GirlTrek's Black History Bootcamp

Today’s 30-minute walk is dedicated to a living legend, the fearless Bree Newsome Bass.
On June 27, 2015, Bree Newsome committed one of the greatest acts of civil disobedience seen in our lifetime when she scaled the 30-foot flag pole on the grounds of the South Carolina State House and removed the confederate flag. Carried literally by the faith of her ancestors, who’d been enslaved in South Carolina. Bree, a woman of just 30 with no training, made the ascent of a lifetime. She climbed up the flagpole in a defiant act of bravery and snatched down a flag that was raised as a symbol of protest against the civil rights movement and the fight for Black liberation.
The saying goes, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” After nine Black members of Emanuel AME Church were massacred during bible study by a white supremacist, Bree Newsome said she realized that now was the time for courage and she never looked back.
There is so much to learn from this young Black warrior queen, who upon reaching the top of the flag pole yelled down to the police below saying, “You come against me with hatred and oppression and violence. I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today.” That was some Miss Celie level, "until you do right by me," energy that unleashed a wave of justice that five years later is still reverberating across this country as monuments to the confederacy continue to fall.
Bree Newsome is about that life and we're going to get into it on today’s call! And by the end, you’ll be walking away with some strategies and ideas to not only help the revolution but to also start toppling the personal monuments in your own life. The monuments you have built to things and people that never served you and should no longer be allowed to take up space in your life.
Join the second edition of GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with inspiring words, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories and explore the pivotal moments from some of the most powerful movements in Black history.
Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpts played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:
Sheri Jones-Moffett - Encourage Yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAt2L7aeH1I
Bree Newsome: Charlottesville is Latest Chapter in Long U.S. History of White Supremacist Terror:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPSotUPQRsc

Today we call the names of the women who do the work. The women who sit on committees, who write papers, edit publications, build coalitions, canvass neighborhoods, attend city council meetings, read and reread all the books. The women who study, learn, and then pass on the knowledge to the rest of us – so that there is a record of what has been and a strategy for a way forward. You too are dreamers and weavers. You are the idea makers. You are the bullhorns and today’s walk is for you. Tune in today as we discuss the Combahee River Collective. We are here because of them.
Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.
Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:
River | Leon Bridges:
https://open.spotify.com/track/3hhbDnFUb2bicI2df6VurK?si=c2a98337c6de4418
I'll Take You There | The Staples Singers:
https://open.spotify.com/track/5YLnfy7R2kueN0BRPkjiEG?si=93dda173da204287

Day 6

The Address: 312 Azusa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90011

The Story: Have you ever heard someone speak in tongues? If you don’t know exactly what I mean, tune in today.

If you know...you know.

Goosebumps.

This emoji 👀.

The organists and choir stop.

Vrrooop.

God takes center stage.

Skeptics look away.

Believers take note.

During a revival on Azusa Street it happened in a public venue on American soil, journalists came.

“Weird Babel of Tongues”

...was the headline.

On April 18, 1906, The Los Angeles Times printed:

“Breathing strange utterances and mouthing a creed which it would seem no sane mortal could understand, the newest religious sect has started in Los Angeles. Meetings are held in a tumbledown shack on Azusa Street near San Pedro Street, and the devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal. Colored people and a sprinkling of whites compose the congregation, and night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howling of the worshipers swaying back and forth in an attitude of prayer and supplication.”

This was The Azusa Street Revival.

It lasted three years.

How could those journalists, with their poorly veiled racism, possibly understand.

It was a spiritual breakthrough.

A rallying call for the newly freed.

The reclaiming of African know-how

...on American soil.

312 Azusa Street, Los Angelos, California was the official birthplace of the Black Pentecostal Movement, the fastest growing religious movement in American history.

For every Black girl who played the tambourine and knows the response to lyrics “This joy that I have...”

...this is your history.

Our history.

Black history.

And if you KNOW God has brought us through!!!

You better shout!

Somebody ought to dance.

Pleasure Muse: Oshun

Tantalizing Trivia

• Oshun is a goddess deity, or orisha, of the Yoruba religion of West Africa. There are equivalent goddess figures in multiple cultures including as Oxum in Brazil and Ochun in Cuba.
• Tradition holds that Oshun comes from Osogbo, Nigeria. That city is considered sacred, and it is believed to be fiercely protected by the water goddess. The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a forest that contains several shrines and artwork in honor of Oshun; it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
• Every year Oshun devotees and other people of the Yoruba religious tradition go to the Oshun River to pay homage at the Oshun festival.
• One of the youngest Orisha’s and one of the most adored in the Yoruba religion. She is the goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She exudes sensuality and all the qualities associated with fresh, flowing river water.
• She is a teacher of both magic and mysticism. She is the granter of wishes and all of your heart’s desires.

Mirror Work:

• Drop into a Goddess squat and allow your hips, chest and heart to open to your divine power.. Instructions:
• From a standing position with the feet 3 feet apart, bend the elbows at shoulder height and turn the palms facing each other. Turn the feet out 45 degrees facing the corners of the room, and as you exhale bend the knees over the toes squatting down.
• Press the hips forward, press the knees back. Drop the shoulders down and back and press the chest toward the front of the room. Keep the arms active, as if they were holding a big ball over your head. Look straight ahead with the chin parallel to the floor.
• Breathe and hold 3-6 breaths
• While breathing repeat the affirmations below.
  

Affirmation:

• I am at the center of creation, the river of life flows through me.
• I give birth to new ideas each day, I nurture them with care.
• I am divine.

Activate the Divine: A Playlist

Alchemy Assignment:

Before bed pamper yourself with this 30-minute divine feminine flow to reconnect to the goddess energy inside of you.

Self-Care Shopping List:

Create an ancestor altar. Everything that you need is detailed here in this simple article.

“The divine feminine is a spiritual concept that there exists a feminine counterpart to the patriarchal and masculine worship structures that have long dominated organized religions. The divine feminine extends well beyond one belief system, and instead can be used as a spiritual lens to balance our perspective.” - Emily Torres

Didn’t catch the live recording of today’s episode? We don’t want you to miss out on getting the full experience. Check out the opening and closing songs below.

Opening ⁠Song⁠

Closing ⁠