28 days --- 56 ways to be Young, Gifted and Black: Candace Simpson

How do you spend your days?

I'm a seminary student, a minister, and a teacher. I facilitate classroom spaces and work with all ages of people, from 3 to 86. I engage peer to peer support as my ministry. On any given day, I'm running to catch the train to Harlem, writing about my vision for womanist practice, and watching Animaniacs until I fall asleep. Also, I eat a lot of french toast. And Pineapple and Pepperoni Pizza.

What brings you joy?

I get joy from watching Black girls fix their makeup on the bus and take selfies for their tumblr pages, the sound of double dutch ropes outside my window, snuggles, Beyonce's family, watching folks allow themselves to be challenged, a fully charged iPhone battery, money in my PayPal account, compliments on my hair, men who don't bother me in the street and follow me for several blocks, elders, aunties, uncles, cousins, babies/baby-smells.

What is liberation to you?

Liberation looks like heaven to me. It's kind of like what Halloween looks like in my neighborhood. Children dreaming about who they are, correcting adults to get it wrong, dividing up candy, making plans about the best route to take for the best possible candy bag. I imagine a world where all of us can thrive and flourish. I wonder what the world would look like if we didn't have to spend time responding to the Last Thing, and instead, if we had the luxury of creating and harvesting the beauty in our own Fields. What a wonderful world.

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