Hello Everyone,
Thank you, Kacey and Gregg, for shining the spotlight on the many members of this list and for the deeply personal, reflective, and transparent Mother’s Day stories. My name is Rhea and I am Gregg’s rising second year advisee. I lurk on the listserv, in the background reading, sometimes chuckling, sometimes enlightened. I have braved the reply all once, but truly not much traction after that. Although I have only seen a handful of you via Wii Thrive Meetings, I am overtly aware of who responds and the type of content shared.
I have enjoyed the diversity of voices this particular week and how the light shone in the corners for the quiet and unseen. I resonated deeply with what Joan shared as the value and implications of dialogue. I was drawn to this list because of Gregg’s gregariousness and his interpretative dance of the UTOK. I stay on the list because it is truly is fascinating, listening and reading all the perspectives. I have written and re-written what I wanted to share this week as nothing felt quite powerful enough. My yin is strong and I am proud of the energy I possess but I must also leave room for another piece of my identity that can also be unheard, misunderstood, or in the shadows, which is being Black in America. I am aware of the perspectives I may be asked to bring as a Black woman and at times I accept the ask to represent. For me it is always centered around the double-edged conundrum of being Black in a predominantly White space and being a woman in male-heavy environments. The question that plagues me the most is what exactly do I want from others. I am not begging to have a seat at any table or married to the idea of forcing others to hear/see me. I desire the essence of Adriana’s “bothness and all-ness,” where the focus becomes less on the dichotomies and more about the fluidity of being. I struggle with compartmentalizing myself, separate as woman, away from my Blackness, and hidden from my scholarship. I have built a life guessing which side of me will be accepted and received. The search for unity both theoretically, philosophically, and for humanity seems warranted but with a strong element of fantasy.
Again, my deepest gratitude and affection for Gien, Adriana,
Kacey, Joan, Gregg, Nick, Waldemar, and others who have shared this week. If this is
meant as an open space, being intentional has made a difference. I am hopeful
as others have shared that this feeling, this connectivity, and this appreciation
for a variety of voices continues to gain momentum.