Reflections on BLCD
My goal for the Black Liberation and Community Development (BLCD) Europe and Africa Workshop was to bring my female self—a woman of Black African heritage—to our BLCD Village. Racism can cloud my thinking when I try to put female first. My family has fought and still fights to survive racism, to the point that “woman” gets sidelined.
I came to the workshop with feelings that people don’t like me and that that’s why I haven’t connected with them and they haven’t connected with me. My inner critic asked me, “How dare I step up and lead as Jobs Coordinator or in designing the flyer? Who am I to think I can do that?” But I was reminded that as a woman of Black African heritage, I can stop thinking small and go big.
My gift from BLCD 2021 was listening to the journeys of African and Caribbean Co-Counsellors and about the impact of colonialism and the climate crisis on their everyday lives. I gained more awareness of my privilege from living in a coloniser country. It is easy to “numb out” about and “switch off” the climate emergency and its impact on millions of Africans.
We were invited to think about what we want to change in the world. My first thought was that I want all of us—country leaders, organisations, communities—to really listen to each other. Also, counselling on my feelings of rejection, confusion, and not being good enough will help me think about getting involved in the climate movement.
Bedford, Bedfordshire, England
Reprinted from the BLCD leaders‘ mailing list
(Present Time 206, January 2022)