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 62nd 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
Today, I stand in the echo of my great-grandmother’s voice, a whisper carried on the wind, woven into the very fabric of the earth beneath me. Her spirit lingers in the soil, in the roots of ancient trees that have watched centuries pass, holding onto memories we’ve tried to bury. I honor her today, and with her, I honor all the first people of this land—the ones who knew that every rock, every river, every blade of grass holds a story, a purpose, a breath.
She taught me that the land remembers. It remembers the footsteps of those who walked softly, who lived with respect, who understood that survival is not a solitary act but a delicate dance with all living things. The earth holds the imprint of my ancestors’ lives, their struggles, their joys, their sacrifices. They knew that to live here is to belong—not to own, not to control, but to belong in a way that honors the interwoven threads of life, the intricate web that binds us all.
Today, I feel the pulse of that web, a hum of energy that moves through the soil, through the air, through the blood in my veins. I honor Mother Earth herself, who bears the weight of our mistakes, who endures the scars we leave on her surface. She is the quiet strength beneath our feet, the one who sustains us even as we take and take and rarely give back. She is patient, but she is not infinite. She calls to us, reminding us that we are caretakers, not conquerors.
I honor all living things, the countless beings who share this world with us—the ones who fly, the ones who crawl, the ones who swim through ancient rivers and roam the wide-open plains. They too are part of this web, and their survival is bound to ours. They remind us of the balance we have forgotten, the harmony we have disrupted. They are kin, not resources. We have a duty to protect them, to remember that their lives are sacred too.
On this day, I feel the weight of that duty. I stand here, connected to my great-grandmother’s wisdom, to the legacy of the first people, to the silent strength of the earth, and I know that I am part of something larger than myself. I carry the memory of those who came before, and I hold the responsibility of those yet to come.
So today, I pledge to honor that memory, to respect the earth, to protect the living, and to reclaim the balance we have lost. I am here, grounded and fierce, a voice for those who can no longer speak, a witness to the legacy of my ancestors, a part of the earth’s enduring story. And I will not forget.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#Poetry #IndigenousPeoplesDay #FirstPeoples #NorthAmerica #SouthAmerica #Nature #ProudBlue #MotherEarth #Balance #Healing #Resistance