Like many churches across the country, a corporate fast began. On January 1 many people declared resolutions. For the Fast, I set goals. Goals that I expect to enrich my Black Soil.
First priority obviously was spiritual. The goal was to resume personal bible study aside from studies in Bible study groups.
Reset healthy vegan eating. Depression pushed eating out, fluctuating between pescaterian and vegan. I enjoy seafood but my health demands veganism. I win my blood pressure war when eating clean vegan. I must also lose weight to mitigate the pain in my degenerating L4-L5 vertabra.
Sew/knit one garment a month. I began to crochet a baby sweater. In progress. Practiced hand-knitting techniques. No sewing.
Hang a picture. Purchased but unhinged.
Organize my files and desktop. Still have a week in January. 😆
The first two were the highest priority and I got those done. I am now back in the habit of making my meals. This is not only healthier but economical. With food costs, actually all costs, rising, this helps.
I will continue working on these goals and replacing them with new goals as they become habits.
Sometimes you just want a sandwich. Sometimes you just want a salad topping. This jackfruit based offering gives me just that. It’s simple, quick and few ingredients.
Here is my final meal. It is jackfruit, celery, serrano pepper, avocado and salt to taste on a bed of spinach, arugula and tomatoes. The salad dressing is a homemade avocado/cashew milk dressing.
Last night I attended Praisesongs of the People curated by former poet laureate Amanda Johnston held at Kindred Stories Bookstore, Houston, TX. The event featured 6 of the poets in Ms. Johnston’s anthology of the same name. It was an uplifting and entertaining poetry collection of people of color on this MLK Day celebration: Asian, Black and Mexican, all Americans. There were 3 poet laureates in the house: Amanda Johnston and Lupé Mendez. TX state laureates and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Houston laureate.
The poems were also educational. One specific poem really hit me with a fact I suspected but had not given it much thought.
Lupe shared a poem that let us into a part of a conversation with his father. His shared some feelings about experiences growing and living in America as a man of Mexican heritage. What really hit was the similarity wisdom he shared with his son that happens in Black families. It was “The Talk.”
“The Talk” is instruction on how to survive as a black male when confronted by police or any other white person who believes he/she has the authority to control your life. It doesn’t matter if you have done or are doing something that provokes this confrontation. You’re black, therefore you are probably guilty of something. This is not paranoia. It’s fact. So “The Talk” gives wisdom that increases the probability that you will make it home safely.
I spoke with Lupé after the event about this and to get his permission to use his name and story. He told me :The Talk” was very definitely a part of his community’s conversation and life. My observation is that it is even more imperative now in this Age of I.C.E..
While forces try to divide us, this reminds me that we have more in common than we have differences. Let’s protect and support each other when it is right to do. Let’s work together.
Thank you Amanda for the duration. Thank you Kindred Stories for the hosting. Thank you Poets for sharing you life. Thank you Lupé for letting us into your reality.
For those who are not aware, I do not like to cook. Here is a quick recount of my entry into the lab. First thing was to change my attitude. I changed how I viewed my kitchen. It was no longer a place to cook food but a place to experiment with food. So it began.
The first thing that changed was my husband and I deciding to stop eating beef, pork, chicken, and dairy; but not all at the same time. We still ate turkey and seafood. I decided one day to stop buying ground turkey and sliced turkey for sandwiches. I thought why not break down the turkey and grind some, and cook the rest for different uses. I did and it was a fun, time consuming endeavor. Next experiment was bread. I did like to bake so I expected this to be a more enjoyable experience. I remembered when my children were young how much fun we had baking bread together. This is how they learned fractions. At the same time I began to grow peppers. I wanted to make my own hot sauce, mustard and ketchup. I was on a natural food kick. LOL.
When my husband was treated by Dr. Baxter Montgomery for heart issues, a raw vegan dietary plan was the main prescription. This was a new challenge. We had moved to Texas and anticipated eating Cajun and creole dishes. I know it was not New Orleans but the influences are alive and well in Houston. That dream died. We became not only vegan but raw vegan. The lab was revived. Enough of that. You get the point.
In these past three years I have fluctuated between vegan and pescatarian. I have gained all the weight I had lost during the years we were raw vegan/vegan. We ate no processed food. (Side Note. When the doctor told me I didn’t have to prepare everything from scratch, I tried the closest to clean processed vegan food. Big mistake.) I began gaining weight and got lazy because of the convenience. Not only have I gained weight but joint pains, brain fog and fatigue have returned.
Like many churches in this country, my church began this new year with a corporate Daniel Fast. The dietary portion of this fast is much like I eat anyway, so there was no sacrifice for me in that area. My fast had to take a different form. My fast was eliminating convenience. If I purchased prepared food, it had to be strictly clean and vegan. This could only be done once a week at most. This requires me to prepare all the other meals. I am vegan . I have to cook or make raw preparations. This requires discipline and planning. This is my fast.
So now, I am back in the lab. To get started I decided to make a salad dressing that I enjoy at a salad restaurant I go to. It is jalapeno avocado dressing. They told me no dairy was used to make it but I am not sure.(I just checked. It does include dairy products.) My experiment uses no dairy. Mine is avocado, non-dairy milk, seasonings, vinegar and habenaro. It tasted okay but I have to adjust the flavor profile. Too mild.
Avocado & Habenaro Dressing and Hot Sauce
On my way to the lab to try a new burger recipe with lentils and quinoa.
I just took that step that requires commitment. I have just registered my domain name. It is blacksoilliving.com. So why is this a big deal? Well, it requires me to commit to consistant posts. It also allows me to upgrade my site. So stay tuned. This is the beginning of the Redefining.
No matter how hard you try, we will not be erased. We will not be eradicated. We are like ants. We are resilient. We are industrious. Regardless of the industry, good or bad. We ARE industrious. The skills our ancestors possessed on the plantation they brought with them from Africa. Our ancestors had societal structures:government, commerce, agriculture, and construction. What was learned from slavery was how to avoid the whip. How to live with rape. How to swallow pride for the sake of survival. I won’t talk about methodology. We might need to use them again.
Mr. DeSantis and those of like mind, all the whitewash in the world will not hide the atrocities done to our ancestors. We will always BLEED through. The TRUTH will always come through. Your children will discover that you lied to them.
We, as a people, survived slavery. We survived Jim Crow. We will survive the “Jim Crow” you are trying to create. You say slavery taught us skills we needed. You are correct. You taught us how to survive people and attitudes like you. We can navigate the ploys you implement. Our ancestors passed those lessons down. We may have forgotten that we needed them, but we did not forget them.
So, I implore my people teach those lessons to our kids and grandkids. Teach them our history, good and bad. Teach them self-sufficiency. Fraternal organizations and churches increase your community activities that include teaching our people. Use the tools you’ve learned in business and law to strengthen us. We are strong because of our ancestors. We are stronger because of what we’ve personally experienced. We will become stronger still.
Let’s learn from those who HAD to teach our kids our history at home and through those aforementioned organizations. They did not depend on others to teach US about US.
Forty-five years ago on April 14th we vowed to love and cherish each other for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, through good and the bad till death separates us. We kept that vow until April 10th death physically separated us. I will always love you. You are alive in my heart and in my spirit. Not even death can break that bond. Our spirits are forever joined. I celebrate us today. I celebrated with thoughts of you in heaven free of pain and at peace. I celebrate your freedom and continued praising and rejoicing. I’m a little jealous.
For me, this is the beginning of many “first” without you physically by my side. I miss you so much. I miss your smile, your laugh even your difficult days. Yet, I am happy for you.
I am closing this day affirming
You are the best earthly thing that’s ever happened to me. 😍
noun – the lowest part or edge of something, especially the part on which it rests or is supported.”she sat down at the base of a tree”
verb -have as the foundation for (something); use as a point from which (something) can develop.”the film is based on a novel by Pat Conroy”
Whether noun or verb the word base describes something that something else is built on. It always seems to imply a foundation of sorts. If the base is damaged that which is built upon it is unstable. If a work is based on another work which is weak then that which is developed has less of a chance for success or credibilty. It is of great concern and attention that the base in building or developing something is strong and stable. No corners are cut. No second rate materials are used. Just watch advertisements for products. Much attention is given to assuring us that the best materials were used and the quality is unsurpassed.
Now some have said that we are a base people; my people, black people; people of African descent. Does this mean we are the lowest part or edge of something, especially the part on which it rests or is supported. Are other people in this country resting on us? Are we supporting them. Are things being developed with us as the foundation? I can empahtically answer yes. I can with a resounding voice say YES! There are other people groups in this country that were considered a part of this base but have been allowed to advance or build upon themselves to no longer be the base. So I am not ignoring their contributions. I am speaking about my people because they are my people. It is my experience. (Indigenous people may be included with the black experience for the sake of being held to the base. There has been some progress made in my lifetime but this country is digressing. Much of what was fought for in the 50’s and 60’s is being reversed. Attitudes toward us as base are returning to those decades and our fight continues. The difference is as a people we understand our importance. Atttending to the health of the BASE is necessary . If the base is neglected that which is built upon it is unstable. If Black people are in bad, mental and emotional health every institution developed in this country is unstable. The White people who hate us and are trying to subjugate us as they make America great again don’t realize that as they hurt us, they hurt themselves. The attempt to destroy us, they destroy the America that they want to make great.
Now I know someone is saying Black people are not the foundation or base that this country is built upon. It is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Until the tenets of those documents are applied to the Black community as they are for the white community, the strength of those documents will be weak. Hence, that which is developed upon them, that which they support is unstable. America shore up your base by living up to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Treat us as what we are..citizens of this country with the same birthright as yours.
And if you call yourself a Chrisitan, read the Book. Read the teachings of Yeshua. Read his geneology and research the ethnicity of each member. You may be quite surprised. At the very least it is clear he was born of a Hebrew woman which rules out a European appearance. He worked as a carpenter with no electrical tools in the heat of Nazareth. He was likely muscular and tan, not frail and fair complexioned. But most important is how he treated people and how he instructed us to treat each other. Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two hang the law and prophets. These two embody all that God has declared and require of His people. So where do you stand? Do you destroy your Black neighbor or do you Love them? Do you help make the Base healthy or do you injure it?
Remember the health and strength of the Base has a direct effect on that which is supported by it or that which is developed on it. The health and the strength of the Base affects you.
One year ago today a group of people attacked the US Capitol in the name of patriotism. Capitol police were assaulted and Congressional members were endangered. During that time messages came from those members that their lives were in jeopardy. We saw real time images of the attack. Had the assaulters been Islamic it would have been called a terrorist attack. If they had been black, well let’s just say there would have been more immediate arrests and deaths. It was an insurrection and was called such until some high level GOPers characterized it as a tour. I’ve been to the Capitol and the tour never included destruction of the windows, offices or attacking officers. 700 have been prosecuted and more are scheduled. Yet, 71% of the Republicans are reported to still resist the Presidency and don’t believe what they saw with their own eyes. I just don’t understand.
We have always had political disagreement. We have had riots and peaceful protests. But never this. At least not in my lifetime. I thought the atrocities of the Civil Rights movements or the mass shootings would be the worst I would see. An attempted coup on US soil I never thought would happen much less see.
"Black Soil" Living 