Prayer Edition | Day 19 | The Mandela Family

… A tree was chopped down

and the fruit was scattered

I cried

because I had lost a family

the trunk, my father

the branches, his support

so much

the fruit, the wife and children

who meant so much to him

tasty

loving as they should be

all on the ground

some out of his reach

in the ground

the roots, happiness

cut off from him.

        - Zindzi Mandela

This is an ode to Black love. The love that survived and the love that didn’t.

This is an honoring of the sacrifice of Black men who could have loved more tenderly and Black women who could have received more softly if only the world wasn’t content on destroying them.

This is an honoring of the lovers who sought refuge in each other and found it, if only for a moment. 

This is a space where we honor the gray area of relationships. A space that knows no blame. A space that honors that there is no manual for how to love during wartime. 

This is a conversation and an exploration of the life and love of Winnie and Nelson Mandela.

Our heroes were humans and they gave at great sacrifice. Today we honor that sacrifice and look for the lessons by diving deep into the Mandelas' powerful legacy.

Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.

Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:

Soweto Blues - Miriam Makeba:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7qb0KJZ0iXtS8LMSXCH353?si=t5ZnQGQjRiydvR4uzTBY_w

Let's Stay Together - Al Green:

https://open.spotify.com/track/63xdwScd1Ai1GigAwQxE8y?si=79Zk_xL5Ss6hoNLeUOipMw