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 84th 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
You taught us love like Sunday mornings, soft biscuits and hymns rising in the kitchen, where justice sits warm on the stovetop, and freedom is seasoned to taste.
A man who saw dignity in dirt, you wore the earth like an old coat, threaded with sweat from hands that believed in more than words— you built truth with timber, hammered hope into the forgotten corners.
You dreamed in colors nations couldn’t see, painted peace where war wrote its name. A southern drawl turned melody, your voice lingered long in the room, reminding us that kindness is a quiet revolution.
Now you rest in power, but your shadow stretches wide— over peanut fields, over treaty tables, over every child who finds home in your light. You live where legacy breathes. Where love never dies.
©️Mustafa Santiago Ali
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