pgp458: Juneteenth and Breaking Chains

What does liberation look like… feel like to you?

157 years ago the enslaved people of Texas were told they free. Two years after they had actually been freed. Enslavement is… was … has always been more than a law. It’s cultural. It’s mindset. It’s chains – mental and physical. When the enslaved were freed by law, we know, now, that it wasn’t just the end of legal and physical bondage. It was also the beginning of a journey for a people and the legacies they would bear.  A journey of breaking the chains   that are cultural and societal and mental and persisted for generations later. Chains that continued to scar souls by tugging hard at a peoples’ promise and stripping away pieces of hope. That journey continues today.

This day, at this time, we celebrate the breaking of those chains. In business… in art… in life and in love we celebrate the journey for the empowerment of a people. We honor the ancestors that came before and endured those cuts and scars to their spirit so that ours would be strcngthened and made tougher. We cherish their sacrifices by constantly breaking the chains of dysfunctional inhibition thrust upon people through generations of enslavement through lies of mental and cultural supremacy. Our spirits burn brightly with the light of that empowerment and it is beautiful. And as we creatively salute the spirits of our ancestors with this collection of creations, we hope all of you join us in living your life of liberation as our forebears intended and hoped.

earthBrotha Makii was joined by new blooms CocoDior, Nahid and MaireMuse in this collaboration.

Hosted by Pangea’s Camera Club, we experimented with concepts of the melancholy of the days just before freedom along with fanciful reveries of aspirations a hopeful love shared amongst people happily mulling over tails and adornments of their original lands. Makii made his debut in Pangea’s Garden at last year homage to #Juneteenth. It was Pangea’s first homage to this special day and you check it out by clicking on the banner below.

Celebrate your Liberation. Embrace the Garden Life.

All of the images for this feature were provided Truecolor Photography.

EarthSistas in nature; what could be better inspiration? Momentary strolls that were reflective, imaginative, provocative and creative leading to some revealing moments in which beauty both inside and out are exposed. And with this exposure… through this unveiling… there is a serenity. There is a euphoric communion with nature that is liberating. And whether she’s a country girl or urbanista, all of the earthSistas seem to find a moment of peace that, like their beauty, is inside and out.

The Afrosensual Aesthetic is the GardenVoice that pushes the limits and deepens the perspective. It is still be done from a position of respect, pride and joy, but here we will be able to explore themes that don’t quite fit within the earthSista box. Its is a place for the sensual lovermakers and the premium cultivators. Check it out and share your thoughts and ideas and passions.

What is your Afrosensual Portrait? Were you feeling cute one day, on your way out the door…or just getting out of the shower…so you break out the camera and snap away…No one around to make you feel like you have to pose this way or that way… So you just do you and snap away… Well, show us how you see yourself in your camera… The UdoU Series focuses on how Sistas see themselves; creating captures of their own Afrocentric beauty and sensuality. We invite you to participate by using your own SLR camera or your Point-and-Shoot Kodak, even your camera phone. We want you to capture you.