INFINITE GRATITUDE for heeding the call to be an active participant in the quest for personal and Collective LIBERATION. Each one of us plays a crucial role in what is unfolding in our world. Our Indigenous Relatives teach about the web of life…ALL of creation is interconnected and interdependent. Our choices matter! How WE CHOOSE to show up for ourselves and ONE another adds to the unwritten pages of humanity’s story. It’s not too late to change the tide of history, yet WE don’t have a moment to lose.
WE know the journey for personal and Collective LIBERATION is a marathon, not a sprint...it is requiring a tremendous amount of DEDICATION, DETERMINATION, and DEVOTION...of course it is, the stakes have never been higher.
As a lifelong practitioner of nonviolence and devout student of the Kingian philosophy of nonviolent resistance, I AM deeply passionate about the TRUTH that a PEACEFUL outcome to what is unfolding in the U.S. and across the world is possible as long as WE stay rooted in a Universal SPIRITUAL foundation that HONORS the inherent value of ALL sentient life. Everything on this page and throughout my work as a SACRED Activist is rooted in a commitment to JUSTICE seeking and PEACE building through a process of ‘decolonizing minds and hearts’. This manifests on a micro level with the individual healing and mentoring work I do in addition to the macro level with the Beloved Community organizing I AM a part of.
What I have discovered through my personal journey of deconstructing my own experience of colonialism and white supremacy is that AUTHENTIC EDUCATION is key. Most of us did not learn the true story of colonization, especially here in this part of Turtle Island called the U.S. It is critical to unlearn the lies so that WE can learn the truth. I find that heART in its myriad of forms is one of the most transparent forms of storytelling available to humanity. I AM GRATEFUL to share some EXCEPTIONAL films that have aided me in my personal LIBERATION and therefore are fueling my work as a SACRED Activist.
‘The 1619 Project’: Based on the groundbreaking New York Times’ 1619 Project comes a six part documentary series that connects American history with the present, by placing the contributions of Black Americans and the consequences of slavery at the very center of the narrative.
‘The Rosa Parks Story’: chronicles the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, exploring her childhood, family, and activism leading up to and following the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.
‘Selma’: Dramatization of the historical facts surrounding the fight for Voting Rights for Black Americans centered in Selma, AL in 1965.
‘Malcolm X’: Malcolm X is a biographical epic directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington, chronicling the life of the controversial and influential black nationalist leader from his early life as a hustler and convict to his spiritual transformation into a human rights activist and his eventual assassination.
‘Betty & Coretta’:: Based on a true story, this movie chronicles the relationship of the extraordinary women behind the men of the Civil Rights Movement.
‘Origin’: Dramatization of the life and legacy of Isabel Wilkerson, a groundbreaking American journalist and the author of ‘The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration’ and ‘Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents’. She is the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
‘Borderland | The Line Within’: The United States border is not just a geographic location. The border is everywhere. It lies within every undocumented immigrant family with the threat that at any moment they can be captured, incarcerated, deported; their lives destroyed. BORDERLAND | The Line Within not only exposes the profitable business of immigration and its human cost, but weaves together the stories of immigrant heroines and heroes resisting and showing a way forward, intent on building a movement in the shadow of the border industrial complex, recognizing the human rights of all. Learn more about this movement
‘The Eternal Song’: The Eternal Song is a cinematic journey through timeless lands and their Indigenous cultures. Voices from around the world and across generations call us to witness the deep, ongoing scars left by colonization on lands and people, and the healing that comes through ancestral wisdom. Learn more and watch this film here
‘13th’: Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary 13TH refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity.
‘Women of the White Buffalo’: An ancient, Native, matriarchal society has been upended by centuries of genocide and colonialism. This has resulted in culturally sabotaged and isolated communities that are in a constant struggle to save what remains of their sacred identity. The Lakota women living on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations in South Dakota, are rising up against the forces that continue to suppress them. By preserving and protecting their ancestral values and wisdom, they provide a source of hope to their people. Learn more about this film here
‘I Am Not Your Negro’: Oscar-nominated documentary by director Raoul Peck that uses the writings of James Baldwin to create a film about the history of race and racism in America. The documentary is based on Baldwin's unfinished manuscript, "Remember This House," which explored the lives of his assassinated friends Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, the film weaves together archival footage, Baldwin's letters, essays, and interviews to draw parallels between past racial injustices and present-day issues, arguing that the story of Black America is the story of America itself.
‘God and Country’: From director Dan Partland and producer Rob Reiner, GOD & COUNTRY looks at the implications of Christian Nationalism and how it distorts not only our constitutional republic, but Christianity itself. Featuring prominent Christian thought leaders, GOD & COUNTRY asks this question: What happens when a faith built on love, sacrifice, and forgiveness grows political tentacles, conflating power, money, and belief into hyper-nationalism?
‘Rustin’: The architect of 1963’s momentous March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was one of the greatest activists and organizers the world has ever known. He challenged authority, never apologized for who he was, what he believed, or who he desired. And he did not back down. He made history, and in turn, he was forgotten. Directed by DGA award and five-time Tony award winner George C. Wolfe and starring Emmy award winner Colman Domingo, Rustin shines a long overdue spotlight on the extraordinary man who, alongside giants like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Ella Baker, dared to imagine a different world, and inspired a movement in a march toward freedom.
‘Bad Faith’: documentary film that explores the rise of Christian Nationalism in the U.S. and is a dangerous threat to America's democracy.
‘1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture’: a feature documentary that follows the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946. It chronicles the discovery of never-before-seen archives at Yale University which unveil astonishing new revelations, and casts significant doubt on any biblical basis for LGBTQIA+ prejudice. Featuring commentary from prominent scholars as well as opposing pastors, including the personal stories of the film’s creators, 1946 is at once challenging, enlightening, and inspiring.
‘One Person, One Vote’: documentary that examines the complexities and origins of the Electoral College, the system for electing the U.S. president. The film follows four presidential electors in Colorado during the intense 2020 election, each representing a different political perspective.
‘Following Harry’: an intimate documentary that chronicles the last twelve years of legendary Harry Belafonte’s life, highlighting the artist-activist's enduring commitment to social justice.
‘An Army of Women’: A group of women in Austin, Texas join forces and help build a movement of plaintiffs legally challenging the system that allowed their rapists to walk free. An Army of Women is the landmark story of women fighting to hold law enforcement accountable, with resounding relevance worldwide.
‘Harriet’: Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, HARRIET tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature
‘MILK’: Milk is a 2008 biographical drama film that tells the true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to a major public office in California.
‘Katrina: Come Hell and High Water’: This is the story of a brutal coastal hurricane turned cataclysmic through human error and neglect. Over the course of a gripping and emotional three episodes, the people of New Orleans recount their past, extoll their present and lean into the future of what they and their beloved city survived and have become 20 years later. The series sets the stage for a tragedy - whose man-made elements expose the systemic governmental neglect that led to the city being defenseless in the face of the storm - and Katrina’s devastating impact that changed New Orleans irreparably.
‘White Right: Meeting the Enemy’. From Filmmaker Deeyah Khan, “I sat down face to face with white nationalists and neo-Nazis, men who see people like me a Muslim woman and daughter of immigrants, as their enemy. I wanted to understand: what drives their anger? Why do they believe in hate and division? White Right: Meeting the Enemy takes you inside their world. It is a journey into the heart of extremism and an exploration of whether dialogue and a recognition of our shared humanity can break through walls of hate. This was one of the most dangerous, personal and meaningful projects I have ever worked on.”
‘Assata Shakur Documentary’: Assata: Exile since 1979, On May 2 1973, Black Panther activist Assata Olugbala Shakur (fsn) Joanne Deborah Chesimard, was pulled over by the New Jersey State Police, shot twice and then charged with murder of a police officer. Assata spent six and a half years in prison under brutal circumstances before escaping out of the maximum security wing of the Clinton Correctional Facility for Women in New Jersey in 1979 and moving to Cuba.
Assata: In her own words, “My name is Assata ("she who struggles") Olugbala ( "for the people" ) Shakur ("the thankful one"), and I am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of government persecution, I was left with no other choice than to flee from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government's policy towards people of color. I am an ex political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most of my life, and although the U.S. government has done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the 1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black liberation movement, the student rights movement, and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black Panther Party had become the number one organization targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO program. because the Black Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black people, J. Edgar Hoover called it "greatest threat to the internal security of the country" and vowed to destroy it and its leaders and activists.”
A commitment to your own personal liberation through HEALING and truth-seeking fortifies your capacity to be a truth-teller and active participant in the global movement for Collective Liberation. There are numerous pathways to become involved in Collective Liberation work. The following resources are ones I am personally involved in and can verify their integrity and dedication to the good of the whole.
*SURG/ Standing Up for Racial Justice: SURJ mobilizes white people for justice across the country. Through campaigns, education, and action opportunities, we move our people to reject racism and complicity– and to join movements for change. https://surj.org
*May Day Strong: Workers Over Billionaires. https://maydaystrong.org
*No Kings: Immigrant Solidarity Initiatives and resistance to fascism. https://nokings.org/signs-of-solidarity-toolkit
*Mobilize: Learn about your local volunteer opportunities for collective liberation. https://mobilize.us
*Repairers of the Breach: Repairers of the Breach is a national organization that trains moral leaders and builds social justice movements that are rooted in a framework that uplifts our deepest moral and constitutional values. https://breachrepairers.org
*March For Our Lives: March For Our Lives works to educate, engage, and mobilize young people into sustained action that challenges the systems enabling gun violence and creates the conditions for the cultural and policy change needed to make our communities safe. March For Our Lives envisions a future where young people inherit a nation free from gun violence, where the systems that profit from and perpetuate it are dismantled, and where safety is valued above gun industry profit. https://marchforourlives.org/
*The Save America Movement: A dedicated group of Americans fighting for right vs. wrong, not left vs. right. https://www.thesaveamericamovement.org
*Human Rights Campaign: The Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights Campaign Foundation fight to make equality, equity and liberation a reality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. https://hrc.org
If you are seeking a Beloved CommUNITY that is devoted to their own LIBERATION and the path of manifesting LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, you are invited to explore the SHINE 13 Moon Council and get involved with our heart and Soul project, the IMAGINE PEACE Promise Alliance.
Please don't give in to despair and apathy. PEOPLE OF GOODWILL ARE RISING!
COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS!
INFINITE LOVE, PEACE, and SOLIDARITY,
Heather Elizabeth, Founder and Steward of SHINE and the IMAGINE PEACE Promise Alliance
The heARTforms of music and dance are essential tools for our personal and Collective LIBERATION! They assist us in moving energy and facilitate an experience of RADICAL JOY in the midst of deeply challenging times. You are welcome to share in my PLAYlists that are INSPIRED by the work with the SHINE 13 Moon Council and IMAGINE PEACE Promise Alliance.
