As part of our #100DaysofJustice campaign, we recognize that we stand on the shoulders of giants. In these trying times, we give thanks to the civil rights leaders and visionaries who fought for justice years ago, to safeguard our rights so that today we could take up the mantle of resistance.
Below is our Valentine’s Day love letter to our predecessors. We invite you to write a love letter to your favorite movement or community leader and share it with us at comms@advancingjustice-alc.org. We will highlight the most inspiring letters we receive on this blog.
It has been a long winter. The pavement slippery, we can easily lose our footing.
How did you endure the storms of hatred and fight for a glimmer of dawn?
The world you knew is much different from the world we inhabit.
The fields
The camps
Incarceration
Of our communities.
Some things still persist. Some feel like they may return.
But leaders are born out of struggle.
Things are changing but your legacy will not be erased, will not be silenced,
thrown into a stark relief under the shadow hovering over us.
Today, more than ever, we accept that progress will always be threatened,
Must be protected, our resolve to uphold it redoubled.
We must dare to constantly reimagine it.
We need not look far to glimpse those who are walking in your shoes.
The forgotten, forced to a country they’ve never known
fighting so others can stay with their families.
The exploited, creating dignity in the workplace.
The youth, who put their bodies upon the gears, upon the wheels
of the deportation machine.
We will not despair.
We will move forward on the frontlines heeding your rallying cry.
We march. We protest. We fight.
For the law is meant to be our servant, not our master.
We will not be given an explanation under tyranny.
We will not accept a warning meant to remove us.
We will light the way. With compassion and love.
When spring comes we will be standing up tall
From the grape fields to the streets
To the halls of justice.
You trusted the future to us and we will not fail you.
We will tear down walls.
We will fortify our sanctuaries.
We will resist.