Black. Loved. Free. Podcast

As long as we set the bar for “real” womanhood and “real” manhood to be what our oppressors have, we will never be free. Black liberation will never be found by letting Black men be violent as white men are. Black liberation will never be found through the patriarchy. No matter how allegiant you are to the ideals, people, and institutions that oppress you–no matter how many trinkets they give you...

The world-that-is is crumbling. You’ll need your own good grace to survive. We are back with another episode on grace. First, we clear the air by defining grace, distinguishing it from mercy, clemency, and leniency. The grace we need to survive is the opposite of the grace offered to us in Christianity. That is what makes it life-saving.   In our Testimony section, we read Sara Makeba Daise’s “Be...

I desire to survive. Happy Gregorian New Year! In today's episode, we explore the spiritual-political meaning of desire at the end of empire. Brendane read Audre Lorde's The Uses of the Erotic and discuss how now is the time to identify the truths of the worlds we aim to build and to commit to our survival by any means necessary. Finally, we end with some meditations on aligning with our d...

You were never meant to survive, so now that you know that truth, what will you do? How will you choose to fight for yourself, your needs, and your communities? What will you refuse to fight for?  In today’s episode of black. loved. free., Brendane discusses the vulnerability and visibility we need to survive the apocalypse. We do this by reading Audre Lorde’s Transformation of Silence into Langua...

"My grief is black." In this episode, Brendane explores the intricate relationship between grief, oppression, and transformation. Through personal anecdotes and ancestral wisdom, the conversation delves into how grief is often dismissed in oppressive systems, yet is essential for healing and liberation. The discussion emphasizes the importance of embracing death as a natural part of life...

Description You are worth liberating because you are , beloved. Do you believe that you are worthy of new beginnings? In the latest episode of "black. loved. free," host Brendane Tynes explores the transformative power of Ruthless Self-Devotion within the framework of Black feminist practice. Delving into personal experiences and spiritual insights, Brendane discusses the journey of recl...

When life under domination is all you've known, how do you resist? In the last episode of our first season, Brendane discusses surrendering to change. We are in a collective, global transition that promises to leave us different than how we began. Change and transition can be scary. In these times, we can choose to live in denial and refuse to acknowledge change, or we can surrender to change...

Happy Juneteenth! We wouldn't be a podcast dedicated to Black liberation if we didn't have a Juneteenth episode. This week we are asserting that abolition is the only way. First, Brendane defines abolition and talks about the spiritual side of freedom work. She talks about her own radical Black feminist abolitionist practice She also talks a little bit about how some of these Black queer f...

“She had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she knew how not to mix them.”  -Zora Neale Hurston There can be no liberation without a commitment to living.  It’s Gemini season, and life (with all of its chaos and beauty) abounds! In today’s episode, We begin with a recognition that this tropical Gemini new moon brought some clarity with its heaviness. Then Brendane sits with Amber Starks, ak...

There can be no revolution without love. After an unintended break, we are back with the second episode on love. This week, Brendane discusses the role of sacrifice in revolutionary love by way of Joy James's In Pursuit of Revolutionary Love: Precarity, Power, and Communities. We then move to defining a Black feminist self-love through June Jordan's essay "Where is the Love?" Thi...

There can be no freedom without love.  Blame the lateness of this episode on Mx Merc and her extra-tight microbraids!  This week’s episode is a little different. In part 1 of Surrendering to Love, we begin with an interlude where Brendane shares about her experience recently discovering an ex’s betrayal and how that moment signaled some spiritual growth. TLDR: Being ghosted was a blessing, not a c...

There is no freedom without power. We are back with a special guest/cousin/kin, Tenisha, to discuss surrendering to spirit. We talk about our exploring our spiritual power & purpose, our spiritual paths & gifts, loving ourselves, realigning to the truth that we are already free, and more! Through their spiritual practice and vulnerability, Tenisha poignantly teaches us that the pursuit of...

This week Brendane is byke to talk about death . In this long-awaited episode, we wade through European and non-European schools of thought to create a Black feminist spiritual-political definition of Death/death and Life/life. (Death ain’t the end, y’all. It’s a new beginning.) We explore the testimony of Sharon P. Holland's Raising the Dead: Readings of Death and (Black) Subjectivity and Aud...

We must be deliberate and unafraid. Brendane is back this week to talk about the Black feminist practice of surrendering fear. We start by offering a colonial definition of fear as a colonial practice rooted in oppression that lives in our bodies. Then, we listen to the testimony of Audre Lorde, aka Gamba Adisa, to learn how to transform fear--and the silence produced by fear--into language and ac...

There is no freedom without healing and truth. In our first episode of the season, we learn about this season’s theme of surrender. We start by offering a spiritual-political definition of Black feminist surrender, a move of power that allows us to choose what we surrender to. We apply the wisdom of bell hooks's sisters of the yam: black women and self-recovery to unpack what we must surrender...

"Are you sure, sweetheart, that you want to be well? Just so’s you’re sure, sweetheart, and ready to be healed, cause wholeness is no trifling matter. A lot of weight when you’re well.” - Toni Cade Bambara, The Salt Eaters Welcome to black. loved. free. , a podcast dedicated to Black spirituality, healing, and Black liberation! Join the host Brendane biweekly as we affirm ourselves and our an...