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 63rd 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
I am the child of futures untold, Carved from the quiet of shadows, the weight of bold dreams. Eighteen rotations, and now the world is mine to shape, Not with fists but with choice, with voice, with pulse.
I carry the whispers of those left behind, Unseen and unheard, but their stories are seeds in my chest. Now, I plant them in ballots, in movements, in change. I see the cracks in this country’s spine, and I press into the break, Not to shatter, but to rebuild what was never whole.
My energy is a force that time cannot measure, My ingenuity, a spark that lights even the darkest of skies. I love like water, uncontainable, filling the spaces Where disinvestment left scars, Where injustice wrote its name in stone.
I am unbreakable, a thread pulled tight through history’s wounds, Focused on joy that lifts, on hope that heals, On futures where no one is cast aside, Where wrongs are righted by hands like mine, Hands that hold tomorrow with reverence, And build it with care.
We are the architects, the healers, the unseen no more. This century will know us, feel us, And in our rising, we bring the light.
©️MustafaSantiagoAl
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