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 33rd 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.
Sonia, you are the quilt sewn from streets
where dreams get caught in the cracks of concrete,
where the corner stores hum like heartbeat blues,
where grandmothers preach in old church pews—
you took all that sound, all that sorrow and glee,
turned it into a rhythm that set us free.
you loved us honest, with no apology,
said Black is not burden, Black is the key.
you, who wrote us tender in a world gone cold,
made poems from whispers our mothers told,
you, who turned pain into stories bold,
held our broken in palms of gold.
you gave us back our reflection clear,
told us it’s okay to cry, to fear,
to laugh loud in the face of years—
Sonia, you made us warriors here.
i think of you when the world gets rough,
when the sky is too heavy and love ain’t enough,
i hear your lines, soft but tough,
telling us to rise, to call their bluff.
you spoke us a home in a land that forgot,
made revolution from every “what not,”
taught us that love is the sweetest plot,
and freedom’s the garden that we all sought.
Sonia, you the song we carry deep,
the lullaby that rocks us to sleep,
you the truth that dares to creep
out of the shadows where secrets keep.
you wrote us alive, fierce and loud,
made us believe we could lift the shroud,
taught us to stand up, unapologetically proud—
Sonia, you the storm and the softest cloud.
so here’s to you, to the poet’s fight,
to the words that brought us to the light,
to the heart that held us through the night,
to Sonia, who made everything right.
we honor you in every verse we spin,
in every battle we hope to win,
you showed us the beauty of our skin—
and the power of loving from deep within.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#poetry #SoniaSanchez #Culture #Truth #Love #HumanRights