I’m not going to the women’s march on Saturday. I didn’t watch the inauguration. I did end up reading POTUS45’s annotated speech online on NPR. I did talk with my daughter this morning that our sleeves are going to have to stay permanently rolled up because we are going to have to fight even harder for kindness and love to win.
As time passed since the election, I felt more and more conflicted about participating in the march. Standing shoulder to shoulder with my fellow womankind seemed like the perfect way to show solidarity. However, the conversation around the march, the organizers as well as some of those who were participating became something that didn’t feel too much like solidarity to me. It reminded me that we are still so fractured and that is what prevents us from going beyond a one time event. And, in all honesty, I still feel burned by white people. It’s something that I am working through, but I still feel deeply wounded.
But, I support all those who are marching because there is an impact for showing up and physically marching. I truly hope that our coming together won’t end there, though. We still have so much work ahead of us.
So instead of marching, these are the three things I am doing:
- Going to a prayer meeting. As a person of faith, I’ve been feeling compelled to pray. Plus, what Eugene Cho posted really resonated with me: “Whatever our political inclinations, may we have courage to both genuinely pray for our leaders and to speak prophetic truth to their power.” I’ve been exploring prayer and what it means for me. Is it just words that I offer to my God? Is it something that I should do in a group setting? How does prayer turn into action? Is there such a thing as active prayer and what does that look like? I really liked this inauguration prayer a friend had posted on Facebook.
- Taking my daughter and husband to go see Hidden Figures. Then, reading these books with my daughter and checking out the ones we don’t have from the library. For me, it’s important to show my daughter that we are able to do the things we do today because of the women who came before us. Fighting for justice and equality is a must-do. It’s also important to talk about racism, discrimination and the marginalization of people who are different than the majority. I also want my daughter to know that learning our history informs us on how to be better for the future, but learning and discovering that history doesn’t always happen at school. We must go find and learn for ourselves and be active in being informed.
- Write. Write to our elected officials, friends and family. Write honestly on my blog. Write to my church, my pastors, the faith community. Write my resistance manifesto. Write how I will fight injustice for the next four years. I hope you will join me, especially when it comes to writing (or calling) our elected officials. Make your voice heard-if not for yourself-than for those who are marginalized. Be an amplifier.
If you are marching, I sincerely wish for your safety. If you get arrested, you can always call me to bail you out. I stand with you in my heart and I hope that our actions don’t stop on Saturday, but will continue on. My sleeves have been rolled up and I hope you will join me in this fight. Let me know what your next step is and how I can help to fight this fight with you together.
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1. Reading Hillbilly Elegy, a read all of us should read to help understand how we need to bridge the gap.
2. Writing.
3. Hiking, alone, in the mountains. I wanted to go, but lacked the energy. I need to dedicate time to making myself strong so I can be an effective activist.
Going to add that book to my list! Thanks Angie’
This is thoughtful and resonates with me. Thank you, Phyllis!
Thanks for reading this Anna!
I understand. I’ve been talking to my daughter about civil rights and have found many great picture books at the library that have helped me to have those discussions wieher in a way she would understand. Last night we read a picture book about the life of John Lewis and she asked a lot of good questions. This weekend we will read some other relevant picture books.
Awesome! I’m glad we have these books and I love that you are having these discussions with your daughter through these books!