Transcript

[Sung]

If you hear the dogs,
If you see their torches in the woods,
Keep going, keep going.
If they’re shouting after you, if they’re chasing after me,
We’ll keep going, keep going.

[Spoken]

If you want a taste of freedom, keep going —Harriet Tubman.

The Ashanti people of Ghana created the African proverb known as Sankofa. Meaning “go back and fetch it.” In other words, in order to move forward we must first understand where we came from.

I was convinced I had nothing to offer the revolution and my people, I couldn’t be a leader. Not this soft-hearted naive, High Femme, Queer, and positive, burlesque artist. I inherited shame and abuse, pushing myself into silence and sheepish behaviour not understanding that that was the intention all along, to erase the possibility of what I could accomplish, of what I could change if I told my own story.

The words of Jackie Shane grew roots in my heart and helped staircase my spine. Get into your own soil; you may be surprised by who you really are.

We must all share the land, care for and nurture the land, remember and honor her people, known and unknown to us.

We mustn't take more than we give, we must lay down our weapons and use those tools to build, to strengthen, to grow.

This is my commitment to this land and the people living on it—and beyond it.

The Earth once provided everything we needed, and taught Indigenous elders about community, sharing. The land, provided brain food, and medicines and taught the difference between good oak, and poison oak, and how to recognize the difference.

In our quest for progress we forgot the Earth. Too afraid to compost are own destructive behaviour.

Return to the Land
Return to humanity, to the Earth, to Radical love, to Truth,
Return to yourself,
Go back and Fetch it
Sankofa!

My ancestors abolished slavery with hope, love, fear, strategy, and sheer will.

Abolition is the way forward, it’s:
Freedom,
Black Joy,
Interdependence,
Indigenous resurgence and sovereignty,
A police-free existence,
It’s an investment into collective wellness,
It’s no fear,
It's Love.

Abolition calls on us to change our relationship to harm,
So will you help me steal my dignity back?

Will you stand up for me when it doesn’t benefit you?
Will you tell the truth?
Will you commit to work through conflict?
We must scream, and dance
We must shape change and plant our stories in the ground,
We must remember.
Sankofa.
We have to dream on the nature of daylight.
We must forgive.

Forgiveness is one the most loving acts
Because it requires that something must die and be grieved in order to accept that everything has changed,
And means that we start again.
And that we commit to walk arm-in-arm through the messiness with our learnings and growth.

It means that some things will end and are over.

The most dangerous stories we make are the stories that challenge our lovability, our divinity and our creativity. They are the stories that dream us forward. That reflect, and remember and forge our way to freedom.

The Artists have taken to the streets,
Tell your story, be dangerous!

[Sung]

If you hear the dogs,
If you see their torches in the woods,
Keep going, keep going.

[Spoken]

"If you want a taste of freedom, keep going" —Harriet Tubman.
Ase’ Migwetch

“Keep going, keep going.”

Wngz sings, whispers, and celebrates the legacies and histories that helped her find her voice: Sankofa; Harriet Tubman; Jackie Shane; abolitionism. Weaving together centuries-old traditions of struggle with those of today, she calls for us to reclaim land and body connection, radical love, and interdependence.

Ravyn Wngz, “The Black Widow of Burlesque,” is a Tanzanian, Bermudian, Mohawk, 2Spirit, Queer and Transcendent empowerment storyteller. Ravyn is an abolitionist and co-founder of ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company. She is a Canadian Best-Selling Author, one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada (2021), and a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada. She serves on the steering team of the Black Lives Matter Toronto Chapter, a group committed to eradicating all forms of anti-Black racism and to supporting Black healing and liberating Black communities.  

ASL Interpretation