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 first in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hoepful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems, interviews, short stories, and articles about political events
In the dawn’s light, sisterhood awakens,
a chorus of whispers where courage quickens,
Rosa’s seat, a quiet thunder,
a rebellion of silence, tearing asunder
the chains of night, each breath a hymn,
her defiance, a beacon, unbroken, grim,
she sat so Ruby could walk,
so Kamala could run, so all could talk
of freedom’s sweet refrain,
of battles fought in the rain
of oppression, where each step taken
by women brave, the earth did awaken.
Ruby, small yet towering tall,
her footsteps echoed through the hall
of justice, breaking through the chains
of history’s cruel, unyielding reins,
she walked with a heart of fire,
each step a note in freedom’s choir,
her innocence, a stark contrast
to a world still mired in the past,
she walked so Kamala could run,
under the same fierce, relentless sun,
so every girl could see the sky
and believe they too could fly.
Kamala’s race, a symphony,
a crescendo of dreams in harmony,
her stride a testament to those before,
to every closed, then opened door,
she runs for the voices that remain
in the shadows, bound by pain,
her campaign a luminous thread
in the tapestry woven by the dead
and living, a sisterhood unbroken,
their spirits in every word spoken,
she runs so we might stand,
in a future woven hand in hand.
Sisterhood’s power, timeless, bright,
a force that shatters the darkest night,
each woman a spark in the chain,
Rosa’s seat, Ruby’s walk, Kamala’s gain,
interconnected, a lineage divine,
each action a sacred sign,
we stand on shoulders broad and grand,
lifting each other, hand in hand,
making the impossible, possible,
through love unbreakable, unstoppable,
for in the light of sisterhood we find
a world reborn, just, and kind.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
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