Episode 40: Grief Circle Practices of Breath & Brush

Parenting for Liberation

Parenting for Liberation co-hosted a Grief Circle led by ML Daniel of Spiritual Alchemy and Farah Tanis of Black Women's Blueprint. This episode features practices of Breath & Brushing shared at the open and close the Grief Circle--in an effort to honor the sacred space held with Black parents.

“As Black parents in the Americas, we are no stranger to harm to our communities and the killing of our children at the hands of law enforcement or vigilantes. However, what has sustained us is our ability to gather in community to tell stories, share a meal and lean on one another spiritually, physically and emotionally during times of profound loss, grief, and mourning and for many there is a palpable absence of this during this time of COVID-19.

As such, spaces like Wailing Circle are not only necessary, but critical for providing a place that is safe for community to gather. A space where our souls have permission to grieve in whatever form and manner that feels right. We need spaces for our deafening wail as we call the names of those who are sick, those who have died and those who have been killed. Space and time to grieve what has been lost. Space to lament dreams and expectations we have nurtured and to which we have given our life blood that we must now surrender. Our souls need spaces where folks commit to lean in and not look away but allow for us to show up as our whole selves and our collective humanity, which allows for our pain to break them open in a new way. We need spaces to remind us of our collective humanity and the abundant possibility of what can be called forth in time like these.”