VALARIE KAUR on the Ancient Call to Love /253
Rays of light illuminate a dark cavern; photo by Iswanto Arif.
“What might happen if we saw a migrant child at the border as our own daughter? Or George Floyd gasping for breath as our own brother? Or Brianna as sister? Or the Asian American women slaughtered in Atlanta as our own aunties? What might happen? What would we risk? What movements would we build? What would we demand? How would we harness our rage? How would we reimagine a world in which all of us are safe? What might happen if we made love the ethic that guided all of our actions?” This week we ground down in visioning our shared survival with guest Valarie Kaur, who reminds us that for millennia prophetic voices have been trying to remind us that we belong to each other, here on Earth, and if we were to recognize this simple truth, what would the world look like?
Valarie shares that in recognizing this reality of inherent belonging, we might have to “love beyond what evolution requires.” A revolutionary love for each other, our opponents, and ourselves. In context to revolutionary love, we explore self-hatred, the privilege of being able to love one’s oppressor, the importance of listening to catalyze healing, and the teachings of Guru Nanak. As so many of us feel divine rage in this moment of painful transformation, we also tap into the practice of summoning our ancestors as we collectively strategize ways to birth a new world.
“You are a part of me I do not yet know.””
Photo of Valarie Kaur by Amber Castro
Valarie Kaur is a seasoned civil rights activist and celebrated prophetic voice "at the forefront of progressive change" (Center for American Progress). Valarie burst into American consciousness in the wake of the 2016 election when her Watch Night Service address went viral with 30+ million views worldwide. Her question "Is this the darkness of the tomb – or the darkness of the womb?" reframed the political moment and became a mantra for people fighting for change. Valarie now leads the Revolutionary Love Project to reclaim love as a force for justice in America. As a lawyer, filmmaker, and innovator, she has won policy change on multiple fronts – hate crimes, racial profiling, immigration detention, solitary confinement, Internet freedom, and more. She founded Groundswell Movement, Faithful Internet, and the Yale Visual Law Project to inspire and equip new generations of advocates. Valarie has been a regular TV commentator on MSNBC and contributor to CNN, NPR, PBS, the Hill, Huffington Post, and the Washington Post. A daughter of Sikh farmers in California's heartland, Valarie earned degrees at Stanford University, Harvard Divinity School, and Yale Law School. Valarie's new book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love, expands on her "blockbuster" TED Talk and is available wherever books are sold.
♫ The music featured in this episode is “Dreamcatcher” by AMAARA and “Stone Carving” by Madeleine Sophia.
Recommendations
See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur
Check out the Revolutionary Love Learning Hub a free of charge resource designed to equip people with tools to bring the love ethic into their lives and communities.
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For The Wild is a slow media organization dedicated to land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling. We are rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth, and consumerism. As we dream towards a world of grounded justice and reciprocity, our work highlights impactful stories and deeply-felt meaning making as balms for these times.