"Whisper Our Names”

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 76th 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

we are the rhythm beneath your anthem & we march, spine straight, under a flag that once forgot our names. see us, in every war our country waged— our skin, the color of soil it buried, our blood, the ink of freedom’s unkept promise.

what is sacrifice, if not love unreturned? if not carrying liberty’s weight on a back still bruised by history’s whip? & yet, we stood. we stand. we serve.

for every musket, every tank, every trench— we have been there. for every star this nation stitched on its chest, our hands bled in the sewing.

what is justice, if not the right to belong? to fight for a land that refused to call us sons, daughters, kin? & still, we rise. we endure. we give.

so today, let your silence bow. let your freedom whisper our names. on #VeteransDay, remember: we are the shadow & the light, the forgotten & the remembered.

we bled for a dream not yet realized, & still, we wear the uniform of hope. still, we stand, spine straight, demanding a nation live up to its name.

thank us, not with words, but with a country worthy of our sacrifice.

#VeteransDay2024 #BlackVeterans #VeteransDeserveBetter #Honor #Service

Join our mailing list