Today, we are closing out Black History Month 2025 with a quote from Tricia Hersey, author of Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto (2022) and founder of The Nap Ministry:
“I don’t want a seat at the table. The table is full of oppressors. I want a blanket and a pillow down by the ocean. I want to rest.”
Tricia Hersey, “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto” (2022)”
Tricia Hersey
This quote is a powerful reminder for all disruptors, difference-makers, and decolonizers! The metaphorical “table” Hersey alludes to is often framed as the ultimate prize—a marker of success in communities, boardrooms, politics, and elite spaces. But Hersey challenges this narrative, reminding us that some tables are built on exclusion, extraction, and exploitation. Sometimes, the table is more poison than prize.
How revolutionary to suggest the revelation of taking rest instead of taking a seat. Through The Nap Ministry, Hersey has reshaped the conversation on rest, calling it a spiritual practice and an act of resistance against grind culture and the exploitation of Black labor. She reminds us that rest is not a luxury; it is a right.
As we close out our 2025 commemoration of Black History, we leave you with a charge: REST. Reclaim your time, your energy, and your well-being. Rest is restorative. Rest is resistance. Rest is liberation.
2025 is also a milestone year for the Black Mail Blog, as we celebrate 10 years of bringing you Black History: Special Delivery! Thank you for journeying with us to honor Black stories, voices, and history.
Another installment of melanated mail has been delivered. Ponder, reflect, and pass it on. But first—rest.
Reflection: What does rest look like for you? How can we create spaces where Black rest is prioritized and protected?
Emerging from the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, the "I AM A MAN" poster became a powerful symbol of dignity and justice, demanding recognition of Black workers' humanity. Click the link to learn more.
