We all inherit something. Sometimes it is a tradition, a way of seeing the world, a set of values, material items, or an artistic practice. And sometimes what we inherit is a set of expectations about who we are supposed to be and where we are supposed to belong. But inheritance doesn't have to mean preservation. We can honor what came before us while also questioning it, reshaping it, and creating something new.
Throughout the month of November, we are exploring the idea of inheritance, and more specifically what we inherit, what we challenge, and what we create for ourselves. For African descendants across the globe, the concept of inheritance is layered. We inherit traditions that have traveled across oceans and generations. We inherit epistemologies and cultural practices that have survived displacement, adaptation, postcolonialism, and reinvention. We contend with our inheritances while negotiating institutions and traditions that were not originally designed with us in mind.
But what happens when we are in the position to be the people who get to reshape what comes next?? Which traditions have we inherited that still serve us? Which ones need to be disrupted? And what might become possible when we give ourselves permission to create something that didn't exist before?
This month we contend with these questions on an upcoming Belonging to Blackness podcast episode (Season 8 Ep 71), with guest My’Kal Stromile, debuting November 10 2026.
An award-winning ballet dancer and choreographer, My’Kal has had an extraordinary career that has taken him from Juilliard and Boston Ballet to creating work for the Paris Opera Ballet, with costumes by CHANEL, to explore the relationship between classical ballet’s heritage and new choreographic language. Earlier this year, his Boston Ballet world premiere, The Leisurely Installation of a New Window, also examines what happens when inherited systems are questioned, disrupted, and ultimately transformed. My’Kal calls himself a "movement architect."
Beyond the scope of dance, being a “movement architect” can serve as a powerful metaphor for how we might think about Black life and inheritance more broadly, as something we continually design, construct, revise, and reimagine.
Our conversation with guest My’Kal Stromile explores what happens when a young Black artist enters one of the world's most established artistic traditions and decides not only to belong within it, but to help reshape what it can become. This is an episode you don’t want to miss!
Be sure to listen, subscribe, and share: https://yndialorickwilmot.com/belonging-to-blackness/ and wherever you listen to your podcasts (YouTube, Apple, Spotify, iHeart, and beyond!)
Peace and blessings,
Dr. Yndia & the Belonging to Blackness, LLC team
