probably reasons for this that require intense therapy, but I am at least aware of this propensity of mine. And while there are some cases in which my walls are accidental, social media isn’t one of them. I have shaken hands with myself and agreed that for the most part my social media use is not for sharing very much about my personal life. I post there in the pursuit of justice, and sometimes because I just like my community and want to commiserate on the whimsical and silly things in life.

Turns out, many of you have noticed this propensity of mine, too. During my hiatus, I started posting photos of my home, my furniture and the meaning it all has for me. Many of you replied to my posts with some version of, “what the what?! you are actually sharing more of yourself with us?!” And it was my pleasure to do so, especially since you were so supportive of my little hiatus and my teal walls. And while I do not regret the ways I manage my social media posts, I have decided to take down my guards (a little, tiny, itty bitty bit ~see boundaries) for you- this newsletter community.

When I first started this newsletter, I named it Roll Call. We were in the midst of 2020’s summer, and all of a sudden my little profile went from 10 to 100. I wanted to do my part to shepherd and teach, to provide resources and answer questions, to clear the path for making sense of all that we were seeing and experiencing. I have zero regrets about how we spent time together. I am honored that you would let me into your inbox during such a tumultuous time, when you needed guidance and support and community. But as a Black woman, I am determined to not just do work I love (the pursuit of racial justice), but to enjoy how I do this work.

So this newsletter is now called: Wild Holy & Free because that is who I am becoming. I am a Black girl who loves skinny dipping, will preach the roof off a building and also want a joy as thick as my thighs. Im letting down my guards a little, because I dont want to just be your fav anti-racism teacher- you know? I also want to be a whole human being, fully woman, deeply spiritual, always learning, engaging my spontaneity in ways that feel exciting to me.

Moving forward, I hope that we will still be learning how to be increasingly antiracist, but I also hope that we will learn to love Black women more fiercely. I hope that we will find space for joy and humor and levity. I hope to introduce you to more Black women writers and creatives. After the last few years, I am realizing that I need my antiracism work to be rooted in joy, humor, as well as fierce truthfulness.

So, if you’ll hang in there with me, I’ll be back once a week to share about what Im learning, what Im thinking, and what I hope for as I become Wild Holy & Free. I sure hope you will join me.