Newsletter 18: A Solar Revolution of Love

On Three Fall Weddings & An Anniversary!

It has been one solar revolution since I married my best friend on a cool December night on a marina by the sea, while bobbing boats paraded Miami’s skyline. We were married on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice, a period of renewal and rebirth. After nearly a decade of unity, I believed this communal ritual of celebrating our love would only extend everything we’ve already built together. In many ways it did, yet the depth of this transformation reshaped us in ways I could never have imagined. From shorelines of Miami to coastal views of San Diego, this first year of marriage has brought a swell of becoming. Along with a host of family, friends, and spirit, the water has borne witness to it all.

December will always be a month to remember: it’s my wedding anniversary, my father-in-law’s birthday, my late grandfather’s birthday, my mother’s birthday, my brother’s birthday, my late sister’s birthday, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. It’s a time of revolutionary love. Thank goodness, because November was a helluva month that felt like a year within itself. This was a period when “Black Waves of Thought” took a momentary pause for submersion. Rather than dredge up the events that have already been debated across airwaves, news reports, text messages, and phone calls—I want to focus on the revolutionary love that got me through this time as 2024 comes to a close.

This past fall, I attended three weddings.

First, we drove up to Northern California to celebrate a love that started during a Black Lives Matter protest. This beautiful, beloved couple exchanged their vows in private, and gave a communal vow at the altar. The groom’s father quoted Song of Songs, and we danced into the night surrounded by intergenerational beauty with waves crashing nearby. They found their love in a revolution of love.

Then, we flew to New York City and I had the honor of a lifetime to serve as a bridesmaid to one of my dearest friends as she married the love of her life. Their bilingual ceremony ended in an infinity ritual, after this gorgeous, radiant couple promised forever and always. As truly principled people who are loyal to liberation, chosen family, and their love of dogs and Alicia Keys, the light that emitted from this wedding is testament to a revolutionary love.

Lastly, we went to Puerto Rico to celebrate the love of my beautiful sister and my new brother-in-law. Surrounded by vast views of the Atlantic ocean, the sunlight returned to the sky right before they said their “I do’s”. They ended their ceremony by commemorating the ancestors and jumping the broom. With bubbles floating in the air, they vowed togetherness amid all their pursuits. They have planted their marriage in the traditions of a Black revolutionary love.

Revolutionary love describes a love that seeks to hold and manifest in the midst of all time. It is what compelled lovers to jump the broom, honor multiple languages, and fight for each other’s humanity. Yet, it is not only reserved for lovers. This is the kind of love that spreads through our communities if we are blessed to steward it. In 2025, we will need revolutionary love like water from a well in a dry season. We will need it in our classrooms, our homes, friendships, jobs, grocery stores, doctor offices, and institutions. We will need it like the ocean needs the moon. Like the lakes need the rain. Like I need the water.

This year, we brought in the winter solstice on a whale watching excursion on a day when four grey whales were spouting and fluking near the shore. Grey whales tend to have strong social bonds and travel in pairs or small groups. They are friendly giants with a fighting capability made legendary during pernicious whaling periods. Grey whales, known for their loving disposition after giving birth in the warm lagoons of Mexico, return to the San Diego shores every year—a reminder that revolutionary love, like their long journey from Alaskan waters, spans great distances and requires extraordinary endurance. As these divine creatures gave us the privilege of viewing their splendor, I felt like I was witnessing a promise of what is to come.

What revolutionary loves have you witnessed lately?

With peace,

Mysia