We Are Worthy By Elandria Williams

We are worthy
Not because of what we produce
But because of who we are
We are divine bodies of light and darkness
You are not worthy because of what you offer,
not because of what is in your mind, not for the support you give others,
not for what you give at all
We are worthy and are whole just because
In this great turning, in this great pandemic,
in this radical readjustment and alignment
We are not disposable, we are needed, we are the very people that have withstood everything that has been thrown at us as a people and as Maya Angelou would say
Still I Rise
We arise from the pain
We rise from the grief
We arise from the limits people place on us
and the limits we place on ourselves
We rise to be the children and the ancestors
We rise to be our true selves
Our true selves in relationship to our families and communities
Recognizing our liberating and whole selves
Honoring them and others as we strive for abundant communities, abundant lives,
abundant relationships, and abundant values and cultural manifestations
We are worthiness personified
I, you, and we are worthy and deserve a life where we are not always fighting for our existence
Imagine what we could create if we were not always in the struggle
Imagine what we could envision if we could just be let to just go there
So tired of always having to resist, to fight, demanding, pushing
To everyone that has the courage, the power, the ability to co-create what we want and need while rooting in what we can’t lose and who we are
You are the visionary
You are the hope
You are our ancestors dreams
No you might not ever end up on some list somewhere
But you are on a list in someone’s heart and mind
And if it’s in how you move in the world so people can see by example
You are the embodiment of what we need
Thanks to all that are the embodiment
The embodiment not of productivity but the embodiment of radical love, care and sanctuary
It’s time
Embodiment time
Embodiment
Living ones values out loud
Let me everyday live my values out loud
Let us everyday live our values out loud
Embodying our values
Not the productivity quotient
Beyond productivity
Past productivity
True embodiment
Life

Elandria Williams, who died on September 23 at age 41 was a much beloved person, community activist, UU church leader, and writer.  Over the past twenty years, Elandria had many leadership roles in the UUA including serving on the national board and being Co-moderator. They co-founded Knoxville’s BLM movement and was a founding member of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism. They were an organizer and served on the Education Team of the Highlander Research and Education Center.  A fierce and joyful fighter for justice, Elandria is being grieved and will be greatly missed by so many people.

Elandria reading We are Worthy