CBPA’s Healing in the Afro-Present

On Sunday, March 4th, the Committee on Black Performing Arts (CBPA) hosted our debut event as a renewed collective: “Healing in the Afro-Present*: A Divinity Salon.”

Our day together started with a land acknowledgment ceremony by Amara Tabor Smith. We then moved into rose water making and guided meditation with A-lan Holt. Jade A. Fair offered tarot divinations and Carol Francois provided acupuncture. We also revealed a new “black women dreaming” installation designed by CBPA in the Harmony House, which is open to the public for viewing.The day culminated in a beautiful conversation on spiritual healing with beloved community elder, leader, and former Black Panther Ericka Huggins. Ericka spoke on her practice of meditation, which she cultivated while incarcerated to cope with the assassination of her husband and separation from her infant daughter. In the conversation she guided us through laughter, heartbreak, and meditation. The day felt like a moment of rest and recovery for black feminine folk.

A special shoutout to students of EPAA’s Critical Feminism club and their families for showing up and co-creating a beautiful day of meditation, transportation, and rejuvenation.

*Afro-present (n): On or relating to the survival of black peoples in the here and now. A manifestation of afro-futurist dreams and ancestral lineages.

Co-sponsored by BSU Women’s Herstory Month and Indigenous Feminists.