Special Thanks to Patti Wiginton and to MY Community

I read the About.com article that came out this past week on the changing of Wicca and Paganism around racial identity .  This article, Wicca, Paganism and Racial Identity, talked about the changes around the racial diversity and the integration of many different types of people when Wicca and many forms of Paganism have been comprised on mostly Caucasian people.  This was an interesting article and it was nice to see that Daughters of Eve was listed as one of the new resources on these topics.

In the body of the comments a lady made a comment that reinforced the importance of this blog and it also sent Patti Wiginton into a tailspin.  Instead of just deleting the comment, Patti wrote a response.

And to that I salute!! Too often we are not speaking out against racism and disrespectful dialog when we really need to set a standard that this is not acceptable in our spiritual community.
This comment was so ridiculous that I will let you read it for yourself instead of repeating ignorance here on this blog.  I read this article and comment while away at Pagan Spirit Gathering as a Featured Presenter and had to really sit with my anger while representing much of the Pagan community at this event.  I went from “how dare she assume that she has the right because she is White” to thinking “poor woman, she is so misguided and must judge herself as harshly as she judges others”.   I struggled with how to respond and thought that the “angry, Black woman” response would be the assumption of those who come from that school of thought and instead wanted to write a letter to my fellow Pagans in love and with clear intent.  So I wrote several drafts and waited.

Dear Pagan community,

Thank you for giving me the option to be another face in the Pagan community.  I appreciate being able to practice the rights that I have been given from birth and the freedom to practice spirituality as I see fit.  Thank you for allowing me to commune with my Gods and to follow the path without interference from the opinion, traditions and egos of others.

I am happy to have the freedom to make choices for myself and what I feel is good within my life; I do recognize that we have not always been able to do that and that there are people today in different parts of the world that still cannot.

How exciting of a time we live with the evolution of human kind and within a Pagan community that allows for such reflections of diversity in opinion, ethnicity, practice, beliefs, socio-economic statues and even varying contributions. Blessed Be the chances to grow and evolve. I am happy to be on this journey with those who choose and if you don’t, for whatever reason, may you find what you need. If you are looking for an avenue to express your spiritual self without multicultural faces like mine, may you find that too but you won’t find it here.

Blessed Be