Former state senator Nina Turner, recently named the new chair of Our Revolution, is one of my heroes. So I was beyond honored when she stopped by Lakewood’s Madison Park to join our Ward 4 town hall, this weekend.
Nina was kind enough to encourage people in supporting my campaign. But she also had some powerful, inspiring things to say about the bigger mission of progressive change, and I want to share some of these here.
On grassroots activism: From the civil rights movement to women’s liberation, change “didn’t come from the grass tops, it came from the grassroots.” There’s an important part for the “grass tops,” i.e. people in office, but the power they exercise is always the people’s power. Don’t ever feel powerless, no matter who is in office.
On local government: “Every level of government is important, every single office is important.” Local government is closer to the people and can make the quickest difference to people’s lives. Our Revolution will be highlighting local candidates as well as high-profile races, for that reason. “Local level matters too, local officials matter too.”
On Three P’s: 1) Push and breathe; just like going into labor, when it’s painful is the time to push. 2) Protest and plan; resist today but also plan for a time when it becomes possible to do more. 3) Persevere; the fight for justice is an endurance race. In the words of Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, “The struggle is forever, so we are in the struggle forever.”
