Yes, Black is King.

From references to baby Moses flowing down the river in a wicker basket, to painting faces using what looks like efun, a native West African white chalk that is used in religious ceremony, to women walking to the shore holding baskets of flowers on their heads and others with calabashes in their hands – and that’s just the first few minutes – this visual album is a spiritual experience if there ever was one. For me, Black is King showcases the depth of Afro-Diasporic religiosity by highlighting that following Jesus doesn’t mean one has to relinquish, ignore and demonize indigenous ancestry and ways of understanding the brilliance and vast interconnectedness of Olorun’s creation.     

Yemoja & Candomblé

Yemanja and Juneteenth

Maintaining the practice of honoring Yemanja at the ocean is important, because it is intricately linked to honoring the ancestors of our religion. Without them, we wouldn’t have Candomblé.

Praising Mothers

Orisa bi iya, ko si. Iya la ba ma bo. In other words, there is no Orisa like (or greater than) mother, it is mother who is worthy to be praised.

Ecology and Candomblé

Part of our worship of nature involves making offerings, but all too often those offerings become pollution – an affront to the very nature we serve.  While we absolutely have religious freedom and can practice our beliefs without fear, we also have the responsibility of keeping the environment clean.