First and foremost, HAPPY JUNETEENTH because Black Liberation is my favorite thing!
As far as I know, none of us has control over what family we are born into and what part of the world we make our grand entrance. I happen to have been born in the good ol’ USA. That comes with a set of privileges like free speech, the right to vote, and peacefully protest—you know, stuff like that. It also comes with a responsibility to stay engaged, participate in the democratic process, and remember that this democracy experiment is only 200 years and some change old. It is fragile and not guaranteed at all. If you have never believed that to be true, we are living that belief out loud right now.
When I was in school, history and civics were my most exciting classes. I have always had an affinity for history and understanding how we got here. As a black person in the US, I am deeply invested in civics and understanding how government works, and my role in making it work while holding it accountable. In my family, I am the first generation who didn’t have to integrate my school. That’s wild. We often think the blood stains of our past are way back in the past. But my parents are in their late 60s/early 70s. The foolishness of racism in our country is not actually “in the past” the way we have wanted to believe. And if that history isn’t so distant, then it is not a leap to assume recent gains can be reversed. (The cycle of failed weight-loss programs confirms this!)
I recognize that many of us feel like we are living in a hellscape dumpster fire. We are watching our neighbors be disappeared without due process, transpeople being legally erased, history being rewritten and sanitized, government supported genocide and inhumanity, political assassinations on American soil, and the break down of our governmental checks and balances. The 24-hour news cycle of gloom and doom (because where is the actual critical news reporting?) is a lot.
I fully understand why so many want to stick their heads in the sand or simply shut down because it is overwhelming. I have empathy for people who feel that way. But a democracy of the people, for the people, by the people only works if all the people engage. In those engagements, whether it be voting, working on a campaign, attending town halls, showing up for a protest, registering people to vote, making donations, or writing letters to your representatives, we are reminded that all is not loss. People do care about the wellbeing of their neighbors. We have more in common than we acknowledge. We do need to learn from each other because that’s how we grow as a people. We have tools to fight back against the erosion of our rights and the destruction of our democracy. Power to the people.
I was reminded of this when I attended the local town hall held by my U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal. While she was clear that we are living through brutal times, she championed hope and civic engagement. She shared a stat from Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, who studied successful nonviolent campaigns throughout history. According to their research, only 3.5% of a population engaging in sustained, nonviolent protest is needed to create large-scale change. Hope, coupled with action and joy are powerful tools to have in our arsenal right now. And history shows that this trifecta works.
“We don’t suffer in America from scarcity, we suffer from greed.” U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal
Why hope? Hope reminds us that all things are possible. In the darkest of times, hope is the light that shines when all other lights have gone out. Or it is the reinforcement that appears in the east at first light on the fifth day because man did LOTR teach us something about holding on to hope in the most dire times! But seriously, hope gives us a collective vision of what is possible that compels us to keep fighting.
Action is an obvious one. We have to do something to create change. It doesn’t just happen spontaneously on its own. That something can be different for all of us as we all have a role to play in this fight. Some are teachers. Some are organizers. Some are healers. Some are soldiers on the front lines. Some are feeders of the masses. Some are strategists. As a reminder, one of those actions has to be rest and restoration because liberation includes holistic health.
The most important tool in the fight for me is joy. Joy is the thing that sustains and strengthens me through the fight. Joy brings relief from the heaviness. Joy reminds me that I’m alive and there is something beautiful in that living! Nothing illustrates this better than Black joy. The thing I know for sure about Black Americans is we have learned to hold space for joy. We will find ways to laugh about anything. Some say you have to laugh to keep from crying. Exactly. Joy releases the pain that threatens to choke the life out of you. It’s what keeps you from crashing out. Listen, Black folks are going to find ways to laugh, and sing, and dance, and release the burdens. (Where them fans at?) We know what it means to persevere through hell, and we know how to latch on to joy, so even if only for a few hours, we can be free. When this fight for freedom and justice starts to steal hope and joy, it prevents you from taking action. Fight for hope and joy. Hold on to them with all that is in you.
I am one-generation removed from the successful protests of the civil rights movement. We are all indebted to the brave Americans of many ethnicities and nationalities who stood up and spoke out over and over again, even when it was hard, even when it was met with violence, even when it costs them everything. I cannot—I will not—let their fight be in vain.
I have been thinking a lot about what my fight in this season looks like. It looks like using my words and my voice. It looks like showing up to town halls and city council meetings. It looks like celebrating Juneteenth and Blackness in community. It looks like writing letters and checks to support causes I care about. It looks like walks in nature and touching grass and hugging trees. It looks like voting and registering others to vote. It looks like eating health and working out and getting enough sleep. It looks like creating art. It looks like gardening. It looks like speaking out and standing up. It looks like reminding people that all things are possible. It looks like of the people, for the people, by the people. Power to the people.
