April 22, 2025 • 13 mins
Last week was a weird one. The algorithms—the bots—seemed to come for me. Canva, of all places, led the charge. It made me feel like I wasn’t just wrong in opinion, but wrong in essence. As if the characters I write—rooted in history, full of breath and heart—were somehow unworthy. Handcuff me now, because it felt like I was being told it was a crime to write them at all.Caption: Two Scaredy-Cats watching the must see movie, Sinners.And in this current climate? That kind of doubt sticks. There’s so much anti-DEI noise. So much effort to “protect” people from truth. Heaven forbid someone learns something. Heaven forbid someone dares to be better, more moral than their ancestors.I thought I’d shaken it off. Thought I’d moved on. I got back work on my manuscript and typed out another 6,000 words. Then came another note from Canva, gently suggesting I find another word—something less "triggering"—than “enslaved” to describe Jacquotte of the upcoming Fire Sword and Sea, who had in fact was enslaved. So I turned to friends and asked them for other ways to phrase “enslavement.” Here’s what we came up with:* Bond servant* Stolen laborer* Forced job training* People in the condition of slavery* Held in captivity* KidnappedAnd y’all—I laughed to keep from crying. Because all I could think of was: Lord, have mercy.I might have sinned right then—if not in word, then in thought. I wanted to cuss out the machine. I was disappointed in technology. That’s a hard place to be for a data girl. Yet, I was more disappointed in me for even entertaining the idea of appeasing the bot—the faceless, soulless thing that some biased, flawed, or agenda driven human had created and enabled it to think it knows what’s best.Surrendering is not how we honor truth or the stories we’re called to tell.Let me take a moment to invite you to something special.Write of Passage is my little corner of the internet where I share thoughts on writing, storytelling, the ups and downs of life, and how we keep going—even when the odds feel great. If that sounds like your speed, go ahead and hit the subscribe button. Welcome to the Write of Passage family. Now, back to the podcast.Fear is a seductive thing. It whispers: Don’t speak too loudly. Don’t shine too brightly. Don’t center stories on Black truth, Black joy, or Black progress.And lately, I’ll admit—it’s been taking me longer to bounce back. It’s getting harder to hold on to the vision of a brighter morning just ahead when everything feels handcuffed and ready to be jailed or deported.In the past forty-eight hours. The visuals that I allowed my eyes to see have been, stunning, heartbreaking, and even holy.On Easter Sunday, my church goes all out for a dramatization of the Crucification: lights, drama, music, the whole thing. But this year, there stood a Black Jesus—bloodied, whipped, brutalized. It hit different, terrifyingly different. Then came Black Simon, stepping in to carry the cross, basically taking on his shoulders the oppressor’s burden given to Jesus. I’m watching it and something cracked, fracture into hundreds of pieces on the inside.It’s been a long time since I cried in church. The first time was when I said the sinner’s prayer and I admitted that I was scared and I needed salvation.Side note: Did you know the “Sinner’s Prayer” doesn’t actually appear anywhere in the Bible? There is no biblical record of anyone praying those exact words. It emerged around the Protestant Reformation and took shape in the early 20th century—barely 125 years ago. For context, the Civil War officially ended 160 years ago. Both of those things are not that long ago.On Easter Monday, I saw Sinners—the Ryan Coogler film with Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Hailee Steinfeld, Li Jun Li, Miles Caton, and Delroy Lindo. On a gorgeous widescreen, I watched this emotionally rich tale saturated with period details and truths. Spoilers alert: Two brothers are seen watching the sunrise, just in awe of the majesty and their freedom. Then I focused on people dancing, singing, loving.Then comes destruction.The movie has all types of monsters. The obvious hate-filled men of the Klan, who are hungry for blood and money. Then monsters disguised as your own kind. The evil is often invited in. He feasts of fear and death.The violence didn’t make me jump. The gore wasn’t any worse than the makeup used at church for the crucifixion. Eventually, dread arrives. It settles in your chest. It steals all joy before the next morning can come. I found myself waiting for that other foot to fall, for when that bad was coming.So what does this all mean? Anticipating doom or consequence can be as draining as when the threats or violence comes. We can’t surrender in advance.It means we must guard our eyes—not to shield them from truth, but to make sure they still see beauty, even in chaos. Still see family. Still see hope.We must guard our ears—because false praise can lull us into stillness. It can lie to us that we are safe and leave us
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lands, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all. So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's
begin our journey through the written word. Let's start your
(00:54):
right of passage a sinner's prayer. This is the light
of mind. I'm gonna let it sign. Last week was
weird one the algorithms, the bots seemed to be coming
for me. Canva, of all places led the charge made
(01:18):
me feel like I wasn't just wrong in opinion, but
wrong in essence, as if the characters I write, rooted
in history, full of breath and heart, were somehow unworthy.
Handcuffed me now because it felt like I was being
(01:39):
told it was a crime to write them at all,
and in this current climate, that's kind of doubt sticks.
There's so much anti DEI noise, so much effort to
(02:01):
protect people from truth. Have forbid someone learn something. Heaven
forbid someone dares to be better, more moral than their ancestors.
I thought I'd shaken it off, thought I'd moved on.
(02:22):
I got back to work on my manuscript and typed
out another six thousand words. Then came another note from Canva,
gently suggesting I find another word, something less triggering than enslaved,
(02:44):
to describe to Quat of the upcoming fire sword. And
see she had in fact been enslaved. So I turned
to friends and asked them for other ways to enslatement.
Here's what they came up with. Bond servant, stoble and laborer,
(03:11):
forced job training, people in the condition of slavery, held
in captivity, kidnapped, and ye'all. I laughed to keep from crying,
because all I could think of was Lord, have mercy.
(03:34):
I might have sent right there, If not in word,
then in thought I wanted to cuss out the machine.
I was disappointed in technology. That's a hard place to
be for a data girl. Yet I was more disappointed
in me for even entertaining the idea of appeasing the bot,
(03:58):
the faceless, soulless thing that some biased, flawed or agenda
driven human had created and enabled it to think it
knows what's best. Surrendering is not how we honor truth
(04:20):
or the stories were called to tell. Let me take
a moment to invite you to something special. Write of
Passage is my little corner of the Internet where I
share thoughts on writing, storytelling, the ups and downs of life,
and how we keep going even when the odds feel great.
(04:44):
If that sounds like your speed, go ahead and hit
that subscribe button. Welcome to the Rite of Passage. Now
back to the podcast. Here is a seductive thing. It wihispers,
don't speak too loudly, don't shine too brightly, don't center
(05:07):
stories on black truth, black joy or black progress. And lately,
I'll admit it's been taking me a little longer to
bounce back. It's getting harder to hold on to the
vision of a brighter morning, just a head when everything
(05:30):
feels handcuffed and ready to be jailed or deported. In
the past forty eight hours, the visuals that I allowed
my eyes to see I've been stunning, heartbreaking, and even
holy on Easter Sunday, my church goes all out for
(05:54):
dramatization of the crucifixion, lights, drama, music, the whole thing.
But this year there stood a black Jesus, bloodied, whipped, brutalized.
It hit different, terrifyingly different. Then came Black Simon stepping
(06:22):
in to carry the cross, basically taking on his shoulders
the oppressor's burden given to Jesus. I'm watching it, and
something cracked, fractured into a hundred of pieces on the inside.
It's been a long time since I cried in church.
(06:46):
The first time was when I said the Sinner's Prayer
and I admitted that I was scared and I needed salvation.
Side note, did you know the Sinner's Prayer doesn't actually
appeer anywhere in the Bible. There is no biblical record
of anyone praying those exact words. It emerged around the
(07:07):
Protestant Reformation and took shape in the twentieth century, nearly
one hundred and twenty five years ago. For context, the
Civil War officially ended one hundred and sixty years ago.
Both those things are not that long ago. On Easter Monday,
(07:32):
I saw Sinners, the Ryan Cougler film with Michael B. Jordan,
win Me, Musaku, Hailey Steinfeld, Lilli jun Lee, Miles Caton,
and del Roy Lindo on a gorgeous widescreen. I watched
this emotionally rich tale, saturated with period details and truths spoilert.
(07:55):
Two brothers are seen watching the sunrise, just an awe
of the majesty and their freedom. Then I focused on
people dancing, singing, loving, Then comes destruction. The movie has
all types of monsters, Yavi's hate filled men of the
(08:16):
clan who are hungry for blood and money, then the
monsters disguised as your own kind. The evil is often
invited in he feasts of fear and death. The violence
(08:42):
didn't make me jump. The gore wasn't any worse than
the makeup used at the church crucifixion. Eventually rhetorized, it
settles in your chest, It steals all joy before the
next morning can come. I found myself waiting for that
(09:08):
other foot to fall, for when that bad was coming.
So what does this all mean? Anticipating doom or consequences
can be as draining as when the threats or violence comes.
(09:31):
We can't surrender in advance. It means we must guard
our eyes, not to shield them from the truth, but
to make sure they still see beauty even in chaos.
They must still see family, see hope. We must guard
(09:53):
our ears because false praise can lead us into stillness.
It can lie to us that we are safe and
leave us vulnerable to brokenness. Yet we must hear music.
Sweet music, true music, ancestral rhythms. All can cut through
(10:21):
the noise and remind us of who we are, who
we are striving to be. We must remember this little
light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. A
light can be seen. A light reveals what's nearest, what
needs our care. A light cast shadows, warning us of
(10:46):
what's creeping in the distance. A light tells the truth
of our circumstances, and it gives us the chance to
see the true face of things lurking in the dark.
So keep your light burning. That is your protection. Keep
(11:08):
your voice strong, that is how you inspire hope. Then
revel in each new day, letting your truth telling joy,
making world buildings self be known to help you encourage
your soul. Try all us what we carry. By Amanda Gorman.
(11:35):
This poetry that engages with history, hope, and the responsibility
of bearing witness Sula by Tony Morrison is a meditation
on black womanhood, loyalty, and community through beautiful, painful prose
(11:56):
and of course go see Sinners in the movie theater.
Watch creativity and inclusivity on the widest screen. You can
thank me later. The winners will be those who kept
(12:16):
their lights shining, who believed in truth and dared to
cry out It's me. It's me, o Lord, standing in
the need of prayer. Darkness is real. We tend to
invite it into our life, our work, our sanctuaries. But remember,
(12:42):
Don is also real. Don, I hear comes with new mercies.
I pray we find them to be the first. Know
about sword and see go to bit dot l y
(13:06):
slash vr fire Sword Show notes include a list of
books mentioned in this broadcast. This week, I'm highlighting the
bookseller through their website and bookshop dot org. You can
find my notes on substack. We're on my website Venessurilly
(13:27):
dot com under the podcast link in the about tab.
Help fight the bots by hitting like and continuing to
share this podcast, you are essential to its growth. Thank
you for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa
(13:49):
Riley No
Welcome to the Rite of Passage with Vanessa Riley, the
podcast where storytelling meets passion in every page turns into
a new adventure. I'm your host, Vanessa Riley, and together
we'll dive deep into untold histories, reflect on current events
through a historical lands, share behind the scenes writing insights,
(00:29):
and explore the ups and downs of the author's journey
from rich historical novels to unforgettable characters to pop culture's
intrusion on the written word. Hey, we're going to explore
it all. So grab your pen, your notebook, and let's
begin our journey through the written word. Let's start your
(00:54):
right of passage a sinner's prayer. This is the light
of mind. I'm gonna let it sign. Last week was
weird one the algorithms, the bots seemed to be coming
for me. Canva, of all places led the charge made
(01:18):
me feel like I wasn't just wrong in opinion, but
wrong in essence, as if the characters I write, rooted
in history, full of breath and heart, were somehow unworthy.
Handcuffed me now because it felt like I was being
(01:39):
told it was a crime to write them at all,
and in this current climate, that's kind of doubt sticks.
There's so much anti DEI noise, so much effort to
(02:01):
protect people from truth. Have forbid someone learn something. Heaven
forbid someone dares to be better, more moral than their ancestors.
I thought I'd shaken it off, thought I'd moved on.
(02:22):
I got back to work on my manuscript and typed
out another six thousand words. Then came another note from Canva,
gently suggesting I find another word, something less triggering than enslaved,
(02:44):
to describe to Quat of the upcoming fire sword. And
see she had in fact been enslaved. So I turned
to friends and asked them for other ways to enslatement.
Here's what they came up with. Bond servant, stoble and laborer,
(03:11):
forced job training, people in the condition of slavery, held
in captivity, kidnapped, and ye'all. I laughed to keep from crying,
because all I could think of was Lord, have mercy.
(03:34):
I might have sent right there, If not in word,
then in thought I wanted to cuss out the machine.
I was disappointed in technology. That's a hard place to
be for a data girl. Yet I was more disappointed
in me for even entertaining the idea of appeasing the bot,
(03:58):
the faceless, soulless thing that some biased, flawed or agenda
driven human had created and enabled it to think it
knows what's best. Surrendering is not how we honor truth
(04:20):
or the stories were called to tell. Let me take
a moment to invite you to something special. Write of
Passage is my little corner of the Internet where I
share thoughts on writing, storytelling, the ups and downs of life,
and how we keep going even when the odds feel great.
(04:44):
If that sounds like your speed, go ahead and hit
that subscribe button. Welcome to the Rite of Passage. Now
back to the podcast. Here is a seductive thing. It wihispers,
don't speak too loudly, don't shine too brightly, don't center
(05:07):
stories on black truth, black joy or black progress. And lately,
I'll admit it's been taking me a little longer to
bounce back. It's getting harder to hold on to the
vision of a brighter morning, just a head when everything
(05:30):
feels handcuffed and ready to be jailed or deported. In
the past forty eight hours, the visuals that I allowed
my eyes to see I've been stunning, heartbreaking, and even
holy on Easter Sunday, my church goes all out for
(05:54):
dramatization of the crucifixion, lights, drama, music, the whole thing.
But this year there stood a black Jesus, bloodied, whipped, brutalized.
It hit different, terrifyingly different. Then came Black Simon stepping
(06:22):
in to carry the cross, basically taking on his shoulders
the oppressor's burden given to Jesus. I'm watching it, and
something cracked, fractured into a hundred of pieces on the inside.
It's been a long time since I cried in church.
(06:46):
The first time was when I said the Sinner's Prayer
and I admitted that I was scared and I needed salvation.
Side note, did you know the Sinner's Prayer doesn't actually
appeer anywhere in the Bible. There is no biblical record
of anyone praying those exact words. It emerged around the
(07:07):
Protestant Reformation and took shape in the twentieth century, nearly
one hundred and twenty five years ago. For context, the
Civil War officially ended one hundred and sixty years ago.
Both those things are not that long ago. On Easter Monday,
(07:32):
I saw Sinners, the Ryan Cougler film with Michael B. Jordan,
win Me, Musaku, Hailey Steinfeld, Lilli jun Lee, Miles Caton,
and del Roy Lindo on a gorgeous widescreen. I watched
this emotionally rich tale, saturated with period details and truths spoilert.
(07:55):
Two brothers are seen watching the sunrise, just an awe
of the majesty and their freedom. Then I focused on
people dancing, singing, loving, Then comes destruction. The movie has
all types of monsters, Yavi's hate filled men of the
(08:16):
clan who are hungry for blood and money, then the
monsters disguised as your own kind. The evil is often
invited in he feasts of fear and death. The violence
(08:42):
didn't make me jump. The gore wasn't any worse than
the makeup used at the church crucifixion. Eventually rhetorized, it
settles in your chest, It steals all joy before the
next morning can come. I found myself waiting for that
(09:08):
other foot to fall, for when that bad was coming.
So what does this all mean? Anticipating doom or consequences
can be as draining as when the threats or violence comes.
(09:31):
We can't surrender in advance. It means we must guard
our eyes, not to shield them from the truth, but
to make sure they still see beauty even in chaos.
They must still see family, see hope. We must guard
(09:53):
our ears because false praise can lead us into stillness.
It can lie to us that we are safe and
leave us vulnerable to brokenness. Yet we must hear music.
Sweet music, true music, ancestral rhythms. All can cut through
(10:21):
the noise and remind us of who we are, who
we are striving to be. We must remember this little
light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. A
light can be seen. A light reveals what's nearest, what
needs our care. A light cast shadows, warning us of
(10:46):
what's creeping in the distance. A light tells the truth
of our circumstances, and it gives us the chance to
see the true face of things lurking in the dark.
So keep your light burning. That is your protection. Keep
(11:08):
your voice strong, that is how you inspire hope. Then
revel in each new day, letting your truth telling joy,
making world buildings self be known to help you encourage
your soul. Try all us what we carry. By Amanda Gorman.
(11:35):
This poetry that engages with history, hope, and the responsibility
of bearing witness Sula by Tony Morrison is a meditation
on black womanhood, loyalty, and community through beautiful, painful prose
(11:56):
and of course go see Sinners in the movie theater.
Watch creativity and inclusivity on the widest screen. You can
thank me later. The winners will be those who kept
(12:16):
their lights shining, who believed in truth and dared to
cry out It's me. It's me, o Lord, standing in
the need of prayer. Darkness is real. We tend to
invite it into our life, our work, our sanctuaries. But remember,
(12:42):
Don is also real. Don, I hear comes with new mercies.
I pray we find them to be the first. Know
about sword and see go to bit dot l y
(13:06):
slash vr fire Sword Show notes include a list of
books mentioned in this broadcast. This week, I'm highlighting the
bookseller through their website and bookshop dot org. You can
find my notes on substack. We're on my website Venessurilly
(13:27):
dot com under the podcast link in the about tab.
Help fight the bots by hitting like and continuing to
share this podcast, you are essential to its growth. Thank
you for listening. Hopefully you'll come again. This is Vanessa
(13:49):
Riley No
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