Set against the backdrop of Detroit’s rich Black culture, 'Until It Feels Like Worship’ follows Yomi as she navigates a journey to reconcile with grief. Stemming from a lineage of silent sorrow tracing back to her great-grandmother’s tragic loss of her children to a house fire,, a legacy of enslaved ancestors in the antebellum South and sharecroppers in its aftermath, Yomi confronts grief rooted in the loss of loved ones, the relationship with her body, the absence of community and tradition, and the unspoken weight of inherited pain.
Seeking connection in The Joy Project—an evolving archive of African Atlantic agriculture and foodways built on the pillars of Recognition, Remembering, Reconciliation, and Restoration—Yomi plants seeds to begin the reclamation of herself.
Interrogating grief alongside her community, Yomi traces the connections of heritage and community through memory, cooking, somatic movement, and spiritual practice. Armed with rituals to build capacity and maintain cultural presence, grief transforms from an oppressive force into a companion, guiding her toward healing.