In the past year black activists, organizers and students across the country have taken the streets in protest of assaults and killings of unarmed black citizens by police. Many condemned their actions and called for another course of action. July 24–26 in Cleveland Ohio was an answer to that call.
About 100 black women, men and children left the Bay Area to connect with over 1,400 other black people from all over the world for Cleveland State University to attend the Movement For Black Lives. Three full days of workshops from political education to building self care and resilience through mindfulness and meditation. Intentional spaces for healing were created and included yoga. reiki, addiction support, counseling, somatic therapy and more. The conference also held space for drumming, singing, dancing, creating art and otartistic outlets. Because there have been so many lives lost in the black community due to forces outside as well as in, those facilitating the convening stressed the importance of self care, which encompassed all of the above.
Because this space was created for blacks to delve into open and honest conversations about their black experiences and how best to organize black communities to be self sufficient, whites as well as other people of color were not allowed. One of the attendee’s from the Bay Area remarked that they [blacks] understand being exclusive but they [blacks] also need time to figure out what is what. 
Judging from the topics of discussion i.e. Developing Policy, BlackTransLivesMatter, How farming saved my life, Black Lives Beyond Borders and other topics — not only are black people trying to figure out “what”, but going beyond to “how”. This became a weekend of learning, building, teaching, healing and black love. 
A year later and this thing that was once a moment has become a movement and some 1,500 black activists, organizers, business people, families of police violence, healers, church members, professionals, lawyers, doctors, students, scholars, farmers, and young people all came together from around the world to figure out what’s what. That says something.
Angela Scott is a Tower staff writer. Email her at angrenscott(at)gmail.com.