Necessary Voices
I’m back. The Great Barrington Project is back. We are back.
2022 was quite a year. Is it too much of a cliche to say, it was the best of times; it was the worst of times? Yeah probably, but I said it anyway.
2022 gave me a lot of unexpected attention and a lot of unexpected emotion. And when I thought I was ready to move on and get back to this project and “regular” life, more emotions came.
But now, I’m finally ready and after a much-needed retreat, am back and ready to create, write and talk and listen again.
I’m incredibly happy to say I’ll be giving the 2023 W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture at Simon’s Rock College in Massachusetts on Monday, Feb 20 at 7 pm. The topic will be The Languages Black Folks Speak: Letting Go of the Myth About Finding Our True Voices. The topic came out of the emotional fallout of the last year. I was talking and writing about race, but struggling with whether I was suppressing some of my more intense feelings and truths, and was prioritizing the perceived feelings of others over my truth. This is something I’ve struggled with my entire life.
But I’ve now made more peace with where I am, and it’s by letting go of the idea that I have to fit into an idea of “authentically” created by people who often have the privilege to access their true voice because they’re not constantly being made aware of how they are being seen and analyzed and interpreted. I now advocate for replacing the "authentic" voice with the "necessary" voice. This is the voice we need to use to survive one more day in a world designed to exclude so many of our voices. This is the voice we use when maybe on this day, we don’t want to speak up and deal with the consequences of being seen as the Angry [ Insert Identifier] Person.
This also means seeking out and finding places where I can use more of my mythic authentic voice/self but knowing that even there, I may still hold on to reserves and that’s okay and it may be necessary.
When I was asked to meet with the selecting committee ( somebody had suggested my name to them) I thought I’d be speaking on a panel. I was comfortable with that and excited to do so. I met with them and felt “authentic" and engaged in our rich conversation. I was happy when they said they’d like me to be the speaker until I got off the call and read more about the lecture.
I wasn’t going to be a speaker, I was THE speaker. And it was a lecture given by people they considered “major writers and thinkers.” Past speakers include the national NAACP chair, acclaimed writers and artists and academics, and now… me? Somebody who had dropped out of school in 11th grade and spent decades thinking his voice didn’t matter? I was almost angry that they believed in me to do this.
But it shifted over the next weeks. I thought about my ancestors whose voices were unheard and ignored. I will also be speaking with their voice. I will be speaking with the voices of people who couldn’t say a word when their child or spouse was sold as a product in front of them. I am speaking for my childhood self who could barely look people in the eye and was almost mute from fear of what others thought of me.
I will do my best to speak with a true voice, but I know I will be speaking with my necessary voice.
I’d love to see you there if you are able. It will also be livestreamed and later posted to YouTube. The info is in the QR code.
The next Great Barrington Project will be in Reading Pennsylvania for Juneteenth week. I'm pairing up with the Reading NAACP to bring this to the community. I’ve reworked it in ways I think add much more nuance and personal experience to it.
The Great Barrington Project will also be in NYC later in the year, more details to follow when they are firmed up. I am learning to not overcommit and also be conscious of taking care of my mental health during all of this.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement on what has been a magical journey beyond my wildest dreams.
Delano