Rachel Ricketts - The Spiritual Activist
Rachel Ricketts - The Spiritual Activist
Rachel Ricketts is a queer Black woman, global disruptor, speaker, healer + author of the forthcoming book Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy
What is your definition of freedom? What does it look and feel like to you? And how do you cultivate it daily?
FREEDOM is my word for 2019 and to me that entails an ability to move, exist and speak easily and joyfully from a state of grace, love and abundance rather than fear, lack and scarcity. FREEDOM looks like leaning fully and completely into yourself, even the scary and shadowy bits. It feels like trusting your intuition and knowing it will not lead you astray. I cultivate freedom daily by accepting all that I am and embracing the full spectrum of emotions that reside within me. I am a strong, wise, intuitive, empathic Black woman who faces oppression on the daily but stands tall with the divine support of 3,000 ancestors at my back.
How have your thoughts, perception, and understanding of freedom evolved with time? What was it before and what is it now?
When I was younger I bought into the capitalist racist heteropatriarchal notion that freedom only comes with financial abundance. The "when, then" syndrome. I swallowed that lie hard and it was only when I became a corporate lawyer with the six figure pay check that I realized all the money in the world cannot give you the truest freedom there is - peace of mind. Now I live my life according to my values and run gut checks to confirm if my decisions align,. Living my life from and with integrity is a freedom of its own.
Freedom can feel like something we’re all seeking, but may have trouble grasping. What's one piece of advice or some words of wisdom you can offer to this community as they look to "get free"?
Whatever freedom you seek already exists within you. Yes financial freedom is helpful, and there are very real fiscal constraints that were very intentionally created to keep women of color from getting free. Still, there is no amount of money or beauty or fame or Insta-likes that will give you the freedom that comes from truly loving, honouring and accepting yourself. Especially in a world that constantly tells Black women not to.
Share an anecdote, memory, or practice in your life that embodies freedom in every way.
I have a photo that I found from when I was 4 or 5 years old at a friends cabin in the summertime and it always embodies freedom for me. I'm wearing my favourite pink swimsuit and my hair is in this immaculate "Kid from House Party" hair cut. I am sitting in a kiddie pool on the porch, smiling from ear to ear with one fist outreached to the sky and the other on my hip like superwoman. That little girl knew exactly who she was and she wasn't afraid to show it. Part of getting free has been reminding me of who I once used to be.
What is one song that helps you get free?
"I'm Coming Out" by Dianna Ross
What is one book that has helped you claim your freedom?
Eloquent Rage by Brittney C. Cooper is a MUST read, especially for Black women.