California has long been considered a fantasy land wrapped in gold, glittering with opportunity. We know that much of the state's allure can quickly be proven otherwise because there is no magical place for us under white supremacy.
But there may be a reason California draws in so many people–and it's Blacker than you think.
Centuries ago, The Golden State was named after a Black queen! Queen Calafia ruled an imaginary kingdom in a Spanish novel, Las Sergas de Esplandían, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
The tea is that Calafia's kingdom, California, was indeed a magical place.
She was a dark-skinned, griffin-riding warrior loved for her beauty, strength, and courage. Queen Calafia's weapons were made from minerals on the gold-filled island she led, and its only inhabitants were an army of badass Black women.
But everything wasn't all good.
Calafia ultimately lived under a system of white patriarchal control. Despite California's mythical origins, we shouldn't ignore the symbolism. Queen Calafia was one of us fighting her damnedest against the opposition.
We should embody that same energy! Like Queen Calafia, we must be courageous and united in our fight for liberation and never forget that when it comes to white supremacy, all that glitters isn't gold.