Freedom or “a prisoner of hatred”

Yesterday, February 1st, was National Freedom Day (in addition to being the beginning of another Black history month).  I'm grateful a LinkedIn post by Audra Jenkins, SPHR, SHRM SCP, CDE brought it to my attention.  

National Freedom Day honors the date on which the original resolution was signed that later became the 13th amendment and abolished slavery.  

The post asked the important question, "In today's world, what does it mean to be free?" and included a powerful line from Nelson Mandela.  

In honor of the premature, traumatic, and ongoing losses of Black and brown lives, here is more from Nelson Mandela's perspective (the full context can be found here):

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

When I walked out of prison, that was my mission, to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both. Some say that has now been achieved. But I know that that is not the case. The truth is that we are not yet free; we have merely achieved the freedom to be free, the right not to be oppressed. We have not taken the final step of our journey, but the first step on a longer and even more difficult road. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning.

As he continues, Nelson Mandela references how he has "taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come" in order to sustain him for the hills yet ahead.

I've talked to many people this week who have made different decisions about whether to watch, or not watch, the videos released of Tyre Nichols.  

It is not a decision to be taken lightly.

While videos are essential pieces of evidence and accountability, they are also sources of considerable trauma and retraumatization.  

I certainly don’t presume to know what is best for you in this moment. Instead, I humbly encourage you to be intentional about how watching (or not) videos like these will serve and support your efforts.  

What will watching them provide for you that you need for the road ahead?  

What will most support your wellbeing and readiness to climb the next hill?  

I've witnessed (and even researched) the secondary affects of trauma from media coverage, and I want to encourage you to make the choice that is right for you, in this moment, without judgment or shaming if that decision is different from someone else who is also working for the liberation of humanity.

Most importantly, as you face more heartbreaking, infuriating, and devastating reminders of how long the road is…

How you are preserving your strength and protecting your spirit?

Where are you turning for connection, understanding, validation, and support?

What do you need to sustain you for the steps and hills ahead?

You matter.  You do make a difference.  I'm so thankful you're here.