In Solidarity
I show up today.
I show up today
to make my voice heard.
I show up today
to tell those in power that neither their actions or inactions,
words or silence, will go unnoticed.
I show up today
to tell my fellow citizens that I lend my body, my voice, my image to justice.
I show up today
to tell my local organizers that I see their actions too.
Their labor, their efforts, their missteps, their humanity.
I show up today
to tell you that I will respond to your call. I will follow where you lead.
I will follow
knowing that there are many battles to fight and many that have been fought, and that must be fought over and over again.
I will follow
knowing that winning is possible, but a battle is only won if we all win,
that is, if we move from oppression and toward justice.
I will follow
knowing that I am imperfect, that I have much to learn, and that my privilege has shielded me from experiencing many of the injustices we will battle.
I will follow
knowing that what I don’t know, does not negate what I do, and
that I have much to give.
I follow my Jewish siblings
who vow that fascism will never again win over humanity.
I follow my Native American and Indigenous siblings
who protect the Earth to sustain both the future and the past.
I follow my Black siblings
who fight systemic oppression so deep, it justifies the killing of children in the street.
I follow my Asian-American siblings
who denounce white supremacy by forging cross-cultural alliances.
I follow my Latinx siblings
who refuse to let borders dictate identity, culture or opportunity.
I follow my Muslim siblings
who counter fear with faith and the defense of liberty.
I follow my LGBTQ siblings
who have the moral certitude to elevate love in the face of hate.
I follow my disabled sibling
who reveal the barriers to inclusion built into our everyday lives.
I follow my sisters
who continue to labor and love in a world that denies their worth and personhood at every turn.
I follow the scientists, the poets, the healers, the mothers and fathers,
the leaders, the educators, the laborers, the engineers, the storytellers and the social workers.
I follow the poor, the unemployed, the homeless, those afflicted mentally or emotionally, the refugees and those affected by war.
I follow all who stand up for justice
because you understand injustice all too well.
I show up today
because I want you to know that
I will follow you tomorrow.
I will follow you tomorrow
when there are calls to make and letters to write.
when there are officials to elect and others to depose.
when there are bulldozers to block and bridges to build.
when you need safety or love or money.
when we must speak the truth over and over and over
just to prove its existence.
I show up
to stand beside you as we march,
to lend my voice to yours,
to create strength through solidarity of action,
not because we are one, but because we are many,
our voices as varied as our experience,
as deep as our cultures, as vast as our pasts.
We show up, with one voice and with many,
to be the media and the message.
to be the agitator and the witness.
to be the soldier and the pacifist.
to be the leader and the follower.
to be in solidarity with justice and each other.
