When the World Seems Dark, Black Women Create Light

Hope Infusion Newsletter - January 27th Impromptu Edition

Dear Hope Infusion Family,

I know you've just received this week's newsletter, but something extraordinary has unfolded that I simply must share. In times like these, when the weight of reality presses heavy on our collective spirit, moments of unexpected joy become sacred offerings. What I witnessed yesterday provides such a powerful counter-narrative to despair that it feels almost negligent to wait until next week to share it with you.

When the World Seems Dark, Black Women Create Light

I watched Carter G. Woodson's great-niece cry on video this week. Her tears, flowing over the apparent cancellation of federal Black History Month acknowledgments, echoed the grief of many. In a week filled with executive orders stripping away protections and rights, her anguish could have pulled me under.

But something extraordinary happened instead.

While scrolling TikTok, I stumbled upon what might be the most inspiring "mistake" in social media history. An African American Studies professor accidentally shared class information for her 35 students publicly, and within hours, hundreds of Black women flooded her virtual classroom, eager to learn. When she had to turn them away and inform them that this was a REAL class, with REAL tuition paying students, at a REAL university something magical unfolded.

Black women across the nation began showing up en masse - professors, doctors, attorneys, engineers, therapists, wellness professionals, and countless others - began offering their expertise FREELY. Black men have now entered the chat as well, forming an online presence where one can learn something as complex as organic chemistry, or fundamental as the basics of indoor gardening.

What started as "TikTok University" evolved into "HillmanTok," a nod to the beloved fictional HBCU (Historically Black College or University) from my favorite 1980’s TV show, "A Different World."

In just 48 hours, an entire educational ecosystem bloomed complete with a president, a team of advisors, and a faculty holding an endless parade of PhD’s and other professional certification and credentials. And Black women, who never tire of learning have been showing up in such massive numbers that we're overloading virtual classrooms and crashing servers - perhaps the most beautiful problem I've ever encountered!

I’ve often said, when Black women get bored, they go to school or go learn something new, and this is a delightfully humorous illustration of that tendency

The contrast is striking. While some respond to disappointment by storming capitals, issuing violent threats, and attempting to overthrow the government — we the marginalized and systemically oppressed are out here building virtual universities on a moment’s notice.

While others try to erase our history, we're creating new ways to share it. 
While systems of oppression attempt to close doors, we're opening windows.

As Black women this is who we are and long have been - the most educated demographic in America, turning obstacles into opportunities, transmuting pain into possibility. And now, instead of carrying water for a nation that continues to show us exactly who it is, and always has been, we're watering our own gardens of knowledge and watching them flourish.

For those feeling demoralized in these challenging times, I offer these questions:

- What unexpected gifts might be hiding in plain sight?
- How can we transform our disappointment into creation?
- Where can we find or create community when traditional spaces feel unsafe?

As for me? I'll be in Screenwriting 101, turning our stories into scripts, our pain into power, our resilience into art. Care to join me? There's always room for one more in this classroom of dreams.

Because that's what we do. We learn. We teach. We rise. We create.

And we laugh - oh, how we laugh - as we build something beautiful from the rubble of what others tried to destroy.

PARTING THOUGHTS

In closing, know that while I remain committed to our weekly rhythm of reflection and connection, I will continue to break through with these impromptu love letters whenever joy ambushes me in ways too beautiful to keep to myself. The path ahead may be challenging, but I believe my role in our collective journey is clear: to transform the pain of this season into stories that remind us of hope's persistence, like stubborn flowers pushing through concrete.

These are the stories I'm committed to sharing - not just the weight of our struggles, but the triumph of our resilience. Because even in our darkest hours, light finds a way. And sometimes, when necessary, we create that light ourselves.

With persistent hope,

Olivia