Where Do We Go From Here?

Photo Credit: Barbara Rick

Dear Friends,

Are you wondering what planet we are living on? If you are like me, you are aware that abuses of power, the dismantling of constitutional law, and obscene patriarchal systems have existed in full force before. However, never have we, as a community of diverse ethnicities, faiths, and cultural identities, been so under attack.

I am following the unbelievably brave sailing of the Gaza Freedom Flotillas, praying they reach land with the humanitarian supplies onboard, to help the starving humanity there. I am completely devastated that over 20,000 children have been killed in that war. Twenty thousand. Children.

Our American cities are under siege by ICE, which is ripping families apart, deporting innocent people, and striking fear in the population.

There is so much that is non-human, uncompassionate, and hateful. Yet, we must have faith in goodness, in the possibility of peace, in the reality that violence is not inevitable. And we must work together to push back against systems of oppression.

October 23rd, The Courage Museum will have its 4th Storyteller Summit at Futures Without Violence in the Presidio, San Francisco. I invite you to RSVP below and come to hear powerful people tell their experiences of discrimination, violence, resilience, and courage. Storytellers and filmmakers, including Academy Award–nominated director Bing Liu, journalist Sasha Khokha, runner and activist Rosalie Fish, and professional skateboarder and mentor Anthony Shetler will speak.

From my heart, I ask you to stand in courage. The photo is of my dear friend, now an ancestor, Belva Davis, journalist, Emmy Award winner, and author of Never in My Wildest Dreams: A Black Woman’s Life in Journalism. She said, “What holds most of us back is not that our dreams are too big---it’s that they are too small.”

Let’s not stop dreaming or working for equality, peace, and justice.

Love,

Deborah