28 days --- 56 ways to be Young, Gifted and Black: Em Nicol

How do you spend your days?

I spend my days stretching and learning new ways to release tension in my body. Then I pass the ideas along to people in my community, so they too can self-release and de-stress. These people may be fitness clients, friends, family or even my two dogs. We All Stretch. We Strive for Fluidity. Water. I also read a lot. My bed typically has nothing but exercise science and black liberation books in it. Although right now I have a book called True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart that my partner and I share.

What brings you joy?

Children's laughter, dog smiles, the smell of good food made with ancient love, playing drums for the love of the game, witnessing the moment that someone begins to believe in themselves more than they ever have before (that moment is irreplaceably special), my mother being alive, and listening to the Universe speak.

What is liberation to you?

Many things, places, feelings, daydreams, escapes, affirmations are liberating to me; but what is LIBERATION? Changing my first name to something that didn't come from a white person and changing my last name to something that didn't come from a man. Re-Naming Myself, Re-Claiming My Land, and Regaining/Re-Gathering My People is Liberation to Me. Liberation for me is a community-wide freedom, triumph. My individual success cannot amount to Liberation if my community is still in chains. I AM a Warrior, and I will fight for my community through lifetimes....And we will win as a Chosen Liberated People.

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