We’ve All Got A Little Black Magic In Us

Benjamin Rucker was a rootworker turned magician. Known as “Black Herman,” Rucker’s magic tricks kept his audiences’ on their toes. 

But even though he was working with illusion, there was nothing fake about the efforts he put into his craft. 

Using his showmanship to draw crowds in, Herman had another agenda once his fans arrived. 

He used his performances to sell protective remedies, discuss Black liberation efforts, and pass on wisdom he’d learned from his root working ancestors. 

“Escape” was a common theme he worked into his acts. Tantalizing his crowd with tricks that led them through graveyards and incorporated other elements of nature, Herman based entire routines on ancestral methods used to escape slavery. 

Herman’s performances might have been about slippery escape, but his message was clear: get free. 

Anti-Blackness itself is an illusion, one that we as Black people don’t need to get in line for. 

Working together to build exciting futures outside of anti-Blackness is where our true magic lies. Much of the wisdom required for this is hidden in the messages, dreams, and prayers given to us by our ancestors.

How can we use the gifts Spirit has bestowed upon us to share ancestral wisdom on how we get free?

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