google-site-verification=cXrcMGa94PjI5BEhkIFIyc9eZiIwZzNJc4mTXSXtGRM “I am spiritual”: Navigating black women’s complicated relationships with religion, spirituality, and the labeling of our faith - 360WISE MEDIA
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“I am spiritual”: Navigating black women’s complicated relationships with religion, spirituality, and the labeling of our faith

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I first heard the term “multiple religious affiliations” as a university student. Iyanla Vanzant was a visiting professor at the University of Bennett School during his senior 12 months of college in 2011. Even though I wasn’t officially registered for the course, I got here and listened to lectures very often.

Multiple religious affiliation refers to when someone participates in the rituals of a couple of spiritual tradition. I do not forget that Vanzant, who’s each a Yoruba priestess and an ordained minister, spoke openly about the duality of her faith.

In her first book, she wrote about the value of bringing ancient traditions to the table of modern beliefs. “Now I know that you can’t separate a nation’s culture from its spirit,” she wrote.

In subsequent books, Vanzant stated that she developed an intimate and personal relationship with God while writing. “While writing the book, I learned that many paths lead to one path. I realized that God doesn’t care whether I am Yoruba or Christian,” she said he wrote. “God wanted me to love myself.”

Her message had enormous interfaith appeal amongst black women. Even my conservative Christian grandmother gave me her books as I entered the milestone of womanhood.

I grew up reading Vanzant’s work, but I never thought of myself as a non secular pluralist. I used to be raised in the church and have a deep respect for the word of God that I used to be taught from the Bible. Christianity is the basis of my faith. However, something deep inside me shifted and woke up after my mother’s sudden death in 2022.

I used to be in search of divine intimacy and needed more in my spiritual toolkit to hold me through this season of mourning. I prayed for guidance daily. The other day I remembered myself as a twenty-something college student. Vanzant stood in front of the class and I remember her saying that all of us have the power to achieve inside and unlock our own spiritual and ancestral roots. It was a flash of light and so began the next step in my spiritual discovery. I allowed myself to hunt, ask questions, and pull things from other spiritual houses that resonated on a soul level, including Khemite spirituality (which I had studied with Queen Afua a few years earlier), Vedic yoga and meditation, and ancestral altar work.

Theologian Candice Marie Benbow describes an identical spiritual search after her mother’s death in 2015. She didn’t go to church for a 12 months and a half.

“I met with the Buddhist prayer community every week,” she says. “I always walked through these prayer labyrinths. I did all these very different things to connect spiritually away from the church because a lot of my relationship with my mom was with the church.”

Benbow, a graduate of Duke Divinity School, said she needed time to grieve without the added pressure and that “the church could make you’re feeling such as you owe something. I didn’t need to feel like I needed to experience that sort of sacredness or righteous grief.”

She adds, “One of the hardest things for me was coming to terms with the undeniable fact that a lot of my faith identity… was rooted in what I used to be taught, reasonably than what I believed, felt, or experienced. And my mother’s death showed me the cracks in all of it.

It was during this era that the idea for her first book was born. She currently describes herself as a Christian and a seeker.

“I like the word seeker. I actually like calling myself that,” he says. “I am a Christian. I follow Christ. I am rooted and grounded on this… and at the same time I call myself a seeker because I am continually on the lookout for ways to feel and connect with the Spirit.”

Religion on the spectrum

Today, it is just not unusual for Black women to construct ancestral altars, practice yoga, sit in mindfulness meditation, read Tarot cards, and still go to church on Sunday.

According to the report “Faith Among Black Americans” published by Pew Research Centermost Black Americans adhere to Christianity, but additionally they adhere to a various range of spiritual practices and beliefs that reach beyond the boundaries of the traditional Christian church.

For example, 40 percent of blacks said they believed in reincarnation, and 30 percent prayed to their ancestors. More than 40 percent of black believers also meditate each day or weekly. Additionally, 20 percent said they pray at their home altar or sanctuary greater than once per week.

Dr. Ericka D. Gault, director of the Center for the Study of African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, suggests that it could be time for us to develop a brand new language to explain our spiritual identity, attempting to catch up “where black young adults they were of their variety all the time and didn’t really have a box to envision.”

“When we say or hear things like, ‘I’m spiritual,’ we’re really talking about a change that may have occurred,” she says, “then people say, ‘I’ll go to church and I’ll get it from here, off the Internet.’ Gault can be the creator of the book.

However, he emphasizes that borrowing doesn’t at all times mean belonging. “If you talk to people who attribute Ifa, they have a problem with the way people draw on their sacred traditions. Like, we draw from it in the same way that Beyoncé does in her music, but we don’t necessarily attribute it all,” he says. We may borrow meditation from Buddhism, yoga from Hinduism, eating habits from Islam, but we don’t belong to those groups “in the traditional sense in which these communities understand belonging.”

Delving deeper into the concept of multiple religious affiliations, Rev. Dr. Monica Coleman encourages us to think of it as “being on the religious spectrum,” a more nuanced understanding of spirituality.

Finding a brand new path

Data shows that more and more individuals are leaving the church. Pew research reports that Black Americans, who’re demographically the most religious in the country, are turning away from organized religion in droves. In one decade, 11 percent fewer blacks considered themselves Christians and 7 percent more reported having no religious affiliation. Another test found that “young black adults are less religious and less involved in black churches than older generations.”

This does not imply they are not hungry for spiritual connection. Coleman, an ordained AME minister, African-American professor of religion and creator of the book , says people seek spiritual connection outside traditional churches for several reasons. Some have had bad experiences in places of worship; others imagine that the experiences of black women are underrepresented amongst church leaders. Those in search of these spaces for evolution and innovation could also be dissatisfied because “churches are institutions, and institutions change slowly.”

Lyvonne Briggs, an ordained Pentecostal minister, began a virtual church during quarantine because she saw a necessity. “The proverbial experience was intended for Black women who are Christian/Christian neighbors and wish to embrace their African heritage, implement African and African diaspora spiritual practices, and establish or deepen connections with their ancestors.”

Briggs, a graduate of Yale Divinity School and Columbia Theological Seminary, is currently the host of . “My intention is to answer questions you are not allowed to ask in Bible studies or Sunday school.” In short, she says, “I am helping Black women decolonize their Christianity.”

“I am spiritual”: Navigating black women's complicated relationships with religion, spirituality, and the labeling of our faith
Mature woman prays in the bedroom at home

Christianity and black spiritual traditions

Most spiritual practices amongst enslaved people were feared and banned by plantation owners. Dr. Tamura Lomax, a professor of religious studies at Michigan State University, claims that whites were very afraid of African-derived religions” and “their solution was to inform us that our religions were demonic. This is what must be done to oppress people,” he says. “Demonizing and dehumanizing people in their religions is central to the oppression and total control of people.”

This form of religious propaganda is transmitting generational fear over open discussions about practices corresponding to Hoodoo, conjuring and roots practices associated with African spirituality.

Some ancestors found a strategy to erase their spiritual practices, says Lomax, creator of They established secret “silent ports,” isolated areas in the forests where they may communicate and worship as they pleased. They retained their African spiritual guardians, connecting them with Catholic saints and the Christian Holy Spirit.

“The ancestors used everything they could access to survive… so yes, they use the spirit world,” Lomax explains. “The spirit world becomes extremely important to them because it gives them a sense of regained power. This gives them the ability to control their surroundings. It wasn’t even about rejecting Christianity, as many practiced Hoodoo, conjuring and Christianity combined.”

Spiritual release

While the mixing of ritual and faith has existed in every generation, today we see the freedom of Black women to experience this reality in a far more public way.

Benbow argues that this religious fluidity “gives us permission to tap into the fullness of who we are, to unify all of our elements and allow them to synergize spiritually.”

For example, Devi Brown has found inspiration in lots of spiritual homes in her faith journey, including Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. As a wellness educator and podcast host, she says her mission is to be Christ-like and provide service.

“I personally believe that the teachings of Christ are truly the guidelines that I live by at all times, even though I do not consider myself a Christian. I look to the teachings of Christ and His mastery as how I want to move in the world,” he says. “I don’t think the focus should be on what you call yourself.”

He adds, “Rather than always being committed to the organization we belong to, my belief should always be to give God first and then find the system or religion that will best help us access God and meet our spiritual needs.”

Crossing labels

For me, allowing myself to adopt latest practices opened up my connection to my mother in the spirit world. I can commune with her daily at my altar and I even have developed a relationship with her that transcends this earthly plane. And that saved me. I didn’t lose my faith in God – it developed.

Perhaps it is time for us to focus less on labels and appreciate the power of our way of worship. Whether it’s Sunday worship, Baptist at the bedside, or participation in group meditations, we’re privileged to have freedom in our spirituality, and this freedom is a solution to the prayer of our ancestors.


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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ÁWET creates a community atmosphere for everyone

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B.F.A

Eritrean tailor Goitom Woldegebriel sharpened his aesthetic awareness within the shadow of war, witnessing the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict together with his own eyes in his youth. After a long period of passing, he took root in New York, where he continued the generational process in the sector of tailoring and crafts. Today, the family brand and Soho storefront are named after Woldegebriel’s son, Áwet, which suggests victory at Tigriny – a polysemous reference to the resilience that strengthened the founder within the face of conflict.

With respect for the community, Áwet desired to create a space to rejoice young talent in much the identical way his father believed in nurturing the hands that prepare clothes for a collective tapestry. From May 4 to five, ÁWET’s flagship on Bond Street hosted eleven AAPI brands. An edition of micro-collections and small series curated by a group representing artists from the US and China Velvet.Cowere presented along with ÁWET’s latest spring/summer ’24 collection – the primary womenswear premiere of this often genderless brand.

In the context of New York’s collective post-2021 mission to combat anti-Asian bigotry, all parties needed to create an industry space of celebration and sanctuary. Proceeds from purchases made throughout the pop-up were donated Make us visible, a corporation that empowers local communities to create curricula that integrate Asian American contributions, experiences, and stories in K-12 classrooms. Now greater than ever, the fight against racial miseducation is collective, and what’s at stake affects how students of all backgrounds understand American and world history. Anti-racism reading is important.

ÁWET creates a community atmosphere for everyone

Woldegebriel calls prioritizing community “a driving force and a driving force.” We greatly value the chance to showcase the unique skills of AAPI designers in our flagship store. Thanks to archival furniture from the twentieth century and a spacious design resembling a gallery, the ÁWET store serves as a multifunctional meeting place. The bar greets shoppers on the left, often behind it’s the founder who handles the drinks himself. Visitors are treated as guests, and for a man so committed to the practice of calling meetings, it is suitable that his store opens the door to a sense of joyful upliftment, allowing him to act as host in some ways.

“From the very beginning,” Áwet tells ESSENCE, “our goal with the flagship was to create a vibrant hub that fostered a sense of belonging, and this successful pop-up event embodies just that. This is a fantastic way to celebrate the start of AAPI month.”

Of the eleven brands presented within the pop-up, a lot of them have already achieved a high position and, due to this fact, increasing visibility on the style scene. Formal wear brand items hoe were unveiled just months after the Chinese grunge label founded none apart from Kelly Rowland last Oscar season.

When it involves accessories, many labels have turned their attention to a global approach blocking (See Empty behaviorkitten-heeled football boots) and Indie Sleaze (see code hobo-chic Monkey Courageopen structure Jolin bag). Both works show the smallest details of on a regular basis life, subtly referring to cultural trends known from everywhere in the world. Underscoring all of the brands represented was an emphasis on thoughtful craftsmanship, leading to an overall character of accessible elegance. If you managed to participate, it was clear that there really was something for everyone.

Áweta’s ethos in design is inextricably linked to his narrative of private fortitude, anchored much more deeply in his respect for his family heritage. The narrative of world rebirth is shared by many artists and creators desperate to bring their work to New York markets. It is a tapestry of cultural diversity that has historically sustained the crafts that make the craft scene so unique. Stay up so far with the international indie design scene to search out more brands represented within the pop-up.


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Regardless of what you may have heard, not all ultra-processed foods are harmful to your health

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In recent years it has been increasing hype across the potential health risks of so-called “ultra-processed” foods.

But latest evidence has been published this week found that not all “ultra-processed” foods are related to poor health. This includes the mass-produced whole grain bread you buy on the supermarket.

Although it is a newly published study and related editorial While they are unlikely to end arguments about how best to define unhealthy foods and diets, it’s crucial that these debates do not delay the implementation of policies that are likely to actually improve our diets.

What is ultra-processed food?

Ultra-processed food are industrially produced using various processing techniques. They normally contain ingredients you won’t find in your home kitchen, comparable to preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners and/or artificial colours.

Common examples of ultra-processed foods are packaged chips, flavored yogurts, soft drinks, sausages and mass-packaged whole grain bread.

IN many other countries, ultra-processed foods make up a big portion of what people eat. AND recent research it’s estimated that on average they constitute 42% of total energy consumption in Australia.

How do ultra-processed foods affect our health?

Previous studies linked increased consumption of ultra-processed foods to poorer health. For example, high consumption of ultra-processed foods is related to: higher risk type 2 diabetes and deaths from heart disease and stroke.

Ultra-processed foods are typically high in energy, added sugar, salt and/or unhealthy fats. These have been around for a very long time recognized as risk aspects for a number of diseases.

Ultra-processed foods are normally high in energy, salt, fat or sugar.
Olga Dubravina/Shutterstock

It has also been suggested that structural changes occurring in ultra-processed foods are part of the production process power lead to eating greater than you should. Potential explanations are that because of the way in which they are produced, foods are consumed faster and tastier.

This too possible Some food additives can impair normal body functions, comparable to how our cells reproduce.

Is it harmful? It is dependent upon the nutrients of the food

The latest paper Data from two large cohort studies spanning 30 years within the US have just been published to assess the connection between ultra-processed food consumption and long-term health. The study attempted to separate the impact of the production process itself from the food’s nutrient profile.

The study found a slight increase in the danger of premature death with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods.

But importantly, the authors also checked out food plan quality. They found that for individuals who ate a high-quality food plan (wealthy in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats and low in sugary drinks, salt, and red and processed meats), there was no clear relationship between the quantity of ultra-processed foods , which they consumed and the danger of premature death.

This suggests that overall food plan quality has a stronger impact on long-term health than the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

The man is cooking
People who eat an overall healthy food plan but still eat ultra-processed foods are no more likely to die prematurely.
Grusho Anna/Shutterstock

When researchers analyzed ultra-processed foods by subcategory, mass-produced whole-grain products, comparable to supermarket whole-grain breads and whole-grain breakfast cereals, showed no association with poorer health.

This finding suits with one other recent study test This suggests that ultra-processed whole grain foods are not the cause of poor health.

The authors concluded that while there was some support for limiting consumption of certain types of ultra-processed foods for long-term health reasons, not all ultra-processed foods needs to be subject to universal restrictions.

Should dietary guidelines discourage ultra-processed foods?

Existing national dietary guidelines have been developed and refined based on many years of dietary evidence.

Much of the newest evidence about ultra-processed foods tells us what we already knew: that products like soft drinks, alcohol and processed meats are harmful to health.

Dietary guidelines generally They already recommend eating mainly whole foods and limiting the consumption of highly processed foods high in refined grains, saturated fats, sugar and salt.

But some nutrition researchers do called on amending dietary guidelines to recommend avoiding ultra-processed foods.

Based on the available evidence, it could be difficult to justify adding the novel statement to avoid all ultra-processed foods.

Advice to avoid all ultra-processed foods would likely have an unfair impact on low-income people because many ultra-processed foods, comparable to supermarket breads, are relatively inexpensive and convenient.

Whole grain breads also provide essential nutrients comparable to fiber. In many countries, bread is known as best contribution for fiber intake. Therefore, it could be problematic to recommend avoiding whole grain bread from the supermarket simply because it’s ultra-processed.

So how can we improve our food plan?

It’s strong agreement on the necessity to implement evidence-based policies to improve population nutrition. This includes laws limiting kid’s exposure to the marketing of unhealthy foods and types, mandatory health star nutrition information on labels, and taxes on sugary drinks.

Soft drink on the supermarket shelf
Taxes on sweet drinks would cut back their consumption.
MDV Edwards/Shutterstock

These principles are based on well-established systems for food health classification. If latest evidence emerges concerning the mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods cause health harm, these classification systems might be updated to bear in mind such evidence. If, for instance, certain additives are found to be harmful to health, this evidence could be incorporated into existing nutrient profiling systems comparable to Star health rating food labeling scheme.

Therefore, policymakers can confidently proceed to implement food policy using the food healthiness classification tools we already have.

These include unhealthy food plan and obesity best contributors to poor health. We cannot allow the hype and academic debate about “ultra-processed” foods to delay the implementation of globally beneficial policies to improve population diets.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Here’s how the national cycling club is paying tribute to a black cycling legend and making the sport more accessible

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Courtesy of Seitu Barnes

May is National Bicycle Month and a conversation about Black history and cycling would not be complete without talking about Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor. He was the undisputed GOAT –Schwinn Bicycles calls him “the greatest sprinter of all time.” He won quite a few competitions and world titles, set many world records and was considered one of the first black celebrity athletes.

Between 1898 and 1899, Taylor “set seven world records” in the distances of a quarter-mile, one-third mile, half-mile, two-thirds mile, three-quarters mile, one mile, and two miles. At the time, racism was common, especially in the world of cycling, and when he was allowed to race, Taylor “often had to deal with insults, fouls and outright sabotage (such as having ice water thrown at him and nails hammered into the track) by both competitors and spectators.”

Unfortunately, though almost 100 and twenty-five years have passed since Taylor’s dominance, the legacy of exclusion still stays. “Not enough African Americans are involved in professional cycling,” said Dereka Hendon-Barnes, president of the Major Taylor Iron Riders.

Here's how this national cycling club is paying tribute to a black cycling legend and making the sport more accessible
Courtesy of Seitu Barnes

The data supports these claims. “Cycling is one of the whitest sports in the world” – sports website Andlandscape reports. “During the 2021 International Cycling Union (UCI) world tour – which hosts the sport’s most important races, including the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France – less than 1% of cyclists were Black.” Additionally, there have been no black competitors at the 2022 Tour de France. A yr earlier, there was just one “black cyclist” in the peloton: Nic Dlamini, the first black rider from South Africa on the route. There are many reasons for the lack of diversity and inclusion in cycling in any respect levels, from a lack of coverage to an exclusionary history, the sport often seems reluctant to move past the issue.”

“It’s not just black and brown people represented in cycling. They are also women,” Hendon-Barnes continued. Only in 2021 for the first time Black woman joined a “professional road cycling team”. Ayesha McGowan didn’t make her racing debut until she was 26, but as she told Olympics.com, “A giant a part of this journey for me has also been to create space for other people to do that and hopefully show other black women, African American women , women of color that they’ll race bikes.”

There are cycling groups throughout the country inspired by Major’s work Taylor’s legacyresembling Major Taylor Iron Riders in New York, want to change that and increase the variety of black and women cyclists.

Here's how this national cycling club is paying tribute to a black cycling legend and making the sport more accessible
Courtesy of Seitu Barnes

Like McGowan, Hendon-Barnes also took up cycling later in life. She told ESSENCE how her brother inspired her to take up the sport and she would take the train to “Brooklyn, go to South Street Seaport, and I’d rent this bike day-after-day. One summer I used to be literally just exploring, getting lost on my bike in the city. It struck me that I remembered the joy I had as a child riding my Huffy with a basket on the handlebars, riding around the neighborhood and the freedom of being on a bike.

Major Taylor Iron Riders (MTIR) was officially founded in 2006, something Barnes explained was born out of necessity. Before MTIR, there was the Element Tour, which was began by “a few sisters who liked riding bikes and felt like they weren’t accepted or included in what they were doing, so they started doing what they did.” But when people wanted to ride fast, MTIR stepped in, and a part of the name Iron Riders “came from the Buffalo Soldiers, black infantry who rode bicycles during the war.”

“In 1897, the all-black twenty fifth Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps launched into a powerful bicycle ride of over 3,000 miles from Fort Missoula, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri as a part of a U.S. Army experiment to determine the effectiveness of moving troops on bicycles,” the article reads Missouri State Parks website. “The journey, called the ‘Great Experiment’ in national newspapers, lasted 41 days.”

For Hendon-Barnes, increasing representation is crucial. “It’s not for lack of talent. It’s a lack of resources. It costs a lot of cash to do that. You have to be at the very top to be invited or to give you the option to get to the training facilities. Moreover, “people have no idea about it at all because they just don’t see someone who looks like them doing it.”

Hendon-Barnes is hopeful about the way forward for integration in sport. “I have a constant rule, whether you are in a club or a racing team: you will have to work, but you will never be left behind.”

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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