ADVOCATE
FOR CHANGE
“I REMEMBER”
I’m a concerned citizen, simply put. I’m inspired and fired up to contribute to change — and want to light the match under you, too! As a “woke” octogenarian with a PhD from the School of Hard Knocks, I have seen enough to know that we must stay vigilant and fight against forces that would deny us our rights. We must engage in a national call to action. We must vote. We must make waves and make change.
This current outrage was cultivated through centuries of oppression and suppression: the denial of people’s rights to humanity, independence, and freedom — African Americans, Native Peoples, Asians and Latinas. It was seeded in me during my coming of age in western Pennsylvania. That’s when I became aware of the scourge of racism and other human rights abuses. The status quo was intolerable then — and still is.
As a child I remember celebrating Emancipation Day, the holiday heralding the formal end of slavery in the U.S. I can still see the enthusiastic marchers, drill teams, fire trucks, and bands in the parade. I’m still watching Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, James Brown, and Wilson Pickett perform in the town hall above the library, reminding us that joy is the best resistance. My dream, my hope? That we get to live Emancipation Day every day.