“History is made by ordinary people..” - Angela Davis, 3/3/20

Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get to sit with people who have been your heroes. People you’ve read about in history books, seen in documentaries or held their work in your hands, devouring the pages as if it is a warm, oozy plate of the best risotto or pasta you’ve ever tasted. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, those same people live up to your image of them and you find yourself just as inspired by the person “in the flesh” as you do in the cleaned up, edited version of them.

On Tuesday night I had the opportunity to hear Angela Davis speak. I’d been hyping her up with my students, encouraging them to go see her. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” I told them. “She’s one of the key voices of the civil rights movement. Of the criminal justice. She’s a fighter. A revolutionary. She won’t be around forever. Go hear her while you can.” I offered them extra credit just to sweeten the pot. I didn’t want them to miss out.

The auditorium at the Green Center was packed. My friend and I chose a seat in the balcony, right above Ms. Davis. I wanted to be close to her, To breathe in her wisdom.

She didn’t disappoint. As she was the keynote speaker for our social justice week, a week the university sponsors every March, she spoke broadly about working to create a more just society. She talked about the climate crisis, the children and families caged at the border, the many “isms” we have all around us. The way we marginalize and minimize and disenfranchise difference in this country. She spoke about the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote, except, as she reminded us, it was not all women. Even in that major milestone women of color were not included. She spoke about the treatment of our first people, our indigenous relatives, who lived on this land long before us. Of the thousands of missing indigenous women. It was a smorgasbord of social justice issues. There was something for everyone.

I left tingling. Every cell in my body awakened by the challenge in front of us. How do we create a more just, inclusive and compassionate society? A society that sees the value in each one of us. I’m not special, we think to ourselves. I’m not brave enough. I don’t have a platform. No one would listen to me. But that’s where we’re wrong.

We have a voice. A vote. Hands to reach out. Feet to get us moving. A heart to open to others.

“History is made by ordinary people,” she reminded us. You. Me. All of us. Right here. Right now. Wherever we are. The opportunities are everywhere.

It’s up to us.