“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” ~African Proverb
Healing is not a solitary journey; it’s a collective process. To truly heal, we must walk this path together. It begins with each of us looking in the mirror, confronting our own pain, and acknowledging the internal work we need to do. Healing starts when we, as a community, admit that we are sick spiritually, emotionally, and physically. We must stop seeing ourselves as separate and recognize that we are all on the same path of resurrection.
We are a people who have been through hell and back. Our ancestors endured unimaginable suffering rape, beatings, and torture. Families were torn apart, and identities were stripped away. Yet here we are, still standing, still fighting, still striving.
Our city, Roanoke, is going through a cleansing. Just as detoxing the body can bring headaches, rashes, and mood swings before balance is restored, our community is experiencing the symptoms of its own healing process. We’ve seen too much death, too much gun violence, too many lives lost to the chaos of hurt and pain.
But death, as difficult as it is, teaches us the value of life. It forces us to reflect on the present moment. If we look deeper, we’ll see that much of the violence in our city is a cry for help. Many of our people don’t know how to express their pain, so they lash out, hurting others because they’ve never been taught to heal themselves.
The Roots of Hurt
“Hurt people hurt people” because pain and suffering can become a learned behavior. For generations, we’ve carried trauma rooted in the enslavement of our ancestors and the oppression of colonialism. This trauma manifests in countless ways addiction, violence, materialism, and self-destruction. We mask our hurt with drugs, alcohol, social status, or unhealthy relationships, but eventually, the sickness rises to the surface.
That unaddressed pain manifests in our communities as the neighborhood addict, the abuser, the prostitute, or the child molester. These roles are symptoms of deeper wounds that have gone untreated for too long.
We’ve become so conditioned to this pain that we see it as normal. We’ve accepted preventable diseases as inevitable, with phrases like “I’m going to die anyway” used to justify unhealthy choices. But this is the mindset of a defeated spirit, masking the hurt inside.
Returning to Our Roots
“The young will look back at the old to learn how to walk.” ~African Proverb
To heal, we must return to the ways of our ancestors the ways they nurtured community and cared for one another. We’ve lost the art of looking out for each other, of borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor, of sitting on the porch to share our struggles and solutions.
It’s time to rebuild that village. It’s time to grow our own food, heal ourselves with herbs, and manage our stress through meditation, yoga, and mindfulness. These practices aren’t new; they come from our ancestors. They created these tools, and now we are rediscovering their power.
Healing begins when we let go of ego and hidden agendas, planting seeds of love, forgiveness, and gratitude. Every one of us has a role to play in this process. No role is greater or lesser; each is essential to the whole. Just as ants rebuild their hill after it’s destroyed, we can rebuild our community when we work together.
A Call to Love and Unity
We must get back to loving ourselves, embracing who we are as a people the good, the bad, and the ugly. There is no separation between us. The only separation is the illusion that we are different. In reality, we are interconnected, united by the generational trauma we’ve inherited and the shared mission to break that cycle.
Our values must change. Instead of calling each other out on social media, let’s call each other on the phone. Instead of kicking each other while we’re down, let’s pick each other up. Remember, we’ve all been hurt. We’ve all experienced trauma, directly or indirectly.
The Creator is preparing us for something greater, but we must quiet our minds and hearts to hear what is being said. We must stop fighting the natural flow of life and embrace one another’s flaws. Let’s put down our differences, stop consuming the foods and drinks that destroy our minds and bodies, and adopt lifestyles that heal us.
We are losing too many of our people to disease cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression. These conditions kill us faster than police brutality or Black-on-Black crime ever could. It’s time to stop this cycle. Our youth are watching and depending on us to do something different.
Building a Legacy of Healing
For over 12 years, I’ve walked the path of healing. I’ve learned to love myself, eat healthily, meditate, and embrace my culture. These tools transformed my life, and I’ve dedicated myself to teaching others – youth and adults alike how to do the same.
