Did you know there was a Black love day in the US. What a great idea. Created by Ayo Handy-Kendi BLD February 13th 🖤❤️
Love for the Creator”- to inspire hope, resilience and joy to reduce fear, grief and trauma. The times require we stay prayed up to our Higher Power, so we can feel Black Joy despite the times. Stop pointing at the government but instead point up and within for self-determination. Yes, Black people have struggled disproportionately than White people due to COVID related deaths, illnesses and economic down-turns. But, we can’t afford to get COVID “burned out”. Yes, we’re overwhelmed by violence, grief, trauma, racism, but in the best of times and worst of times, when facing historical, major challenges, The Creator sustained us and our love fostered self-help as a unified vibration of joy because love is opposite of fear. Stay connected to each other and breathe in the Creator’s love as our sustaining power to experience Spiritual Joy through our Black Love”.
Ayo Handy-Kendi founded Black Love Day in 1993, in her hometown, Washington, D.C. and has yearly hosted a Black Love Day Relationship Ceremony and her Ritual of Reconciliation, in many parts of the nation and world. In 2016, Eliza Cooper’s Live Holistically Balanced group created an annual Black Love Day Celebration in Baltimore City. In December, 2021, Handy-Kendi put out the call for Black Love event organizers to collaborate and Cooper agreed to come together for the official Black Love Day activity and ceremony
The goals of BLD are to increase peace, stop violence, end Black self-hatred and White supremacy/racism and encourage White people in the 24-hour period of Reb. 13th to show love in action towards Black people, by working on their own racial attitudes, and behaviors. BLD further offers a spiritual, African-centered, alternative to the commercialized, and sometimes violent, Valentine's Day. The 5 Tenets of Black Love are a 365 days of the year value system to heal all of our relationships
