Cohousing-L Mailing List: Our Community's BLM sign-changing Ceremony (pics, song, poem)

[Fred-List manager (fholson]

Daisy Birch for Eastern Village Cohousing <daisykbirch [at] gmail.com>
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by Fred of
the Cohousing-L management team <cohousing-l-owner [at] cohousing.org>
after saving the attachment of image of ceremony at:
http://www.justcomm.org/temp/EVC_BLM_Ceremonysm.jpg

This listserv does not distribute attachments,
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--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------
Our community consensed last year to have a BLM sign at our courtyard's
entrance. Our reasons varied: as a memorial, a promise, strength, a
welcoming beacon to all who pass or enter, etc.

It also reflected all but one line of our Values Statement (below, which we
use as a basis for internal proposals).

This summer our BLM sign needed replacing, so we did, in Ceremony, and bought
the new sign from a local Black-owned business.

The ceremony was brief, simple, somber, hopeful, generous, vulnerable.
Folks also attended from the balconies, and from behind their COVID-Safe
windows.



*How it went:*
We observed a moment of silence,
Followed by a very special rendition of *Lift every Voice & Sing (Black
Nat'l Anthem) by the StanfordTalisman Alumni Virtual Choir*
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pGp7N9bG8>*, *and some shared
reflections.



We wrote a poem around the event. Many were touched, moved, inspired, awakened,
and still are, as we enter, leave, or gather there.


This brings to mind the growing practice of intentional and cohousing
communities identifying their locations by the earlier, indigenous names
(our area is where Nacotchtank, Piscataway, Pamukey, Nentego, Mattapohi,
Chickahominy, Monacan, and Powatan Peoples lived/live).

It reminds us--keeps us present to what matters.

*The Sign*

We asked for a sign,
To welcome, to mourn, to nurture,
Again, to claim a more mature future.

It came,
It stood,
A force for good.

We greet it, straighten it,
Thank its maker,
This corrugated tomb-stone civility caretaker.

This B-L-M word trinity;
Echoing an endless plea,
Of wisdoms, teachings, prayers, and powers.
Throughout history,
And ends of hours.

A profound decry,
Though past decreed
This obvious and oblivious
Phrase we need
For many to yearn,
For many to learn,
Alone and together,
And daily in deed.
Each sign helps plant
Each precious seed.

Three sacred words to never spurn,
Honoring hundreds, thousands, millions who
Though buried, founders, ancestors now,
Still call all souls to e’er live true.

Or perhaps to snap
Each nation awake,
Each location awake,
Woke, to what a nation can be;
With something that's simply, deeply at stake.
And a gift,
For each neighbor;
Each moment,
To make.

--Daisy Birch for EVC (CC Creative Commons—feel free to share)

With Warmth, Gratitude, Commitment and Hope,

The EVC (Eastern Village Cohousing) Outreach Team 🌿

For more on free Diversity Circle links in Community or Alone; visit CohoUS
at https://www.cohousing.org/black-cultural-awareness-menu-an-intro/

*EVC’s Values Statement:*
Eastern Village Cohousing is committed to inclusive decision-making through
consensus and the following principles:

   - we cherish and support diverse ages, ethnicities, interests,
   abilities, relationships and spiritual beliefs
   - we value ecological responsibility, sustainable design and a balance
   of aesthetics and affordability
   - we foster interconnectedness, growth, care, communication and respect
   among our membership
   - we engage responsibly with our neighborhood and the wider world.