Drawing on joy and dreams for hope filled futures

As a team we were recently discussing what we might like to focus our next blog on. Following on from the riots that rolled across the UK targeted at refugees, global majority people and Muslim people we were devastated and exhausted. In that weeks meeting Amy suggested we explore Afrofuturism and how we use it as a catalyst to tap into alternative worlds and draw on that for our own hopeful futures. Following from this we individually reflected on what we use as a way to seek joy and also tools used to navigate our experiences as women and global majority people. 

Corinne: 

There is so much that we cannot control in life, and the events of the past weeks have only reinforced this loudly. For me, what gives me hope for the future is reframing what I can control and how my actions can bring peace, joy and positive change. Amy, our Creative Education Producer, reminded me of a workshop that I co-ran a couple of weeks ago. The workshop was part of a wider project around black women’s experiences in healthcare in the UK and as such, the workshop was a space solely for black women. We explored alter egos and each person created an alter ego, someone based on them but with powers which might transcend what we can ordinarily achieve. Our alter egos gave us a different perspective and physicality, and it was interesting to see how we could apply these in our everyday lives and in trying situations.

We also celebrated our ordinary superpower, a skill, quirk, or trait that you have which feels second nature to you but is recognised as a superpower to somebody else. Mine is an excellent sense of navigation, but others included a power to seemingly bend time, the ability to simplify complicated tasks or being able to defuse situations easily. Tapping into our own unique power is possible and powerful, and gives me hope.

Amy:

Antigua is obviously part of this world, but, for me, it is an alternative to my existence in the UK because of it being a melanated majority and part of my ancestry. I've been watching footage from this year's j'ouvert and carnival on youtube, and listening to Antiguan soca which has brought me joy! Plus my Blaxit plan is keeping me going; I have been doing my research on Dubai and see it as a stepping stone to wherever we decide to settle as a family.

Helen:

I would say food has been my go-to this month. I really enjoy both cooking and trying new restaurants/takeaways, bonding over a new cuisine or trying someone's favourite dish. I always find food is a lovely way to connect people; it can be a family dish that people share with others, or something they haven't tried before. This month I have been eating at a few of my favourite takeaways in Exeter - iFood and Spice Aroma. I really recommend them! 

Tamera:

I recently read Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower with my book club. It’s set in a dystopian future where chaos rules. Yet in spite of the cruelty we experience throughout its pages the protagonist Lauren’s hope for a better future built on community remains. Despite each character's trials, triggers and “flaws”, she continues to see the gift and value of each person she invites to join her on a physically and emotional journey to safety. In the face of the world quite literally being on fire, she just… preserves, with kindness, intention, intelligence and vulnerability. This book feels like a warning and a guide, and despite its dark themes it reminds me to keep dreaming for better.