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 45th 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.
for my grandfathers: who carved daylight from the dark, who held the earth like a prayer & made it sing, your hands knew the rough of stone & steel, the choke of dust & distance, the heat of days spent underground or inhaling fire, all so I could one day breathe, free.
here I am, in this grand room, this chandelier heaven with the world’s best & brightest, their suits pressed like destiny, their smiles polished as gold. I wonder if you knew, when the mine’s mouth swallowed you whole, when the plant’s poison clawed your lungs, that you were not just breaking rock but building a bridge that would carry your blood to places they never thought it could be.
I carry you in the rhythm of my stride, your names humming in my chest, your stories in my veins like a map leading me back to what matters. you showed me that a man is more than what he’s handed, more than the scars they leave when they call you less, when they call you no, when they try to break you just for being.
you taught me that to rise is to remember, to know your roots even as you touch the sky. that no matter how high I go, I am still of the earth, of you, & my reach means nothing without knowing how to hold my people, how to lift them too.
I honor you, who faced the world’s fist & said no, not with words but with life, with every breath you took despite the struggle. you who made the ordinary holy, who turned hunger into hope, who taught me that strength is not just in the arm but in the heart, in how you love, how you keep moving, keep dreaming, even when the dream is all they let you have.
this moment is yours, Grandfathers, this day, this stage, this light. I am your wildest thought come true, your resilience in a room that never expected to see your reflection in me.
I promise to be more than what they allow, to be everything you showed me: a man who rises, who remembers, who knows the weight of his history & the height of his calling. I will carry you with me, your wisdom in every step, your spirit in every breath. we rise, Grandfathers, we rise, for you, for us, for all the roots still pushing through the rock, for all the blooms still dreaming in the dirt.
we rise, because you taught us how.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#Poetry