Joy Comes From Healing
On the evening of June 19th, we came together to screen Acts of Reparations, a documentary film that follows two friends, Selina Lewis Davidson and Macky Alston, as they explore what it means to both reclaim and reckon with their roots. Alongside our partners and friends of the Radical Optimist Collective, we invited our 2024 Executives, Upstanders, and a few other committed members of our community into a shared space of reflection. We considered what liberation looks like for each of us and the opportunities that are emerging as we pursue hope and healing collectively.
Healing is not a solitary act. It happens while sharing memories and our truths in spaces designed to hold it all. We are committed to showing up for each other again and again, as this is how impactful relationships build and thrive. Together we are practicing patience and perseverance, which reminds me of the Swahili phrase pole’pole’ (translation: Slowly, Slowly).
For many of us, the film offers language for a “knowingness” buried deep within. We felt an awakening of things not said out loud. A remembering that brought bitter truths for some contributed to healing for others. Joy cannot be separated from healing. We also cannot bypass pain on our path to soulful peace. We can be kind to ourselves and others. We can allow for growth to happen at the pace needed for the individual. We can liberate ourselves in the process.
While repair work is often framed in political or economic ways, for our Collective, it is first and foremost, deeply relational. It cannot be done in a vacuum, and we cannot do it alone.
Centering joy in social impact work involves the deepening of one’s commitment to mutual aid and understanding. Mutual aid and care are practices that develop over time and not one-off performances. They are the ways of being that create a sense of belonging for us all. This idea lives at the center of our values, represented most explicitly through our focus on joy. Rather, we are creating leadership pathways, building capacity within community spaces like farmers markets, or hosting events designed for important (and sometimes difficult) conversations; joy is always centered. Breaking bread together at our events is never purely functional; it is symbolic of our commitment to nourishing ourselves and each other. We understand that joy does not arrive by accident. It is cultivated by the intentional acts of listening, remembering, and reconnecting. Together, we continue to hold joyful spaces that honor our stories of joy and hold us accountable as mission-driven leaders. These moments are acts of reparations themselves; the Beloved Community is within reach!
