Mustafa Santiago Ali
Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Executive Vice President of Conservation & Justice for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), former Interim Chief of Programs at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and Instructor at American University. He is the Founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. He also serves as a commissioner for The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). He is an award-winning writer and poet focused on social justice. Dr. Ali is frequently seen on television, including appearances on MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, VICE, FUSE, BET, National Geographic, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Democracy NOW! Mustafa is also a regular guest on Roland Martin Unfiltered, Black News Channel, Tavis Smiley Show, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and many others…
Editor's Note: This poem is the sixth in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems, interviews, short stories, and articles about political events.
Sheila, you were the thunder in our storm, the fire in our hearts, the calm in our rage, your voice, a drumbeat in the halls of power, demanding justice, shouting for the silenced.
Congresswoman, queen, warrior of words, you loved your people like the sun loves the earth, with a fierce warmth, with a light that never dimmed, even as shadows tried to swallow your shine.
You walked into rooms and history bowed, you spoke and the world took notice, for you carried the weight of our ancestors’ dreams, and the promise of our children’s futures.
Champion of racial justice, you bled truth, every speech a call to arms, every vote a battle won, you stood tall against the tides of oppression, unwavering, unyielding, unbreakable.
In the fight for criminal justice, you were a beacon, casting light into the darkest corners, where the forgotten languished, where hope was a flicker, you made it a flame, a torch, a bonfire.
Human rights were your gospel, your creed, you saw the humanity in us all, the beauty in our struggle, with a special love for women and children, you nurtured the seeds of change, you tended our garden.
Now, you join the ancestors, a star in the sky, guiding us, watching over us, a celestial guardian, your spirit dancing with those who came before, singing songs of freedom, of justice, of love.
Sheila, we mourn, we celebrate, we remember, your name is a hymn, a prayer, a revolution, your legacy a roadmap, your life a testament, to the power of one, the power of us.
You taught us that to love our people is to fight for them, that silence is the enemy, that complacency is a sin, you showed us that change is possible, necessary, that our voices matter, that our dreams are valid.
Rest now, dear Sheila, your work lives on, in every protest, in every policy, in every heart that beats for a world where justice is not a dream, but a reality, a promise, a truth.
Your name will echo through the ages, a chant, a cry, a guiding light, we will carry your torch, we will walk your path, until freedom rings, loud and true, for us all.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#RestInPeace #SheilaJacksonLee #BlackExcellence