Àforítì: Reflections on resilience: Moving towards the vision
What does it mean to be inspired and take the first steps towards a vision? How do you manage the call to do something and bring a vision to life? I explored these questions in conversation with Giselle Richelieu, the co-founder of Black Girls Bloom – an intentional space cultivated by and for Black women and girls to radically re-imagine their futures and co-create community based on deep, critical and authentic connections, celebrating the idea that we are each other’s medicine. Giselle is also a community worker, trainee sound healer, singer-songwriter, informal student of herbalism and has a keen interest in learning about traditional, non-western healing modalities that do not require disclosure.
How long was the idea for Black Girls Bloom brewing within you before you decide to take the first step and launch the project?
It was brewing for about five years. In 2016 I felt the call to create Black Girls Bloom, even though at the time I didn’t have the name for it or an exact idea of what it would include. I had just left working at a rape crisis centre and was not ok at that point in my life, I really needed to work on myself. I decided to go travelling and I ended up at a healing retreat for black women based in Costa Rica. Whilst there I had a transformational experience, and not just because I was in that particular location. The thing that really resonated with me the most was being around other black women and women of mixed heritage and just feeling the love and community. The space held us and provided us with many lessons. I came back from that experience feeling revitalised and I realised that I wanted to create such a space for myself and for other young women in the UK. Towards the end of 2020 I was offered an opportunity to curate an event, this felt like a perfect opportunity to bring Black Girls Bloom to the collective realm.
What prevented you from immediately answering the call?
My long-standing battle with perfectionism. Questions came up in my mind about if I was ready to do it, did I have the skills and knowledge to hold such a space, should it be me? I felt like I wasn’t ready and didn’t feel enough. I was also afraid of being seen because it meant that I would also be seen when I got things wrong and make mistakes. Over that period of five years, I learned to be gentler with myself which helped me figure out what Black Girls Bloom could be and what I could offer. In this process I realised that I don’t need to have all the answers so I took that pressure off myself and really engaged with the people around me that would also be creating the space. As black women we all have something to bring, there is something unique about our lived experience that is valuable. My role isn’t to be the “founder”, I see myself more so as a bridge to connect all the people that are needed to create this space.
You shared a beautiful first post on IG when you launched the project, there is something very powerful about how you ended the caption with the words “I’m ready” – Can you describe the feeling of being ready to step towards a vision?
I didn’t 100% feel ready, I launched the project knowing full well that I don’t have all the answers to how it’s going to look and feel. I felt clear in the knowledge that this is something I want to offer and that felt enough.
It’s been almost a year since you launched this project, what has it felt like to have your idea be seen by others?
Initially it felt incredibly exposing, which is what I was worried about. However, in doing that it allowed me to face some of my fears. It has felt like an affirming experience which has led me to interesting conversations that have helped me to continue to shape and grow the idea of Black Girls Bloom. When I made the Instagram account for Black Girls Bloom, I really felt the pressure to have something to say all the time. I had to regulate and only share what needed to be shared at any given moment. In this process I also realised that not everything has to be shared publicly, that there might be sessions that have no online trace and that’s fine. What does it mean to be seen? Can we be seen on micro levels as opposed to just macro levels? Can we see each other in micro interactions as opposed to macro and hyper-visible interactions? I think presence is important through all these processes.
I’m curious about what it means to start something and not be deterred by the work/ length of time – what do you think it means to stick to a vision even when it seems far?
I’m really trying to just drop the concept of time. My relationship with time has really changed over the last five years. I used to work in a field where I was supporting young women who were survivors of sexual violence, their cases would often go on for years and I found it extremely challenging. Since leaving that work I’ve realised that there needs to be an understanding in me that some of things that we are working on that are meaningful are lifetimes in the making, reminding myself of this for Black Girl Bloom is important. This project will continue to change, grow, and evolve the more people get involved and the more my awareness and knowledge of other things grows also. The vision is there for us to be together and create community in ways that feel joyful, playful, and light. There is no end to this goal, I want the project to continue long beyond me.
Final question, what does resilience mean to you?
Resilience is a practice. Learning to be in constant conversation with my internal and external world, being in a continuous feedback loop. Knowing when to push through and burst through the earth and when its time to take rest and die back for the winter. It is the ability to way find, the way to find a way to live. Building relationships that serve me and the collective, which requires me to be present and paying attention to all the signs as much as I can that will help me negotiate the way to go and the path to take.
Connect with Giselle
Instagram: @blackgirlsbloom
All images published with permission from the Interviewee.