Becoming the People Podcast with Prentis Hemphill Grief is the Medicine with Malkia Devich Cyril
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Jul 15, 2024 Malkia Devich Cyril, a transformative grief activist and movement strategist, shares powerful insights from their personal experiences with loss. They discuss the profound impact of grief on both individuals and communities, emphasizing its role in fostering collective resilience. Malkia explores how shared mourning can facilitate healing, particularly within marginalized groups. The conversation delves into the transformative nature of grief, advocating for its integration into social movements as a catalyst for social change.
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Malkia's Activist Upbringing
- Malkia Cyril's upbringing was deeply rooted in activism, with parents involved in the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army.
- This environment instilled a strong sense of social justice and exposed them to various forms of grief and loss from a young age.
Grief as an Evolutionary Response
- Grief is not merely an individual, time-bound emotional response but an evolutionary response to loss and change.
- Colonialism and systemic inequalities create unnatural, mechanized loss, exacerbating grief's complexity.
Unnatural Loss and Indigenous Wisdom
- Loss due to unequal power relations is unnatural and often traumatic, disrupting the natural flow of grief.
- Indigenous cultures offer frameworks and ceremonies that incorporate death and change into life.