Gatekeepers: The African Roots of LGBTQ

So, if we all have Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine energy, how is that some people do not necessarily identify with heterosexuality? I mean, wouldn't they be "content" with having both and expressing either? Great questions! And if you weren't already asking it, I heard the question ahead of time so, let's build. Although we all do have both energies as we've established (and for more on this, check out the source list), the manifestation of those energies is what creates diversity (or divergence) in our ecosystem. Plants do it, animals do it and yes, us humans do it too. There is always deviation from what seems to be the "norm" as science shows us time and time again. Yet, for religious and political reasons, mainly having to do with the control, power and the overemphasis on masculinity we have all been subject to the fractures in cultures, spirituality and traditions that once not only welcomed the LGBTQ community but celebrated, revered and honored them as holders of great medicine, divine wisdom and spiritual gifts only privy to those who danced between the lines, if you will. Much of this history has been lost, but my work, research and studies has gained me access to deeper insights into

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what life was like in Black, indigenous cultures before the impact of colonization and imperialism spread globally. Although the information I share here may not be true for ALL cultures, I would go as far to say that for the lineages we represent, surely there is more to the story than man plus woman equals family, the end. Furthermore, knowing this aspect of my cultural history deeply transformed why + how I was doing collective liberation work and who with. For me, there is no place for religious dogma in changemaking work because we cannot heal the ancestral trauma or claim reparations until ALL of us are unchained. However, there is all the room for Spirit and in involving spirituality in activism work, we are moved from a place of inspired action as opposed to be the producer or consumer of emotional manipulation around social constructs we agreed a long time ago were not real. If a thing is truly not real, why do we pay it so much attention? Or maybe better questions are, if race is a socially and politically created construct, how do we get it out of our mouths?...if we were truly all created equal in the image of God, the Divine, Source, then why has the LGBTQ community been getting trampled on for so long? The short answer is what the answer will always be - power and control. The last layer I want to douse on this as food for thought is this - once I started layering my racial equity work with wellness work with spiritual studies work with economic development work with creativity work with environmental work, I realized that the true injustice, what colonization truly took from us was/is our connection with our divinity and our sacred connection to the planet. So, know thyself.

If my research and body of work shared so far in this book hasn't already made the case for why we must go further back to go forward, let this excerpt from The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient Teachings in the Ways of Relationships by (the late) Sobonfu Somé tuck you in:

The words "gay" and "lesbian" do not exist in the village, but there is the word "gatekeeper" . Gatekeepers are people who live a life at the edge between two worlds -- the world of the village and the world of spirit...the gatekeepers stand on the threshold of the gender line. They are mediators between the two genders. They make sure that there is peace and balance between women and men...they simply play the role of "the sword of truth and integrity" . Now what would happen if you're dealing with a culture that doesn't care about these gateways? What happens is that a gay person cannot do his or her job. Gatekeepers are left unable to accomplish their purpose. This is one of the most distinguishing factors about gays in the village...the life of gay people in the West is in many ways a reaction to pressure from a society that rejects them. This is partly because a culture that has forgotten so much about itself will displace certain groups of people, such as the gay community, from their true roles...gatekeepers are encouraged to fulfill the role they're born to, to use their gifts in the interests of the community.

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