Speaker 1: On today's episode of I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Easter. Now. For most folks, Easter is
Speaker 1: about three things. Jesus, bunny rabbits with candy, and it's
Speaker 1: probably the only time all year you buyt some dress
Speaker 1: clothes for church. And if you're from the South, it's
Speaker 1: probably pastel colors on that Steve Harvey suit with the
Speaker 1: same color Gator Stacey Adams the match. I didn't know.
Speaker 1: I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I
Speaker 1: didn't know. I didn't know. But see, for our ancestors,
Speaker 1: Easter wasn't just about dressing up and being fresher than
Speaker 1: the border, health and hunting Easter eggs. Back in the day,
Speaker 1: Easter was like the original we Gonna be alright anthem.
Speaker 1: It was hope in the middle of chaos. Imagine being enslaved,
Speaker 1: working sunrise to sunset, but still holding on to the
Speaker 1: story of Jesus rising again. Now that's some real faith.
Speaker 1: It might be. I'maller than a mustard seed. It was
Speaker 1: a thought of, if Jesus could roll that stone away,
Speaker 1: come on, somebody, huh, then we can roll this oppression
Speaker 1: off our backs to can I get amen, And had
Speaker 1: you ever heard of hush harbors? Let me tell you
Speaker 1: about them. Hush harbors were like the underground clubs of
Speaker 1: the Enslavement period, like them silent parties, but they didn't
Speaker 1: have no colorful headsets. And instead of the DJ dropping bangers,
Speaker 1: you had somebody in the corner whispering swing lot sweetch
Speaker 1: Because they had to keep it low key, because at
Speaker 1: massaculture it's a rap. So they'd head out to the woods,
Speaker 1: set up shop and worship in secret hush harbors. They'd
Speaker 1: even hang up wet blankets to keep the sound from traveling. Yeah,
Speaker 1: soundproof in the woods. Now, how innovative is that they
Speaker 1: didn't need no beats by dre our ancestors invented noise cancelation.
Speaker 1: But these hush harbors, they weren't just about worship, Oh nah,
Speaker 1: they were about rebellion. See. They'd sing songs like we
Speaker 1: in the Waler Weed, which was basically the first GPS,
Speaker 1: because that was cold. For hey, you, Harriet said, meet
Speaker 1: about the river and don't forget to pack light. These
Speaker 1: folks turned praise into power hymns in the hope, and
Speaker 1: today that same energy lives in every gospel choir and
Speaker 1: every preacher who makes you say shop by the airside.
Speaker 1: And we can't forget about the Easter fit tradition, the
Speaker 1: pasteales with the shoes to match. I wasn't capping about that,
Speaker 1: but that goes back to the enslavement periods as well.
Speaker 1: After emancipation, newly freed black folks would pull up the
Speaker 1: church in their finest fits. They wasn't just dressing for God.
Speaker 1: They were dressing to let the world know I'm free
Speaker 1: and I look good. That's why to this day we
Speaker 1: don't play about them Easter fits. Some folks be out
Speaker 1: here treating Easter like the met Gala, big hats, pastel suits.
Speaker 1: Had to put some armarole on them shoes because I
Speaker 1: could see my reflection in them. Jones, There's like a
Speaker 1: runway show with a praise break in the middle. And no,
Speaker 1: Easter ain't the only holiday. We're roots in the struggle.
Speaker 1: We talked about Juneteenth in previous seasons. That's when we
Speaker 1: celebrate freedom two years after freedom was supposed to happen.
Speaker 1: Can you imagine being two years late to your own
Speaker 1: free party? You like your job, hearting you up in
Speaker 1: saying hey, you got a PTO that you didn't use
Speaker 1: back in twenty twenty three. Another holiday is Kwanza, where
Speaker 1: we honor African traditions and principles like unity and self determination.
Speaker 1: If Easter is the resurrection, Juneteenth is the graduation, and
Speaker 1: then Kwan's is like the family reunion. It's all connected.
Speaker 1: Holiday is rooted in freedom and resilience. So this year,
Speaker 1: when you're stepping clean and your Easter's best, remember you're
Speaker 1: not just celebrating a holiday, You're honoring a legacy. You're
Speaker 1: carrying forward with the spirit of those hush harbors, the
Speaker 1: fight for freedom and the hope that no matter how
Speaker 1: low we get, we always rise again. And I didn't know.
Speaker 1: Maybe you didn't either. No,