By Indica Stephenson
Resilience: To bounce back after hardships. The ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
I have this word, resilience, permanently marked on my body. Literally, I went out and got a tattoo when I was eighteen, after I had experienced an intense care accident (the less impactful of the misfortunes I have experienced in my life but surely not the last). I have resurfaced, stood up after falling, and found my voice again and again when I believed I could not face anymore difficulties without being completely depleted.
My last year of my undergrad, I found communities where I felt secure and understood. The Women’s and Gender Center became my home and the people working, the people bopping in and out, created a heartbeat I fell in rhythm with. Easy. Cozy. Breathable.
I quickly learned my random roommate, Isadora, is a powerhouse of a woman. Myself & others were baffled that she and I didn’t know each other sooner when we have so many mutual connections and hadn’t crossed paths through the involvement we dedicate ourselves to on campus. Even though we live together, we always say “see you on campus!” because we rarely see one another at home due to our incredibly chaotic schedules but always manage to run into each other on campus, at events, or spaces we are working in. Isadora is unlike anyone you have ever and will ever meet. When you know her, you truly know her. If you don’t know her, you at the very least know of her.
One component that makes up Isadora is Dam Diverse Dance (aka 3D), a dance club she created. They are a platform for women of color to break Western ideals of sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and race through the empowerment of dance.
For sexual assault awareness month I was invited to speak at an annual campus event, Take Back The Night which protests sexual violence and harassment and supports survivors. It’s an opportunity to take back ownership of our bodies and experiences. 3D was supposed to perform at this event but was cut because their routine didn’t fit in with the expectations of appropriateness, being “too sexual.” It was a disheartening and exhausting ripple effect.
How is an event created and put on for ALL survivors when women of color are marginalized? It doesn’t make sense. If something is wrong, we must take action. If we remain quiet, cordial, and do not further push the efforts that have been made, do not continue to bring these situations into conversation, it is likely that these instances will happen again and it will be harder than it already is to break out of these injustices.
This is just a small excerpt from my speech I read at the event, where I invited 3D to stand with me on stage as a I spoke of the way they were treated and questioned the capacity of which supporting survivors extends.
I was thanked afterwards by multiple people for giving the speech that I did and was given credit for highlighting just one of the barriers that women of color face within institutions. Using my invitation to speak was an opportunity to bring awareness and provide a step towards healing for 3D, it wasn’t about me. This wasn’t about my ability to speak when it was necessary. This was and is about supporting my community, supporting the women I admire and am inspired by.
We are the movement that creates change. We are the heat burning in the bodies of women ready to set fire and reclaim resilience. We are resilient.