Southern Truth and Reconciliation

09/26/2025

Why We Claim Relation Rather than ‘Chosen’

Peoples who have been to the abyss do not brag of being chosen. They do not believe they are giving birth to any modem force. They live Relation and clear the way for it, to the extent that the oblivion of the abyss comes to them and that, consequently, their memory intensifies.
[Cf. “Our Stories: In Conversation with M. NourbeSe Philip,” Chelsy Monie, unbuntutalks.org; YouTube interview posted April 23, 2018; accessed July 5, 2025. https://youtu.be/LyPgUZ31Izc.]

For though this experience made you, original victim floating toward the sea's abysses, an exception, it became something shared and made us, the descendants, one people among others. Peoples do not live on exception. Relation is not made up of things that are foreign but of shared knowledge. This experience of the abyss can now be said to be the best element of exchange.

For us, and without exception, and no matter how much distance we may keep, the abyss is also a projection of and a perspective into the unknown. Beyond its chasm we gamble on the unknown. We take sides in this game of the world. We hail a renewed Indies; we are for it. And [we are] for this Relation made of stones and profound moments of peace in which we may honor our boats. [Cf. “sanctuaries,” Michael D. Harris, Art as Sanctuary: Conjuring an Africana Aesthetic; Duke U. Press, forthcoming January 2026).

This is why we stay with poetry. And despite our consenting to all the indisputable technologies; despite seeing the political leap that must be managed, the horror of hunger and ignorance, torture and massacre to be conquered, the full load of knowledge to be tamed, the weight of every piece of machinery that we shall finally control, and the exhausting flashes as we pass from one era to another—from forest to city, from story to computer—at the bow there is still something we now share: this murmur, cloud or rain or peaceful smoke. We know ourselves as part and as crowd, in an unknown that does not terrify. We cry our cry of poetry. Our boats are open, and we sail them for everyone.

Glissant, Édouard (1928-2011), Poetics of Relation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997: 8-9. Accessed July 5, 2025

https://archive.org/details/poeticsofrelatio0000glis/page/9/mode/1up?q=brag; andhttps://trueleappress.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/glissant-poetics-of-relation.pdf

09/25/2025

Our social justice nonprofit is seeking a volunteer Executive Director with fundraising experience including raising their own salary, as we resume active programming following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Archival website:
https://southerntruthnet.com/

Role Description
This is a volunteer role for an Executive Director at Southern Truth and Reconciliation - STAR, Inc., located in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, USA, with remote distance networking acceptable.
The Executive Director will be responsible for overseeing the organization's operations, maintaining our banking operations and nonprofit 501(c)(3) status including tax filing and periodic board meetings, implementing strategic initiatives, and managing relationships with related community organizations and stakeholders.

Qualifications
Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Decision-making skills;
Nonprofit Management and Fundraising experience;
Community Engagement and Advocacy skills;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively;
Experience in social justice or human rights advocacy;
Master's degree in a relevant field is a plus.

Dedicated Nonprofit Promoting Best Collaborative Practices for Remembrance Initiatives, Racial Healing & Restorative Justice

05/02/2025

Just for fun, ha! 🤩