Ethnography of Gathering the Folk
Or “I remember you”
Feyiṣayo Aluko
Quiet as it’s kept, there is
Sanctuary here in Brooklyn
Even the birds agree
See, skinny trees and migrant memory
Whistle slowly
How many ways can you tell a story
Dress it holy
The elders used to say
Each one teach one
I hear
children’s footsteps on the front porch
Pitter patter against treated wood
The flutter of butterflies
The promise of new life
The black home is an archive of
Living memory/community
The idea of teaching history
Aside: Where does oral history live?
Sassy Susie, gun strapped to her hip
Magic woman and shapeshifter
This is how we come to the work
(& what is a gathering without food)
Every tongue got to confess
Regress
In a world where bodies are thought of as commodity
What does it meant write us into possibility—
Pause.
Zora and I did not walk the earth at the same time,
We missed each other and yet
Found ourselves in
These tall tales
Hid history in plain sight
Flight and memory
Tone and elegy
A folklore is only a dressed up version of history
Aside: How does oral history live?
Let me show you
Do you remember what your mother’s breath sounded like
Whisper of affection
We are a combination of
The women we love
Born at the kitchen table/the working table/ the living table
There is
Space for you at the table
It is not my questions that matter but rather
What you would like to say
we already know each other but
Remind me of your name?
I am a child of the great migration,
have a particular fondness for islands and
Longing for the ocean
I am constellated with women who are
Immutable, unmovable, storytellers and songmakers
Movement workers and bondbreakers
Identify the repetition.
Tell me, who is your old used to be
And why does that skin burn
To be a folklorist is to
Think on what is mundane
And know what is cosmic
Take for instance the music we make with our body
Maundy, this is holy
The sound of palms clasping together and
Percussive history
So no questions today,
Only a story.
📸 alexbershaw
🎥 @fingerprint.studios
Spring has sprung 🌸
Our little Dahlia flower turned 7yrs old 🎂
Easter bunny and Easter bun 🍞
Spring break and upstate escapades 🥧
Academia w/ Zora on her old stomping grounds 👩🏾🏫
Lifelong learner 📚
Hermes singing for the GODS 🎶
Spring he sprung and we outside 🌸
Flashback ⚡️The 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday 2025
I cannot believe that it has taken me a whole year to share of this pilgrimage… Actually, I can believe it. It has taken me this long to process I guess.
A year ago, I was invited to accompany the incomparable Willie Mae Brown to her hometown of Selma, AL for the 60th anniversry jubilee of Bloody Sunday! She wrote a powerful memoir titled ‘My Selma’ a young adult novel about her childhood growing up in Selma during the fight for civil rights. She was 11 years old when Bloody Sunday happened in her backyard and she heard Dr. King speak for the first time.
I was humbled to help dramatize her words through dance and also to be her friend as she returned home for a very emotional weekend.
That was enough to blow my mind!
What I wasn’t expecting was to meet a tribe of artists and instigators who I have created a lifelong bond with.
My family on my fathers side is from 40 miles from Selma in a small town called Demopolis, AL. I felt my blood boil and shift as soon as I landed there. I will return and return again!
Today marks the 61st annual jubilee! I am humbled to have sat at the feet of foot soldiers still with us and I acknowledge what a privledge and honor that was as we continue to watch them transition.
Something keeps calling me South. The artists and activists there work way more underground. They know how to pool and gather resources when the government has shut them out. They don’t depend on fancy institutions to tell them when and where the can gather, create and disrupt.
Thank you to the people of Selma! You are the soul and spirit of the potential of this nation yet to be fully realized!
#neverflinch
Still floating from The Zora Project Salon 🌸
Check out a glimpse into rehearsals!
This stellar group of talented humans trusted in the process and came together to say YES to Spirit ✨
Our mantra in rehearsal (and all the way through) has been that ease and excellence will and must coexist.
That’s where the sweet spot is!
📷 @fingerprint.studios
🌕 Full Moon Movement Mondays 🌕
Monday, March 16th from 6-8pm @theshedny
Join us for a monthly dance workshop and activation exploring theater, somatic practices, and ritual dance all inspired by the work and methodologies of Zora Neale Hurston!
Led by SPAIR Artist @sohumanity
This workshop will include guided warm-up, movement and original songs from The Zora Project with community reflection.
No professional dance experience is necessary!
Come out to this FREE movement event and get a little more FREE with us!
RSVP 🔗 in bio
Happy LOVE day today and everyday 💕
“I love myself when I am laughing. . . and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.”
“Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.”
“Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”
- Zora Neale Hurston 💐
📸 @fingerprint.studios
Don’t mind us… just out here getting free!
So much more to come but for now, thank you to every being that helped to make @thezoraprojectnyc salon a reality!
So much more to come… stay tuned 🌸
My first time in this part of the world, Western Canada. Something is pulling me back North and it did not disappoint.
I met @jorsal12 in the pandemic when we both were partnered together to co-lead and facilitate a cohort of systems change leaders around ‘Bridging Across Difference’. Artists and Activists from across the globe came together to discuss power and healing centering those on the margins to discuss and build how systems can change.
We hit it off and a friendship ensued. I had the privledge of meeting him for the first time in person (One of those pandemic zoom stories), for the @inneractivist retreat in Harrison, BC where this beautiful organization continues to transform itself from the inside out! Another wave of beautiful humans, wisdom keepers, activists, organizers and change makers all in one space in the middle of God’s country.
I am grateful for this journey and all of the people and ancestors who continue to guide me. I continue to have faith in the future of humanity and our gorgeous earth. I am recharged and ready to get back to work!
Happy Birthday MLK!!!!
I couldn’t be with the kiddos today but Mima is holding it down and continuing the tradition of service! So thankful for my tribe!
Let’s keep leading with LOVE!!!
Black Girl Magic on all accounts 💐
Finding inspiration from Zora and her love of flowers and her garden. I see it as a metaphor for the quiet confidence and courage that it takes for both internal and external change and growth! The powerful vulnerability that she brought to so many of her photographs is iconic!
New shots for a new season of @thezoraprojectnyc ✨
@fingerprint.studios@daisypeele@sohumanity
