editors note

This project idea has been a long time in the making. Freshman year, I took an Africana Studies class here with Randi Kristensen. As our final project, we had to choose a topic to research, propose, and execute a potential solution for the issue. The issue I researched was about internalized racism in the Black community and how it is perpetuated by white supremacy, white-centered media, and systematic racism. Internalized racism is a psychological concept that describes the internalization of racist beliefs, ideas, actions, and behaviors that have been projected onto one for so long. Since our society more often than not accepts “whiteness” as the standard and condemns anything else, this can leave people with a desire to dissociate from what is not accepted and adopt what is. Donna Bivens, an educator specializing in diversity, inclusion, and equity training, explains the concept: “Individuals, institutions, and communities of color are often unconsciously and habitually rewarded for supporting White privilege and power and punished and excluded when we do not.”

The solution I came up with for how to combat this issue within our community was inspired by a quote by Audre Lorde: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” The idea is that through radical self and mutual love, we could foster communities of love to uplift ourselves and our Blackness. My action was to create an online publication titled “Micro-Affections.” This publication would be centered around teaching Black love and self-care by unlearning anti-Blackness and re-learning through Black literature and art. In an analysis by Darnell Moore, African-American Author and Black studies theorist, it is stated that love and self-care can combat feelings of internalized racism and disarray in the Black community—he called these actions micro-affections.

I consider When We Gather a branch of the Micro-Affection ecosystem, a project that exists to show the love I have for my community regarding our memories and experiences as sacred and historical.

Putting this project together has been an absolute joy over the past few weeks. My only regret is not starting it sooner and getting a chance to engage the entire Black community at GW in it.

This is a true love letter to the people in my life. I hope this small book can serve as a reminder of the bonds we all built and the memories we made while here.

Thank you for taking the time to read and view this project. Surely, more is to come.

Take Care,