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 106th in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems
this ain’t just for one — this is for the many: the aunties who braided strength into scalp, who knew how to bless without ever saying grace.
this is for the other mothers, the godmamas, big cousins, next-door saints with church fans and sharp eyes, who fed us when love ran thin & still had enough to season our dreams.
you never stop loving — on birthdays or breakdowns, on good days when the sun dances with us, on rough days when joy feels too heavy to lift.
you hold us like we still small & the world ain’t cruel. you teach us that family don’t always birth you — sometimes it builds you.
so thank you — for raising me in pieces, for stitching back my name when the world tried to tear it. you are the hands, the hearts, the hymns behind every healing.
happy mother’s day to the whole village — you make love look easy. ©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#HappyMothersDay #Poem