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GRAVITY part II

Writer's picture: jnwashington0905jnwashington0905

Image Forbes
Image Forbes

It’s been two weeks since I last posted and I will begin with the beginning paragraph of my original post for context. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching Wicked—not the play, but the movie starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. For years, I avoided the story, uninterested in delving into the Wicked Witch’s backstory. Why bother when the ending I remembered—a melted witch and a “happily ever after”—felt sufficient? Yet, as the credits rolled, I found myself in tears. My son, puzzled, asked, “Mom, are you crying?”

The subject of a Black woman’s sense of gravity in its multiple dimensions are raised in the movie. I address some of those issues in my last blog, Motherism and Africana Womanism as theoretical and ideological concepts. I intentionally omitted the most important aspect of our agency, Spirituality.  Now I want to speak to the spiritual, cosmological and metaphysical issues raised as I reflect on the movie. What does it mean to a Black woman as she ponders the concept of gravity? What does it mean for a Black woman to defy gravity? 

Gravity is a force that draws everything into its center, creating connection and balance. In the cosmos, gravity exists at the heart of Black matter, which encompasses dark energy and dark flow. Yet, culturally, we have been conditioned to associate "dark" or "black" with negativity, while "white" is seen as good or perfect. As Wicked illustrates, this dichotomy is fundamentally flawed—and in my daily life, I am constantly reminded, "It ain't so."

Dark matter, often referred to as the Dark Universe, is essential to the cosmos. It doesn’t rely on light; rather, it enables light to exist. It holds the universe together, maintaining order and tension. Quiet yet powerful, it exerts an invisible but undeniable force, connecting everything in profound and unseen ways.

Within the realm of Dark Matter, the universe contains another force: dark energy. Though distinct from dark matter, dark energy influences the cosmos by slowing its expansion, a phenomenon scientifically termed "antigravity." This force, much like a coiled spring under pressure, exerts outward resistance at every point in space. Imagine a heavy weight resting on a stretched sheet, with the coil beneath growing heavier under strain. For Black women, these coils represent the compounded forces of racism, white privilege, inequality, and injustice—intersections that, when stretched too far, can lead to catastrophic consequences.

NASA’s recognition of the "dark flow" theory adds another dimension to this cosmic analogy. Dark flow suggests the existence of multiple centers within the universe, connected and moving toward an external force beyond the known cosmos. Similarly, Black women continuously create and sustain new centers of resilience and power amidst adversity. Can dark energy ultimately destroy the fabric of dark matter, the universe’s connective force? I don’t think so.

Dark matter and dark flow are not singular. They create multiple centers that provide the support needed for further growth and expansion. Yet, this generative process takes place within what is often misconceived as bad or evil—blackness, darkness. Far from being destructive, the womb of darkness continues to create, even under the weight of dark energy.

Barbara Holmes conceptualizes these cosmic forces as a "Cosmic Trinity": dark energy, dark matter, and dark flow. Dark energy accelerates the universe's expansion, dark matter holds the cosmos together, and dark flow represents the movement of galactic objects toward forces outside the known universe. Together, these elements reveal the dynamic interplay of creation and connection within the cosmos. The cosmos offers powerful metaphors.

This cosmic truth finds echoes in spiritual wisdom. Buddhists see the lotus flower—growing in the darkest, murkiest waters—as a symbol of beauty and transcendence. Similarly, Jewish-Christian creation story Genesis 1:1-3 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Jesus reminds us in Luke, Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops”.

In Wicked, Elphaba embodies this truth. She exposes societal injustices, prejudices, and the collective delusions that masquerade as right. Through her journey, we see how darkness becomes a space of truth and revelation, challenging the false norms imposed by the majority.

The universe itself demonstrates this principle. All existence depends on the generative power of dark matter, the mother and creator of life. Darkness is not an absence or void—it is the source of growth and multiplication, the creative essence that sustains the cosmos.What we know is that all life originates from the womb—the essence of creation—and humanity itself traces back to one woman from Africa, known as “Lucy.” 

In Wicked, we see this reflected in Elphaba, a new creation, a young woman who embodies justice, compassion, and love and not the status quo. Despite being dismissed and misunderstood, she tirelessly advocates for others, vindicating those who have been wronged while silently absorbing her own pain and destruction.

This tension mirrors the lived experiences of many Black women, who continue the fight for equity and justice, who work to create new spaces of growth and opportunity not just for the privileged but for all. The connection between Black women and the universe lies in this shared resilience and creativity. Like Black matter in the cosmos, Black women are central, indestructible forces of creation and connection. Matter, after all, cannot be destroyed—it simply changes form, like water transitioning from ice to vapor to rain.

This simple yet profound truth is what binds Black women to the Black matter of the universe—it is our source of gravity, our power to sustain and nurture even under immense pressure.

Though I haven’t yet seen Part II of Wicked, we know Elphaba is ultimately destroyed. Still, I wonder: How might she respond when faced with the privileged starships of SpaceX? Would her gravity hold steady, or would it once again be misunderstood and underestimated?




#barbara Holmes

#space travel

#Africana Womanism

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