The Power of Community in Times of Challenge

Community is more than a gathering of people with shared identities or common interests. It is a declaration of commitment, a pledge to be each other's keeper, to pursue justice for all people, and to recognize that our destinies are woven together. We are each other's harvest, bound by a shared purpose to uplift, support, and stand resolute in the face of adversity.

Today, as a Black, Queer-led, justice-oriented organization, we at The LifeWell Ecosystem are deeply disheartened by the outcomes of the 2024 Federal Elections. We recognize that the road ahead may be darker and more difficult than in recent times, presenting new challenges for communities like our who believe justice and opportunity should be available to all, not just a few.  But while we may feel the weight of this moment, we also know that LifeWell was created for such a time as this.

Our mission is clear: to imagine new and radical possibilities of care, connection, community,  and justice. We are charged with the duty to keep our vision alive, to embody hope even when our surroundings discourage it, and to become the bright, guiding light that others can turn to. This commitment is our burden to bear, and it is one we carry with courage and resolve.

On the night of November 12, 1833, the Leonid meteor shower blazed across the sky. Enslaved people on a North Carolina plantation looked up in awe, and a woman known as Aunt Sarah felt as though God was sending them a message, as if they, too, would one day be free as the blazing sky. Years later, after Aunt Sarah and her family were freed, she remembered that incredible night—the night when the stars fell, a promise in the sky.

Our own night may be long, and it may grow even longer, but we are those meteors blazing through the darkness. In our community—our Clearing—there is a light, a glimmer of possibility that even in challenging times, we can still create something beautiful. Together, we hold the potential for transformation, for resilience, and for a brighter horizon.

So, I ask each of you to hold yourself and your emotions close. Remember that you are sacred and holy; you are both needed and necessary. Our freedom is interconnected—your liberation is essential to our collective journey toward justice. Know that our charge to keep is profound and goes beyond the surface. We need you whole, we need you free, and we need you here.

Keep the faith with me, as I keep it with you. Rest if you must, but do not quit. There are people, somewhere, looking up with hope, waiting for us to blaze across the sky.