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 116th in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems i don’t light fireworks i light candles for crispus & kin— Black breath blown into battles they weren’t meant to win.
they called it revolution but asked us to wait told us freedom was coming just show up late. but we were there— boots muddy hearts heavy melanin shining like armor in the smoke.
we bled for a country that crossed its fingers while pledging allegiance. still, we marched— in soil that forgot our names but never our labor.
i remember Black patriots not in textbooks but in bones— in granddaddy’s hum and auntie’s side-eye when the anthem plays.
we were freer because we loved this land even when it didn’t love us back.
we held the dream like a child not yet walking— believing still, it would stand.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#IndependenceDay #Patriots #FourthOfJuly