I am exhausted

I am traumatized

I am angry

I am frustrated

I am frightened
I AM RESILIENT

I NEED my Allys to decide whether or not they are willing to make sacrifices. It requires my Allys to put their knees on the neck of the white supremacist culture that nurtures poverty, exclusion, health, and social disparities, and hatred.  I need my Allys to acknowledge that systemic oppression tries to lead me to believe that you are smarter or more of a go-getter than me. I ask you to recognize that your skin color contributed to your journey and successes. Yes, that is a big pill to swallow, but take it with a tall glass of water. I got your back. Be as brave as this new generation here at Bryn Mawr College and across the country and across the globe who have shown that they are strong, resilient, and ready for change although we act like we don't hear them. Collectively, they have tried to get us to see what we are doing to the world and their futures.  We tell them that they can be whoever they want to be, yet we stand back and watch them flounder in a system that doesn't support change.

It is my choice to MAINTAIN hope. I choose to believe that we, as advocates, have positioned this generation to cross the finish line into achieving a more inclusive world.  Much Love, Lisa A.

You are prioritizing the wrong part.