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 102nd in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems
they bleached your story— scrubbed the struggle from your scars, pressed your voice into hymns that never marched. called it holy, but holiness ain’t ever been that quiet.
we seen your feet dust-caked from desert marches, your hands—calloused from lifting whole nations outta the jaws of greed.
you ain’t hang for headlines. you hung so we could learn the shape of defiance in a crucified breath.
they feared your locs, your mama’s brown skin, your temple tantrums, your gospel that smelled too much like revolution and not enough like Rome.
but we remember. you a freedom song with a backbone. a miracle that don’t need anyone’s permission to resurrect.
so rise— in every boy they call thug, in every girl they try to silence, in the hush of night where prayers grow teeth and march shoes.
rise— Black Jesus— not to sit beside the throne, but to flip it. to remind the world that God got rhythm, got roots, got a people who never stop coming back.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#ResurrectionSunday #HappyEaster