MICRO-BLOG: Pull On your Cape and Prepare the Social Justice Emergency Kit

Ok, you know the way the movie starts about the state of this country. 

Opening scene. Racism is deeply embedded in communities and every institution, our world is at war, reproductive rights are crumbling, COVID has weakened our health, our economic system is collapsing, and climate change is wreaking havoc on the planet. Among these and other crises, Black people, Indigenous people, and Latinx and Asian & Pacific Islander communities are the first and last to be impacted. They are trying to stay alive, protect their children, and hold onto their bodies, lands, and dignity.  

Scene 2. You get out your cape. A really nice fitting, fabulous, super hero, version of a cape that ties around your neck while you stand effortlessly on top of a mountain. You’re a hero for this moment. You’re living in this mess so you might as well join with others to make the movie end better than the first draft of the screenplay.

Scene 3. Imagine the faces of people who are in your sphere of influence. Who are they?  Go down the mountain and get them! Build power through collaboration. Join organizations and networks and train up your skills together.

Final scene. You pack your social justice emergency kit. It’s a gorgeous cool suitcase that matches your cape. It’s got everything you need to make change:

• A bowl of laughter for the tough days
• Fulfilling relationships with people who care about you and will also support change
• A mutual aid handbook that helps you find rest, money, food, water, and shelter as you work for justice
• Good nights of sleep and putting your feet up on the couch
• Movement of your body, exercise, and breath 
• And, lots of cuddles! 

You stroll out to the road and your cape billows in the breeze as your suitcase rolls behind you. Your favorite power song comes on cue as the credits roll. It’s the kind of walk, the kind of music that comes at the end of a movie and makes you feel connected to something greater. You feel ten feet taller, you feel – and are! – more powerful and wiser. You got this!