28 days --- 56 ways to be Young, Gifted and Black: Britt Baker

How do you spend your days?

This question is kinda tough, as no two days of mine are ever remotely the same. I’m a polymath and an ambivert, so it really all depends on whether or not the sun is shining and the moon is full. Given the week, I could be at my office in Tower Grove Park, climbing a smokestack in Oakland, on stage playing a concert, or somewhere with my glasses pushed up to my eyebrows trying meet a grant deadline. I can craft my ideal day: Wake up… cuddle, see the kids and lady off to work and school, make a cup of coffee, turn on my "Seu Jorge" Pandora Station, hang upside down in my yoga swing, sit at my desk and scribe some stories from my life, grow bored of the mundaneness of that, and grab my guitar and play until my fingers hurt. I think my balanced daily diet is: Androbeat. Family. Activism. Writing. Repeat. Androbeat. Family. Activism. Writing. Repeat.

What brings you joy?

My partner, Amber, provides me with an immeasurable amount of happiness. The love that we share not only gives me hope for the future, but it provides a certain solace when the world shuns and violates every unique thing that makes humanity, humanity. Our children, in all of their unapologetic freedom and imagination make me smile (biggly). My dog, Papi, who is sometimes stanky, and very furry, but always hella excited to be in my presence. Cooking ALL of the hella delicious food. The stillness and the fierceness of nature. Waterfalls. (I loooooove me some waterfalls.) All of these things love me and accept me as I am, always. I cannot imagine a joy greater than that—to love and cherish, and then be loved and cherished in return.

What is liberation to you?

Liberation is the freedom for everyone to live an unapologetic existence, whatever that may look like. Liberation is unabashedly queer. Liberation is flamboyant. Liberation embraces the rainbow and quickens the ocean of a diverse and unique people. Liberation transcends all things binary. Liberation knows forgiveness. Liberation pays tribute to the truth. Liberation is celebratory. Liberation is intersectional. Liberation is interconnectedness. Liberation pays homage to the Earth, Gaia. Liberation is the realization that there is space enough for ALL of Earth’s inhabitants, human and nature, to revel in abundance. Liberation is something that is worth writing home to the ancestors about. That’s the emancipated reality that I see.

Comments

be like water | erev rosh hashana d'var 5785

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28 days --- 56 ways to be Young, Gifted and Black: Mimi Borders

How do you spend your days? I love days that give me room to breathe and reflect. Typically, I am really busy with school work, research and extra-curricular activities. But this semester I am studying at the University of Ghana and I have more flexibility and control over my time. I do mindfulness meditations in the morning, yoga, write and daydream. Daydreaming is one of my favorite things to do - and it doesn't always have to be a solitary activity. I love dreaming out loud with my friends talking about how we want (WILL) to change the world, the places we will travel, the books we will write, how we will liberate ourselves and our communities. I drink a lot of water during the day and usually get sad at some point thinking about what is currently happening in the USA but I try and write myself out of the dark cloud. What brings you joy? My family is profoundly incredible. My parents are compassionate, emotionally intelligent people that always have uplifted an

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