callin' on the ancestors pt. 1

hand-colored tintype portrait of three unidentified African American women, c. 1865 • source: Harvard Library

author: the folk

just stare at this photo. just stare. take it in while it takes you away. look right into the pools of their eyes. yearn to know the secrets and truths they hold.

their spirits are deep. interconnected. the interlocking arms reflects a kind of bond that is inexplicable. they are bound to one another and to some/one/bodies. the amulets hanging from their necks are shields. they are simultaneously protected and protectors.

i so desperately want to know these three black women. i want them to appear in my dreams and visions. to guide me through this life. i wish i could obliterate the barrier between our realms so we could embrace.

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this photo reminds me of the importance of magic for black folk. im not talking about "hocus pocus” tricks. im not even trying to evoke social media hashtags. im talking about a kind of episteme, a way of knowing, a way of being. who would black people be without our connection to the ancestors? our constant refusal to recognize the boundaries between the physical and spiritual worlds keeps us grounded. who are we without magic?

this was originally posted on the the folk’s bog.