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 32th 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.
the world’s got love, tucked in corners, unseen, it’s the glow in the cracks, the space in between, it’s the pulse in the pavement, the hum of the street, it’s the rhythm of heartbeats when strangers meet.
but some never touch it, never taste the flame, never feel the warmth of being called by name, they’re locked in the shadows, chained to the night, they’ve never been told they deserve the light.
we’ve got to be louder than the silence they know, got to bend low, reach out, let it show, that love ain’t a treasure that some can’t afford, it’s the song in our veins, the unsheathed sword.
we’re the poets, the prophets, the breakers of chains, we’re the keepers of sun in the hardest of rains, we’re the light that pours out when the world says no, we’re the crack in the armor where the wildflowers grow.
so let’s gather the glow, let’s scatter the shine, let’s give it to those who’ve been told they’re defined by the dark, by the hurt, by the walls closing in, let’s show them the love that begins within.
we are the lightworkers, rebels of dawn, we are the hands that help carry them on, the world is filled with love and light, it’s true, we just need more of it, for them, from me and you.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#Poetry #ProudBlue #WereNotGoingBack #KamalaHarris #Love #Resister