Rest as Resistance聽

In 1835, as legal slavery flourished in the South, abolitionists鈥攚ho morally opposed the institution and sought to end it鈥攂egan circulating pamphlets. Abolitionist organizations and woodcut illustrations about the albatross of slavery and mailed them to random addresses in Southern states that enslaved people. Their goal, it seems, was to use material then considered inflammatory to to see those working their land as human beings deserving of freedom.聽

While enslaved people were intentionally kept illiterate, the abolitionist movement still treated these pamphlets鈥攁nd antislavery newspapers鈥攁s signposts, signaling that even amid their suffering, enslaved people were being fought for. Their human condition wasn鈥檛 being disregarded in favor of profit; instead, there was a growing movement advocating for their freedom and for their right to lead a self-determined life.

In her new book, , Tricia Hersey calls upon some of these same abolitionist tools, including pamphlets, hymnals, poetry, and imagery, to convey a similarly urgent message: If we do not take rest seriously and divorce ourselves from capitalism, we will die much sooner than we should. While that might feel alarmist, it鈥檚 a message Hersey has been conveying for years as the . The 鈥溾€� uses her own life as a model for how we can collectively escape 鈥済rind culture鈥� and embrace rest as a spiritual practice.

鈥淚 thought I would die,鈥� Hersey writes in We Will Rest!, an unconventional manifesto and meditation about how she learned to care for herself in a world that doesn鈥檛 allow us to slow down. 鈥淚 thought the exhaustion of capitalism would crush me. Rest saved my life.鈥� As Hersey often reminds us: Rest is a matter of life and death.

Rest is essential to our long-term survival as individuals and a collective. Birthing a creative renaissance requires rest that isn鈥檛 reliant on productivity. Hersey鈥檚 book calls upon our ancestors, including Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad conductor who , to become escape artists ourselves鈥攖o help unchain our imaginations from the bounds of capitalism and embrace new possibilities. 鈥淎nyone in this culture who believes and feels they are enough right now has begun the escape artist transformation,鈥� Hersey writes. 鈥淭o know in the deepest parts of your soul that your birth grants you divinity, rest, care, and power is a seed planted in fertile ground.鈥�

Much like those abolitionist pamphlets, We Will Rest! serves as a guidepost for those who seek rest but are unsure if it鈥檚 available to them. The book begins with a thought-provoking question: 鈥淗ow do you find rest in a capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal, ableist system?鈥� This system teaches us that rest must be earned through work, and received with humble gratitude. But Hersey offers an alternative: If we become 鈥渆scape artists鈥� or 鈥渢ricksters鈥� who defy systems that discourage us from rest, then we can prioritize our needs.

For Black people, in particular, Hersey accurately argues that rest is our ancestral inheritance and must be protected at all costs. 鈥淭he first step for morphing into an escape artist is belief,鈥� she writes. 鈥淵ou must believe you have the power to refuse. You must believe you have been gifted with everything necessary. You must be a trickster. No matter what, you must not show fear. We are abundant.鈥�

Once we believe we鈥檙e entitled to rest and our ancestors have paved the way for us to claim this birthright, then we must imagine the life we desire for ourselves. 鈥淐reate community,鈥� Hersey writes. 鈥淏e community. Community care can seem impossible when you are exhausted. It is possible.鈥� It is only through crafting this community鈥� day by day, moment by moment, and person to person鈥攖hat change can come.

It鈥檚 not as complicated as we might make it out to be. The world we imagine will come to us through silence, through daydreaming, and through unwavering belief. 鈥淓very day, morning or night, or whenever you can steal away, find silence,鈥� she writes. 鈥淓ven if for only a few minutes.鈥�

We don鈥檛 need to have it all figured out to begin this personal and collective rest revolution. 鈥淐apitalism has a choke hold over our lives right now,鈥� Hersey writes. 鈥淭he next second, the next minute, the next hour, is ours to refuse the grind. We can craft and build temporary spaces of joy and freedom here now.鈥�

Like those abolitionist pamphlets, We Will Rest! offers encouragement in times of uncertainty鈥攁 reminder of our fundamental humanity, and affirms the truth that rest is ours for the taking. And we鈥檝e already done all we need to do to 鈥渄eserve鈥� the freedom it brings.

Evette Dionne is the executive editor at YES! 麻豆社事件, where she leads YES! Magazine. She is the former editor-in-chief at Bitch 麻豆社事件, and an award-winning journalist, pop culture critic, and magazine editor who covers culture and politics through the lenses of race, gender, class, and size. Her newest book, Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul, was published in December 2022 by Ecco. She鈥檚 also the author of Lifting As We Climb, which was longlisted for a National Book Award and won a Coretta Scott King author honor. Evette is based in Denver, and speaks English.

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