Joining in from Paris, I marched with an international community of women from the Human Rights Square in Trocadero to the Eiffel Tower.
Like many of those who joined yesterday’s herstory-making event, I am still buzzing with energy and renewed optimism from the Women’s March. Fired up and more ready than ever, I am reignited.
As the daughter of immigrants, I marched for every immigrant daughter and son, so that they could continue to have the courage to make America GREAT. I marched for their right (and destiny) to pursue their biggest dreams, no matter where they come from or how they grew up. I marched for inclusivity, for equality, for #blacklivesmatter , for LGBTQ rights, for my Muslim and Latinx brothers and sisters, and most of all, I marched for love.
Throughout the march, I noticed that two things stood out the most: the music that moved us, and the undeniable, palpable power of words. The bold words painted on countless signs served a clear message: we will not be silent. And to quote Audre Lorde, the master wordsmith warrior, “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing”.
Yesterday reaffirmed for me the roles of artists and creatives in this movement: the importance of creating the heartbeat and the pulse for the resistance to come alive. Words and music crack the armor and pierce us where it matters most: the soul.
Remembering this re-inspired me to claim my role as a writer, and my ability to use my words to move mountains, to conjure miracles, to create my own reality, and to tell a new story. A story where every woman is her own heroine, and every man, his own hero.
Now is the time where we must be unyielding in pursuing our best, most powerful selves, and to be unapologetic in pursuing our biggest dreams.
This weekend, we marched.
Today we choose what mission each of us will take on to keep the soul of the movement alive. I wear many hats in my work, but above all, I re-commit to my role as a writer & storyteller, with hope that my voice will lend you courage to find your own.
Remember: be deliberate and afraid of nothing.
It’s our time,
Ruby