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 twenty-seventh 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’m pulling up to the booth, pen in my hand, A ballot’s like a bullet when you understand, They been stacking the deck, trying to rig up the plan, But this time I’m all in, it’s the line in the sand. They think apathy’s the trick, that we won’t even try, But my vote’s a middle finger to the powers that lie. They want silence, compliance, yeah, they want us to die, But I’m casting my future, you can watch me defy.
They been counting us out, but we’re back in the fight, For every voice they’ve ignored, every stolen right, For the kids in the cages, for the tears in the night, For the names they erased, for the wrongs we rewrite. They play chess with our lives, thinking we just pawns, But we kings, we queens, and we write our songs. They scared of the truth, scared of us staying strong, Scared we’ll show up and prove them all wrong.
I’m voting like my ancestors pushed through the pain, Like the future’s on the line, like the struggle remains. I’m voting for the past, for the now, for the reign, Of a world where we thrive, break every chain. So yeah, I’m voting in ‘24, loud and clear, This is power, this is protest, this is shedding the fear. From the ballot to the streets, we make our stand here, The revolution’s at the polls, watch us commandeer
. ©️MustafaSantiagoAli
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