Worthy Christian News > US News > Two BLM founders say they invoke spirits of the dead

Two BLM founders say they invoke spirits of the dead

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A video now in circulation shows two founders of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement discussing how they call on “spirits” of the dead and of their ancestors, to honor and them and to invoke their help, CNS News reported Tuesday. The discussion took place between BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors and BLM-Los Angeles chapter co-founder Melina Abdullah on June 13.

Referring to the role of ancestors in their lives, Abdullah says in the conversation: “Even beyond remembering [our ancestors], we’re invoking them. In our tradition, when we call out our ancestors, we call them out for specific purposes.”

Affirming Abdullah’s comment, Cullors says she was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness but, “as I got older, ancestor, ancestral worship became really important.” Cullors goes on to explain that hashtags including #SayHerName and #BLM are a way in which to honor the dead and invoke them. “Hashtags for us are way more than a hashtag. It is literally almost resurrecting a spirit so that it can work through us so that we can get the work that we need to get done,” Cullors says.

Concerning the spirits of those of who have died, Abdullah adds: “Maybe I’m sharing too much but we’ve become very intimate with the spirits that we call on regularly.  Right?  Like, each of them seems to have a different presence and personality.  You know, I laugh a lot with Wakiesha [Wilson].  You know?  And I didn’t meet her in her body.” Wakiesha Wilson was a black woman who reportedly hanged herself while in LAPD custody; she is understood to have suffered from bi-polar disorder, CNS News notes.

“The first thing we do when we hear of one of these murders is we come out, we pray, and we pour libation, we build with the community where the person’s life was stolen,” Abdullah says.