As I’ve found myself in this situation where people are trying to drive me into fail, there’s something in me that’s pushed out of me which won’t let them erase me. That same drive I’ve had my whole life. I found this drive within me at a young age. At 7 I found my passion and someone I trusted told me I’d only fail. Something in me told me to move forward towards a goal somewhere off into the distant future. That force assured me there was something far in the distance and to feel comforted that I wouldn’t arrive there only to find null.

As I’ve fought this current battle, I’ve used a certain method to fight back. And maybe you’ll understand what. My attackers have way more privilege than I but I’ve been using a tactic that utilizes my wits, creativity, and ingenuity. It’s allowed me to recapture my narrative and get enough evidence to charge them with their acts which are criminal, and in the least shine light to the rest of the world on something horrible that being done to me, and likely others right now. I feel like this isn’t only the intention of my direct assailants, but perhaps a campaign to harm proud Black and also marginalized folks. I’m unsure though.

As I struggled through attacks the last few months, I would come across a full description of the West African Spider God of Ghana, Ananse in Jan 2023 during research. My mind was blown. Ananse and I had the same methodology in fighting back against injustice.

I then read how Ananse stories traveled down the Caribbean through Jamaica and then to where my parents are from, Haiti. I was never told an Ananse story my whole life— in my knowledge at least. But something was in me this whole time and it resonated with every word about Ananse which I read. I think some of us have old gods in us.

Since that realization and before I’ve been connecting some fascinating dots about the world, history, and what’s ahead. And if you’re ever curious I’m happy to share cause they benefit Black people and all others in the end. 

That leads me to the main point of this letter. I discovered something exciting and important I wanted you to know. There’s a power I’m not sure I’ve seen described in Ananse’s abilities which I think they possess. And maybe it’s a power they grow over Time. Heh heh! They’re a funny spider, right?

Because that’s the ability— Time. Ananse is a master of story and narrative. As they moved through the ages, consuming endless amounts of narrative, they would have to become adept at the ebb and flow of human stories— where we start and where we tend to complete. Analytics, essentially.

Ananse would naturally become gifted at understanding how pathways and choices branch in front of us into the future in Time.  Much like the legs of a spider. And they’d be amazingly good by now at picking paths with all the narratives they’ve collected. A predictive model from all those analytics, essentially. Like machine learning. There’s only so many choices at an intersection. I found this amazing picture online of Ananse’s web, connecting people and their stories around a camp fire, and something sparked in me.