🌊 A Sacred Image from Benin
Not long ago, my friend Chechi sent me this gorgeous photo.
Chechi is one of the filmmakers working with me on my documentary film project, Across the King’s River.
She’s also a gifted photographer.
This photo was taken in Benin during the Vodun Festival in January. These women are honoring Mami Wata — a powerful deity of water, transformation, and abundance. She is revered in several African traditions and throughout the diaspora.
🔮 Honoring Mami Wata and African Spiritual Power
Like many African spiritual traditions, Vodun has been demonized.
But despite centuries of misinformation and distortion, Vodun remains a powerful spiritual system — a source of wisdom, healing, and liberation.
Our sacred traditions teach us:
To honor our ancestors
To walk in balance
To trust in the wisdom of nature
🛡️ Our Stories Must Be Told
This photo reminds me that our work is not over — we must continue to tell our stories and share our history, especially in this season of DEI rollbacks and openly racist agendas.
They tried to erase us. They failed.
They tried to silence us. They failed.
They tried to strip us of our power. They failed.
We are still here.
Our stories will still be told.
🔥 What Stories Will You Tell?
📚 I keep telling these stories—
Through my book.
🎬 Through my ongoing film project.
🗣️ Through the conversations I lead and nurture.
And I invite you to reflect with me:
What stories will you tell?
How will you honor your lineage?
What wisdom will you pass on?
🧬 Your Story Is Sacred
In a world that wants us to forget, remembering is an act of resistance.
Your story is necessary. The world needs your truth.
The next generation is calling your name.
You must answer.