NONPROFIT WAKANDA QUARTERLY

If you’ve taken a leap, what was the runway you needed? If you wanted to take a leap, but didn’t, what held you back?

Those questions were the prompts for this quarter’s edition of Nonprofit Wakanda Quarterly. Most people growing up in the United States, either from birth or as settlers from other lands, have heard some form of the adage, “leap and the net will appear.” It’s a beautiful image, of someone taking that leap of faith and a net unspooling from nowhere to create a soft landing. But the adage assumes that there’s no one actively dismantling the net as soon as we even start thinking about leaving the ground. It assumes that we are all equally positioned to take advantage of springboards or trampolines that propel us to hurl ourselves into the unknown. And if the net doesn’t appear, it’s never the net’s fault, it’s simply assumed that we didn’t believe strongly enough in ourselves or that some innate fault caused our gait to falter or our trajectory to become smaller.

Those of us in the BIPOC community know that there is no such thing as a magical net. If we’ve ever benefitted from a soft landing, we know that every thread of our net was crafted from the wisdom, joy, fear and pain of those who came before us. From the tired bones of guardians working late into the night or early into the morning to put food on the table or a tuition payment into someone else’s bank account. From the blood, sweat and tears of our forebears whose minds and bodies were worn down by the contempt of white superiority. From the lullabies and baths that were lovingly gifted night after night. And from the hands that held ours and supported us as we took our first steps forward.

The strength of this community is mighty. Each submission in this issue yields another thread for those who come after us. Janine Quijije gifts us with an anthology from herself and her sister friends. She takes us on a literal leap. Danielle Pulliam and Rae Negron model how to weave our own threads and, in so doing, cast out threads for others. Latasha Wright, Ph.D. reminds us of the power of defining ourselves for ourselves and that creating art that reflects who we are can encourage others to see themselves for the first time. Jenny Negron is using her leadership to put footprints in the net so that others can follow.

In the standalone pieces, Lakimja Mattocks reminds us that there is always a choice, but not all choices are easy. That even time acts differently in the BIPOC community. Dannielle Thomas continues the theme of time and adds the importance of noticing and acting on the powerful messages the net can convey. Noel McKenzie brings it home with a reminder of the power of true icons and the wisdom that echoes in the fibers long after the voice has been laid to rest.

Take heart and pride in these stories from our community. Find the threads that you can hold or build with your own stories of bravery. And recognize that one person’s tentative step forward is another’s leap of 1,000 miles.