A Joyful Practice

The Celebration Will Not Be Televised June 27, 2021

“But [Gil] Scott-Heron also had something else in mind—you can’t see the revolution on TV because you can’t see it at all. As he [said] in a 1990s interview:

‘The first change that takes place is in your mind. You have to change your mind before you change the way you live and the way you move. The thing that’s going to change people is something that nobody will ever be able to capture on film. It’s just something that you see and you’ll think, “Oh I’m on the wrong page,” or “I’m on I’m on the right page but the wrong note. And I’ve got to get in sync with everyone else to find out what’s happening in this country.”’

If we realize we’re out of sync with what’s really happening, we cannot find out more on television. The information is where the battles are being fought, at street level, and in the mechanisms of the legal process.”

– quoted from the Open Culture article “Gil Scott-Heron Spells Out Why ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’” by Josh Jones (posted June 2^nd, 2020)

For most, 52 years ago today was an ordinary Friday that became an extraordinary Saturday. The poet Gil Scott-Heron – who was born in Chicago, Illinois (April 1, 1949), spent some of his formative years being raised by his grandmother in Jackson, Tennessee, and then moved to be with his mother in New York City – attended college at Lincoln University (the alma mater of Langston Hughes and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall). However, at some point in 1969, he returned to New York City and wrote some of what would become his debut album, A New Black Poet – Small Talk at 125^th and Lenox (released in 1970). “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” was a Black Power movement motto in the 60’s and I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently.

The idea that true revolution begins in the hearts and minds of individuals and then moves out into the streets and into the courts was on my mind when I added Gil Scott-Heron’s poem to the end of my Juneteenth playlist and it was on my mind when I started thinking about this year’s PRIDE celebrations. Specifically, I was thinking about how the pandemic has caused some public celebrations to be canceled or rescheduled for the second year in a row – and yet, there is still celebration… and there is still movement; there is still revolution.

Gil Scott-Heron was writing from a specific lived experience. And, yes, it was not a specifically GLBTQIA+ experience. However, his words speak to an intersectionality of experiences that existed 52 years ago today and still exist to this day. He was speaking from the experience of being part of a marginalized (and sometimes vilified) community in the world (in general) and in New York (specifically). And, therefore, it is not surprising that his words apply.

The public festivities may be canceled or rescheduled, but the celebration – that is its own revolution – will not be televised or marginalized.

“Pride isn’t about the party. It’s about the people. It’s about the youth in our community, our seniors, transgender and non-conforming, friends and neighbors, People of Color, disabled, immunocompromised, the homeless, our veterans, and those raising families. We are all in this together.”

– Todrick Hall, during the 2020 Virtual Pride (24-hour) celebration  

Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, June 27^th) at 2:30 PM to celebrate Pride. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can always request an audio recording of this practice (or any practice) via email or a comment below.

Today’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06282020 Stonewall PRIDE”]

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)

### “And yet here we are, and we’ve always been here.” ~ Laverne Cox ###