Last Wednesday evening, we had the privilege of hosting a sold-out talk at the Greenhouse with the brilliant Dr. Báyò Akómoláfé. The next day, I told my family and my colleagues that I felt changed by the experience. There was so much ease and spaciousness in Micah’s conversation with Báyò, that every turn in the conversation felt like a surprise. Báyò spoke a lot about the cracks, the spaces outside of the extractive systems that we find ourselves in, the spaces we don’t anticipate, where we can discover something new if we can open ourselves up to it, discover beauty in places we have never seen before. We must allow ourselves to be surprised again.
In February, we hosted a talk with journalist and author Osita Nwanevu – another discussion that has been on my mind. Both Osita and Báyò spoke about not just fighting against the system or being “anti” something, but actually creating something new, a better system; building new ways of being together, working together, being in community together. It’s scary not knowing what that looks like or exactly how to get there. We do know that our old frameworks and current systems are harmful and extractive and the only hope we have moving forward is to build something radically different.
This is the work we do at GWI; the hard work of changing systems, supporting the community in all the ways large and small, through fiscal sponsorship, programming and facilitation, helping organizations and projects work together differently, and giving space for folks to gather and create at the Greenhouse. I feel grateful and proud to be here, in this moment, in our small way, charting a different path.
After listening to Báyò, my husband reflected to me that he wanted to tell everyone to just try something different every day, however small that thing might seem: walk a different route, learn a new word, listen to a new song. The big shifts and movements can be overwhelming and often feel hopeless but it’s possible that it is in these small, individual actions that we can collectively build the new way forward. It is in these cracks that we can find joy and beauty that can ripple out all around us. If you want to start with a new thing today, I would suggest listening to this beautiful conversation between Báyò and Micah. In these dark times and as we head into spring, I hope it plants some seeds for thoughtfulness, creativity, and hope.
From Selah: A Báyò Akómoláfé Reader :
We can never be sure of what the world will be doing next, what it is producing, what lines are being blurred, what categories are being composted. If we do not cultivate bewilderment, we will risk seeing things too clearly in a world and at a time when clarity often gets in the way.
