“We should not be eternal guests. It is up to us to create our own values, to recognize them and to carry them throughout the world. We are not alone in the world, but we are our own sun. I do not define myself relative to Europe. In the darkest of darkness if the other does not see me, I do see myself. And surely do I shine!"
— Ousmane Sembène
As Black people descended from West and Central Africa and from enslaved Africans brought to the Caribbean and the United States, we have all been subject to the myth of Black inferiority. But Senegalese filmmaker, Ousmane Sembène, reminds us that, in a world that asks us to see the Western and European countries as the center of civilization and desirability, we, in fact, are the sun. We understand our Blackness as a compass gifted to us by our ancestors, guiding us to liberation and expression. It leads us back to ourselves while carrying us into the future.
TODAY’S PRACTICE
Reflect in your journal: In what ways have you witnessed the decentering of Black voices, experiences, and ideas—including your own or those of your ancestors? How can you re-center your own experience, your own ideas along with those of our ancestors, thinkers, and artists in your daily practices?
LEARN MORE
Read: Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène: History in the Remaking
Watch: Black Girl (1966) by Ousmane Sembène
CALLS TO ACTION
SIGN UP HERE to join us February 18th at 7:30 pm ET to learn how to practice Liberation Table—a space to reflect, connect, and build something meaningful together. Liberation Table is a tradition for Black people of the African Diaspora—an opportunity to gather with friends and family over a meal with African diasporic roots. Register here.
CHECK OUT The Story of Us, “The New McCarthyism: Why Authoritarians Fear Storytellers” moderated by AAPF executive director Kimberlé Crenshaw and featuring Ava DuVernay, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Jacqueline Stewart. Featuring powerful artivism performances by two-time Tony Award winner Kara Young, Tony-nominated, Jon Michael Hill, and Theater and Africana Studies professor, Justin Emeka. Also, check out the Director's Cut from the event.
ADD the 2026 Google Liberation Calendar to your own calendar.
JOIN our WhatsApp community to engage w/ fellow participants!
DOWNLOAD the Liberation Table Guide.