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 37th 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.
they shoulda warned donald— told him you don’t step in the ring with history, don’t spar with a tongue sharpened by every kitchen table talk, every front porch prophecy passed down in whispers, every side-eye sermon wrapped in “bless your heart” that could cut a man clean to the quick.
shoulda told him Black women carry the weight of every lie ever told and still stand taller, every truth dressed in Sunday’s best, every comeback rehearsed in the mirror of the ancestors’ eyes. he thought this was a game, but she played for keeps, each word a blade, each fact a flame— she lit him up without ever raising her voice, just a steady gaze, a pause, the unspoken knowing that boys like him been losing to Black women since the first time they tried to rewrite the script.
you don’t debate a Black woman— she got receipts, got rhythm, got the grace of every Black girl who was ever told to hush, every sister who turned silence into power, who learned the hard way that dignity is a dance you do alone if you have to.
he didn’t know, but he knows now— that the crown ain’t something you wear, it’s something you earn with every word, with every fight you never asked for but showed up to anyway. you don’t debate a Black woman, you just thank God she didn’t come to end you— just to remind you who you really are, and what it means to lose with all eyes watching.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
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