Castles

In the previous edition of Love Peace Thrive I discussed the theme of pilgrimage and how that's recently shown up through my acceptance into the Odyssey Impact fellowship program. I also shared photos from my travels to Cape Coast, Ghana in 2019 during the Year of Return. Of course, I couldn't have known that a few months later we'd enter a global pandemic and that this would be my last international trip for a while. Still, my time in Ghana is one of the most powerful journeys I've taken thus far. The greatest influence from my travels to Cape Coast–outside of the delicious food–was the experience of spending a day in a local slave castle, a place that preserves the history and the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.

While there, I stood in dungeons that housed the essence of resilience, stolen dignity and unjustified despair in impenetrable stone. I also crossed the threshold of the "Door of No Return"–renamed the "Door of Return" to welcome descendants back home. This was my uncensored introduction to castles–one of the spaces that helped launch nearly 250 years of exploitation of millions of kidnapped Africans and their descendants.

But for all that, I must name my initial encounter with castle life was wildly different than that of my ancestors. As a child, I watched a show called Eureeka's Castle–an American children's television program, written by R.L Stine. The show followed Eureeka, her friends, and their life inside a giant's wind-up music box designed to be a castle. When the giant turned the key to the music box, the castle and all the beings inside would come alive and new adventures would begin.

Admittedly, this gave me a fictionalize view of what castles could be but part of me always associated castles with magic and wonder because of this childhood fantasy world. Having said that, my time in the Cape Coast castle immediately brought that line of thinking to an abrupt halt. There was no place for fiction (no magic) just facts.

A little over a month ago I embarked on my first international trip since 2019 and I carried the duality of these castle experiences with me. I, along with 13 other Odyssey Impact fellows from around the world, traveled to Rose Castle, UK to begin our work together as reconcilers. Full transparency, when I was selected to be part of this fellowship, I knew that our first destination would be Rose Castle but I assumed it was a space named for or after a historic site. (I didn't really look at their website...don't judge me!) Having said that, I am so glad there wasn't anyone recording the moment I arrived for our retreat, because I was truly dumbstruck. Well...because it was an ACTUAL castle; more like the castle of my childhood than the castle of my ancestors.

There was magic in these walls; rooms filled with fantasy and facts. It was majestic enough to support the enormity of our cohort–our cares, our exhaustion, our laughter, our sorrows, our prayers, and our dreams. Ideally, so that we could not only have brave conversations together but to also develop projects over the next year that reflect the uniqueness of this fellowship (castle) experience. Eureka!

To be clear, I know Rose Castle is not without its flaws. (It's a 400 year old castle with a dungeon on site; one in which I had no interest in visiting.) But in this moment I am choosing to sit with the reimagining of what castles can be. In a way, the Rose Castle Foundation is a giant cranking up its music box; inviting global travelers to wake up, to dream, and create a world that doesn't hide the oppression of our past. Rather, it elevates and calls us all to envision new ways to address it.

In the coming weeks, I will share more about my fellowship project and ways to get involved. Also, I can't wait to share updates about my amazing cohort–some of my favorite people on this planet! Lastly, feel free to share your castle experience in the comments. Are you creating liberating spaces that reimagine the past? Is there something in your life that holds dual truths? Have you had a eureka moment–a moment of discovery–that's changed your perspective on a particular topic or social justice issue? I look forward hearing about it.

Until then...

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