Justikeandthetribe

Leading With Love and Compassion

This blog is for the individual that desires more of themselves + the people in their lives.

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Growth

December 06, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in life, marriage, personal development, personal growth, queer, purpose, relationships

Lately I have been leaning into life in such a way that has been keeping me prostrate with my heart open. I cannot recall seeing gentle women in my life because they often carried the weight of unrequited love; heavy with deceitful longings. Frustrated at the thought of giving themselves over to another person or having to carry the burden of raising children alone. I have become the remnants of delicate flesh yearning to heal from centuries of not acknowledging the pain.

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December 06, 2019 /Ikeranda Smith
lgbtq, life lessons, love, lgbtqia, learning, #atllife
life, marriage, personal development, personal growth, queer, purpose, relationships
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Love Is The Highest

December 05, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in black, LGBTQIA, marriage, love, life, people of color, queer

When growing in love, I have been learning to yield more to the Universe. Allowing the Creator to lead me. I have been learning to forgive quickly because holding grudges interferes with the work I am called to do. I have been surrendering + allowing because love needs room to grow + expand. Especially this love. This love is being cultivated with every exchange, every argument, every disagreement, every misunderstanding, every apology, every intimate moment that reminds us that we are changing an old narrative. A narrative that would like to prove that black love doesn’t exist + if it does, it resides only in movies. So I let love rule!

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December 05, 2019 /Ikeranda Smith
lgbtq, love, loveislove, learning, life, lgbtqia, black woman, black mothers, marriage
black, LGBTQIA, marriage, love, life, people of color, queer
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Complexities of Being Black

February 26, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in black, history, LGBTQIA, life, love, loveislove, personal growth, personal development, relationships, women of color, people of color

There is a heartbreaking tenderness about black folks. A majestic story that is spoken through stolen slaves + subjugated bodies. Our faces are centuries away from our soul; yet we carry the smile of humanness. An accessibility we would allow if we knew how to enter our own spirits. It’s evident that our feet carry the shackles of insecurities proven to shatter relationships when we come up against our own likeness. We struggle to love due to the threats that were made to keep us isolated. Oh, how I love being black. Did you think I wouldn’t after I divulged some of our frailties? Despite our struggles, we are larger than life, precious jewels that create art through our pain while we use laughter as a salve to heal so that we may survive yet another day.

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February 26, 2019 /Ikeranda Smith
lgbtq, love, learning, life, loveislove, black love, peace, progress, pain, growth, feelings
black, history, LGBTQIA, life, love, loveislove, personal growth, personal development, relationships, women of color, people of color

To Be Black + A Mother

February 11, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in black, history, LGBTQIA, life, love, motherhood, parenting, relationships, women of color

I was raised by a mother who was tough as a fistful of “no thank you’s”; yet resilient enough to beckon the sun to shine even when it was raining. She raised most of her siblings, missed half of the school year working to provide for her family + married the first person that resembled a deep breath. Convinced that she had escaped a life of monotony, she conceived me with a man who never achieved success, so he recycled ignorance. Nevertheless, my mother raised me with fortitude + grace bestowing on me all of her failed dreams + the effects of being neglected. It sounds cruel as if my life was being ruined; however, it was being created from the residue of a generation that carried the weight of being extraordinarily resilient.

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February 11, 2019 /Ikeranda Smith
lgbtq, love, LGBTQIA, learning, life, black woman, black love, slavery, parenting, parents, peace, pain
black, history, LGBTQIA, life, love, motherhood, parenting, relationships, women of color
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To Be Black + In Love

February 04, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in black, LGBTQIA, life, love, marriage, loveislove, relationships

On most days, I am praying for my wife + all the unions that deserve to penetrate darkness. Some weeks my to-do list is just to love her so I stay shackled to humility ensuring that my ego stays beneath my longings to do right. Heartfelt + intentional I seek to exhibit a commitment that resurrects everyday just to succeed.  My only wish is to close the gap of the incessant reminders of unresolved trauma. Daily I am reminded of the extraordinary people that have covered my struggles with a blanket of stars as a testament that we can survive. Perhaps our love can cover a multitude of transgressions.  So we love…

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February 04, 2019 /Ikeranda Smith
compassion, careers, lgbtq, love, LGBTQIA, life, learning, women, black, black love
black, LGBTQIA, life, love, marriage, loveislove, relationships
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Softer

December 03, 2018 by Ikeranda Smith in history, life, love, personal development, personal growth, queer, women of color, womensupportingwomen

Words were abused in my home + smashed against mistakes as you casually watch your self-esteem fall slowly to the ground. Disputes were adorned in extravagant gifts + gently wrapped in confrontations that never ended with forgiveness. I don’t know what resolution looks like + often times it’s an all-out tussle to find it. Sometimes it’s a street fight where no one wins + I am left with the baggage of seeing way too many adults disagree in unhealthy ways. It’s a thing!

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December 03, 2018 /Ikeranda Smith
womanhood, women of color, lgbtq, life lessons, loveislove, slavery, black daughters, blackmothers, black queer and educated
history, life, love, personal development, personal growth, queer, women of color, womensupportingwomen
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We Never Recovered

November 28, 2018 by Ikeranda Smith in life, personal growth, relationships, personal development, women of color, history

How do you heal from years of trauma inflicted from one generation to the next? How do you carry the weight of pain that was allocated on you just because it was too heavy to keeping lifting? I am convinced that the residue from years of silenced fears + broken families + illegitimate children coupled with physical + verbal abuse has seemingly disabled us. It has seeped into our homes, coated our walls, soaked our furniture + broken our spirits. We are branded with the scars of perilous times + memories of the middle passage.

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November 28, 2018 /Ikeranda Smith
black woman, becoming, black daughters, slavery, middle passage, recovery, QWOC, queerwomenofcolor, lgbtq
life, personal growth, relationships, personal development, women of color, history
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Acceptance

October 02, 2018 by Ikeranda Smith in life, personal growth, personal development, queer, relationships, women of color, womanaremagic

I remember vividly, when I recognized that I could no longer pray away my queerness. It was as if my world ended while simultaneously crushing the dreams of my family. You do understand that everything you are rests solely on the approval of your family? Meanwhile, I was dying inside as I suppressed my feelings and stifled my pain. The truth is when I consciously decided to not accept myself, I involuntarily made myself invisible to others.

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October 02, 2018 /Ikeranda Smith
acceptance, love, self love, women of color, queerwomenofcolor, lgbtq, family, relationships
life, personal growth, personal development, queer, relationships, women of color, womanaremagic
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