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Rest is Revolutionary by Ash Authoress
- Ash Authoress
- Nov 11
- 6 min read
Wasn’t it extraordinary growing up as a little black girl? We all learned to jump rope and wore the cutest hair accessories.
Growing up as a little black girl is as nuanced an experience as living abroad in a foreign country. We all experienced things that were varied and different from one another; however, I believe that there is one thing that we all witnessed during our time as little girls, extremely busy black women. As I look back on my adolescence, I was surrounded by black women from all walks of life, but one thing they had in common was that they were always working. I knew housewives, single mothers, married mothers, and single women. No matter which type of woman I experienced as a child, the one thing she had in common was that she worked. With that being said, the one thing I couldn’t know about those women was that they were relaxed. I could never forget these women talking about what they were doing or what they had to do.
The Busy Black Women We Loved
Their conversations were almost always about what they had to do for their families, the church, their jobs, or what they’d already finished. They were never relaxed or chill, and they always had something to do. As an adult, I have examined and reflected on the time I spent with my mother, aunts, cousins, and sisters, due to my delayed position in the family pecking order. I rarely ever saw them just rest. The only time I remember my mother really taking a load off is when she was ill and had no other choice. My mother, aunt, and aunties, in turn, took their children everywhere. It’s no wonder that 80s babies knew how to pay bills, write checks, and grocery shop before we were teens because those errands were as much a part of our childhood as cartoons. They instilled a hustle nature into the likes of us because that’s all they knew.
What We Learned
We millennials have that hustle in us, but we approach adulthood differently; we believe in rest. We learned early what our matriarchs learned late, the late great Audre Lorde stated that “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” That quote has been paraphrased into the simple line of “Rest is revolutionary.” Audre Lorde left a lot of things here for us, but for me, that line is both profound and true. We revere the accomplishments and exploits of the black women who have come before us. We have people like Audre Lorde, Nikki Giovanni, Oprah, and many others, but have we ever sat back and thought about what they did to prepare for their work? What relaxation techniques do they practice? Do they actually relax?
Praise the Ancestors!
Civil Rights pioneer, Fannie Lou Hamer, stated in 1964 that she was “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” and consequently, she died at the tender age of 59. Fannie Lou Hamer died long before I was even thought about, and she suffered things that I’ve only heard of. In 1961, she was given a hysterectomy by a white doctor in Mississippi when she was supposed to be treated for a uterine tumor. This was such a common practice during that time in American History, where white America sought to control the poor black population, so much so that there was a term coined for the practice called “Mississippi appendectomy.” Can you imagine your ability to produce life being taken away by a medical professional as a part of a political agenda?
Well, it happened to the likes of our famed Civil Rights leader, Mrs. Hamer. Thus, she surged on, she adopted daughters to raise, only for one to die at 22 after being denied medical attention due to her mother’s activist pursuits. Fannie Lou’s suffering wasn’t just physical; she endured mental struggles too, having been treated for both nervous exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. I believe we can safely assume that this was due to societal conditions. The official cause of death to this matriarchal giant was “complications of hypertension and breast cancer,” but we all know the inevitable truth: she was sick and tired because she was sick and tired.
Imagine if Fannie Lou’s conditions were different, imagine if she weren’t plagued with the ancestral trauma that is hypertension, or allowed the freedom and rights that her white counterparts had. Imagine if Fannie Lou’s life wasn’t riddled with the plague of constant, tireless work and she was allowed the luxury of rest, do you honestly think she would’ve perished at 59? Regardless of what you may believe, we can admit that had conditions been better, her life would’ve been longer. Nevertheless, Mrs. Hamer left her mark and did the best she could with what she was given. She left a legacy for us. Praise the ancestors.
Rest is Necessary
Our history as black women is filled with extraordinary women. We know all too well what these ladies accomplished for us, but we hardly ever glorify or speak about what they did to prepare for their accomplishments. Do we know what restful rituals Harriet Tubman practiced in an effort to get ready for her many freedom expeditions? I remember watching the Spike Lee masterpiece, “Malcolm X,” where Angela Bassett’s character, Betty Shabazz, asked Malcolm, “What did Harriet Tubman do when she wasn’t rescuing our ancestors?”
The answer was “She ate.” Dr. Shabazz’s words were meant to reinforce ideas about replenishment in a discussion about the dietary focus of the Muslim faith, but there was no mention of her rest rituals. When are we going to admit that rest is necessary?
The Millennial Shift
We millennials are facing our own tiresome revolution. We were the generation that was fed a lie similar to that of forty acres and a mule. We were told that as long as we went to college and got a degree, we would be set for life. Our dreams of a great career, solid income, and home ownership would be inevitable; however, that reality is not actual. Many of us graduated from college in George Bush’s recession, and thus, the economic betrayal has continued. We have twice as much education and income as those who came before us, but our bills and the rising cost of living have thrown us into a tailspin, forcing us to make some hard choices. One choice that most millennials have made is choosing to rest. We rest when things are good, we rest when things are bad, and we prioritize rest regularly. One of my favorite borrowed mantras from my mother is,
“Y’all are not going to worry me.”
That mantra highlights so much in one statement and applies to so many facets of my life. We’ve decided that if we can’t have the house and everything else, at the very least, we’re going to have the mental stability that comes with prioritizing rest.
Rest is Black Wellness
Rest is essential to overall wellness. Again, we know early what our parents learned late: rest is related to physical well-being. We are well-versed in the correlation between anxiety, depression, autoimmune diseases, and overall happiness as it relates to lack of rest. Studies prove that the lack of rest can be linked to stroke, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. We all know that these diseases plague the black community at a disproportionately higher rate than any other ethnic group.
Statistics state that black americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension than any other group, placing us at a whopping 59%. Black Americans are also 30% more likely to die of heart disease than our white counterparts. With alarming numbers like that, you should take your rest seriously. Not just resting one’s body but resting the mind as well. Anxiety is defined as a common mental condition of constant worry, fear, or nervousness. A derivative of anxiety is PTSD, which is highly common among Black Americans.
Rest…Because our Ancestors Couldn’t
The data is alarming, the statistics paint an ugly picture, and we all know the reality. We live in a rugged country for those who look like us; therefore, we must make rest a priority. Just as you ensure you have the right ingredients for your trademark recipe, you must prioritize your rest for your well-being. Book that getaway, stay home and recharge, and make meditation a part of your routine. The odds are already stacked against us. When you rest, think of Harriet, Fannie, and Audre. Rest in ways they couldn’t, and when you return to your everyday activities, thank the women in your life who paved the way for you to enjoy the luxury of rest.
ABOUT Ash Authoress (Ashley Grandberry)
Ash is an innovative millennial who resides in Memphis, Tennessee. She’s originally from Fayette County, Tennessee, the county to the east of Memphis, where she grew up with her parents and siblings. Ash is a romance novelist who has penned a romance novel trilogy (Bryce August, the Beginning; Bryce August, Redemption; Bryce August, The Reckoning) that can be found on Amazon. Ash strives to write content that highlights the beauty of the African-American experience and love stories where black women are loved correctly. “Struggle Love will not exist in anything that I pen.” -Ash Authoress
Purchase the Bryce August Trilogy: A.Grandberry, The Author
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