COMMUNITY

Apocalyptic Education embodies the love of our ancestors and their cultivation of community. Our West African ancestors used Okra as sustenance well before they were forced to migrate to the Americas. But once faced with the captivity of Maafa, Okra seeds were consumed in order to prepare for the life-altering journey ahead. To secure the seeds, African people used their hair as a commodity of disguise; communally, seeds were braided into the hair of many African women, in what we come to recognize today as the cornrow hairstyle. In this way, Okra may be (re)membered as evidence of the relationship between sacred community and black sustainability, a communal tool to help transition black people from one world to the next.  Ultimately, it is the extension of our memory that impacts the power of our community and our livelihoods. Meet some of our braiders.