Walking with Our Ancestors: Contemplation and Activism

by Barbara A. Holmes

Activism can often take a toll on social justice seekers, and it is easy to get burned out and discouraged. Perhaps this is because activism and contemplation are sometimes seen as opposites. However, following the tradition of social justice movements in the past, contemplation is actually a necessary step of activism. In Walking with Our Ancestors, Barbara Holmes reveals that the justice movements in the twentieth century came from consistent contemplation practices of those seeking liberation. Contemplation is necessary in the spiritual lives of Africana people to offset the tension of the desire to eliminate oppression while still experiencing oppression. The hope and healing that come with contemplation ease this tension and keep one committed to community and justice. Holmes highlights key contemplation practices of what she calls public mystics, those who led by example and paved the way, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Martin Luther King Jr., Howard Thurman, and Rosa Parks. Through both contemplation and activism, our ancestors paved the way while showing us how to continue the fight for justice. Walking with Our Ancestors is an outstanding and relevant chapter from Barbara Holmes's enlightening book Joy Unspeakable, which explores the contemplative practices of the Black church.

69 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara A. Holmes' Walking with Our Ancestors: Contemplation and Activism is a wonderful piece of reflection. Holmes reminds us that even contemplatives need to be in the world, that the stillness contemplatives seek can be used as a tool for change-making. Holmes' prose is clear and welcoming. I would gladly have continued reading her thoughts on this topic for hours and hours, and pages and pages, more—but I'm deeply grateful for what she has provided.

Holmes focuses on the Civil Rights Movement, exploring the ways in which non-violent civil disobedience is made possible through individuals coming together in a spirit of contemplation to challenge injustices that are too big for a single individual to address. She reminds us of the prayer meetings that often preceded these acts of protest and of the kind of centeredness that is required to remain non-violent in situations in which violence, even death, is a possibility.

Holmes acknowledges the role of the church in the Civil Rights Movement, but sees it as a movement of individuals, not of the capital-C Church, and a movement that embraces (and needs) individuals from other faiths and individuals who may have no faith beyond a determination to seek a more just world.

I read Walking with Our Ancestors at the same time I read Ours, a soon-to-be-released novel that uses a blend of history and magical realism to depict a community of the newly free learning what that freedom will mean for each of them and the extent of that freedom. I mention this because I think Walking with Our Ancestors worked well as a companion to that novel and would work well as a companion to any novel that raises issues of Black history and spirituality. Walking with Our Ancestors is a title that could be effectively paired with The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, The Prophets, Conjure Women and/or My Government Means to Kill Me. I'm sure readers will be able to come up with other such fruitful pairings.

Walking with Our Ancestors provides the kind of quiet, gently paced energy that is essential to contemplation. It speaks to the mind and to the heart.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.

[Dustin Mailman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book across the span of a day in-between my wife’s contractions as we welcomed our first child into the world. This beautiful synthesis of mysticism, Liberation, and hagiography marked the starting point of what it means for my son to walk with the ancestors. Though my connection to this book is deeply personal, I cannot recommend this book enough.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in my divinity class on nonviolence. My professor said that it was one chapter out of a longer book that was published separately in this form. It’s hard to judge something that was separated from its context but I found this piece to be most insightful in the vignettes it has about the contemplative spirituality of different Civil Rights leaders.