What happens when we press ‘pause’?

It is hard to stop the flow of information that mimics truth but has no history, no back story, only a present. The visual and emotional stimuli all around us leave little space and time for our minds to think about what is happening outside of ourselves and within. Time for internal dialogue, connection and reflection is scarce, so when news of Assata Shakur’s passing at 78 years old earlier this month was reported, I was taken back to my own youth and the memory of sisterhood in OWAAD and organising as a collective. I am reminded of what colonised and oppressed people all over the world have wanted; to break the chains, to open spaces for discussion and education. To free our minds and be recognised for who we have always been. 

Traveling through southern Spain this month, I was continually reminded of the value its former colonised states brought to this peninsula; particularly from in the continents of Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central America. Groups of people existed. We were not ‘discovered’. We are a people with structures of governance and cultures that go back thousands of years with languages that were and continue to be as nuanced, intricately development over time, and as valuable as any other. 

On every cobblestone street, in every church filled with gold and precious stones, the country’s architecture with high windows and arches, the colossal aqueduct of Segovia built by slaves and attributed to the Romans, around every turn there is evidence invasion and erasure. The towns and cities continue to reap the financial rewards from those of us who visit, many of whom ignore the long history of looting and pillage.  

As we all watch and learn from this moment in history, Arandhati Roy’s words echo in my ears as she reminds us the complicity leaders in the past had, when, nations and peoples were destroyed. She tells us that what we see today can be replicated by other colonisers and invaders of lands belonging to other peoples. “If they can do it, why not us?”

I believe it is time to pause and consider our ancestors, both recent and those of many centuries ago who lived and fought differently, who strategized and created strong links across languages and cultures, who argued and debated, who kept a central ideology and did not waver. It is their strength that I call upon when in doubt, when I feel overwhelmed and without hope. They remain and become my north star when earthly abominations reign, signalling a way forward.