Founders Letter - Existing and Resisting in a Dystopia.
Read some reflections on the last few months from our Founder, Vivienne!
Hey Babes!
I’m sending you softness wherever you are as you read this. This year has been A LOT for many of us for many different reasons. As a community and collective, regardless of where we are in the world, there is an undercurrent of global unrest, austerity, and callous disregard for humanity, which we witness in real-time.
In our spaces, conversations around our living environments, workplaces and the state of the world have felt heavy and painful. I have struggled personally to find solace in the realities and atrocities happening in the world. I think of the people in Sudan, The Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Yemen and Palestine who are facing inhumane living conditions within a context of colonial and political abuse. I have found myself feeling helpless and struggling between whether to look away, not knowing where to start and how to make a difference. At a point, deactivating my social media completely was a privilege I opted into to pause and reconnect with myself. I had to ask myself: what good can I offer if I am too overwhelmed to move through this despair?
Sometimes, pausing can feel counterproductive, but if I have exhausted my resources, it can serve as a point of recuperation. I think of the ‘window of tolerance’, which explains that if we are outside of our capacities, we cannot function. I say this to say, where possible, please take time for moments of peace, softness, joy and play. The strength and resistance of curating and protecting joy in your Black body is a contribution in and of itself. It can restore us in ways that mean we have power again, even if it is so we can bear witness again.
Ways we have tried to protect space for joy the last few months have been our in-person socials. So far, we have had our Scratch night, celebrating neurodivergent creative performances, a trip to a Black exhibition and Domino night, which created space for culture, play, and laughter. Those moments of collective joy serve as an anchor to me in difficult times. Knowing we can create spaces of equity, warmth, and support propels me to keep trying. I hope we can find and curate spaces that inspire and remind us that we deserve peace, joy and freedom. I hope we continue to resist the systems that oppress us as a collective voice in a way that acknowledges how hard it can be—sending solidarity and support to those resisting with less opportunity and freedom than I have. I have shared some resources for anyone who wants to read more/offer support within their capacity.
I look forward to creating more needed moments of community joy with you all, and as always, I wish you well until we speak again.
Lots of love
Vivienne x
Free Haiti - https://hopeforhaiti.com/
Free Congo - Tiktok & link to the petition
Free Palestine - Thread of ways to support
Free Sudan - Thread of ways to support
Suggestions of ways to support numerous causes, including Hawaii, Lebanon & Yemen
Thread to Support Caribbean Countries affected by Hurricane Beryl.