Official Site of Preslaysa Edwards - Preslaysa Williams
Author. Actress. Blasian Gal.
“Black women resisted White supremacist culture by making homes where all Black people could be subjects, not objects.” -bell hooks.
I hope to create a space where BIPOC are centered in their stories. Our existence is resistance.
#ownvoices #WeNeedDiverseBooks #BlackGirlMagic
Today I went to Monticello. The night before I went to an Underground Railroad exhibit in another town. I have a lot to process.
At the Underground Railroad exhibit, there were few attendees. We couldn’t take pictures. They showed an actual iron ball and chain that weighed 24 pounds, the spiked, iron headgear, and the leather, locked collars used on captured people who tried to run away from slavery.
I drew pictures of what I saw and recorded the information listed since I couldn’t take pictures.
At Monticello, we could take pictures of the ground sites, but we couldn’t take pictures inside Jefferson’s mansion. I also recorded what I saw inside his mansion.
I went to the Sally Hemings’ room and a reconstructed dwelling of an enslaved blacksmith. And I spent most of my time at the places where enslaved people labored: the horse stable, smokehouse, dairy, kitchen, “garden”, etc.
I also saw the ridiculous weekly food rations that an adult, enslaved person received: one peck of cornmeal, four salted fish, and a 1/2 pound of pork. They said “theft” was common at Monticello (and I see why!!). Adults also only received an annual yardage of cloth to make 2 outfits each year.
I bypassed Thomas Jefferson’s ornate gravesite, and I chose to spend more time at the unmarked burial plot where some enslaved people are buried. I prayed for their souls and poured libations to the enslaved ancestors. I felt heavy hearted as I thought about what their lives were like on earth.
I saw two different portrayals of the life of enslaved people at two different places. After seeing both, I am more committed to centering and celebrating their voices. Voices that have been historically erased and silenced.
I feel a heavy charge to do this after my visits. It’s so important.
They say I don’t got a voice. They say don’t nobody want to hear what I have to say.
(Sorry, I’ll use my English. Ahem.) They say say I don’t have a voice. They say no one wants to hear what I have to say. They’re wrong.
Somebody out there feel like I feel, see what I see, think what I think.
Somebody out there crying cause ain’t nobody listening to them.
Somebody out there is talking in silence, is speaking to the voices in they head ‘cuz the voices outside they head tryna drown ’em.
So I’ma speak out. Hopefully, that somebody out there will hear me speaking and get speaking hope for they-selves.
Hopefully, that somebody out there will see me shouting and get a shout about them too. The kind of shout you get in church on Sunday when the preaching real good.
I hope.
“You are the designer of your destiny; you are the author of your story.” -Lisa Nichols
My life has made another turn around the calendar today. I spent some time last night thinking about my year and this upcoming one.
Lisa Nichols’ quote encapsulates what I strive towards for this new year of life: designing my destiny, authoring my story, keeping outside, negative forces at bay.
Outside forces are just that: outside. They don’t control my inner life, that quiet space where I create with God. That space where I allow and disallow people, places, and ideas in my sphere. We have the ability to create our worlds.
So today, I invite you to dive within yourself and create yours.
“Once you know who you are, you don’t have to worry anymore.” -Nikki Giovanni
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
My biggest struggle has been the “liking yourself” part Maya’s statement. I love what I do. I love how I do it (although I tend to be a perfectionist)…but liking myself? Meh.
Internal and external factors have contributed to whether I like myself. The external ones deal with social norms which don’t favor Black women and Womxn of color.
The internal ones deal with my self-image and self-esteem. Yet both factors are intricately connected.
Success occurs when all three become a peaceful trinity. Today, after years of heartache, I like myself. And so today, I’m successful. How about you?
“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.” -Sadie Delany
All the news in the world has me feeling some type of way. When I was praying and journaling this morning, the phrase that came up was: ‘Decide to be happy now.’
I refuse to let my happiness become contingent on a goal reached or a dream fulfilled. I resolve to be happy now. Exercising my choice empowers me and makes me the co-creator of my life. It sets me on the path of creating with God.
My power lies in my power to choose. I choose joy.
“I am a feminist, and what that means to me is much the same as the meaning of the fact that I am Black: it means that I must undertake to love myself and to respect myself as though my very life depends upon self-love and self-respect.” – June Jordan
My life depends on how much I love and respect myself. The world already has their views of me. That’s out of my control.
And so my life depends on how much I love and respect myself. It depends on what I will and will not accept regarding how I relate to others and to myself.
Self-love is revolutionary.
Self-respect is avant-garde.
For Black women, both are a lifeline.
