Dear RJA

Dearest RJA Organizing Committee,
This is a love letter. I’ve been wanting to share my feelings with you all for a while now. Our shared values and commitment to uplifting racial justice and human dignity and equality against a tidal wave of white supremacy, racial injustice, discrimination and systemic oppression are what connects us. We have come together—year after year, monthly meeting after monthly meeting, workshop after workshop, agenda item after agenda item—because of these core beliefs in justice. This has in turn created a unique bond between us, which feels vital and trustworthy and supportive. Our work together with you all gives me immense meaning and purpose. This work that we do keeps me alive to fight another day.

I still don’t have the answers for how to end white supremacy and institutionalized racism. But with each of you at my side, I feel that we can make a difference in our community—a community that needs to reflect our core beliefs in kindness, respect, and safety for one and all. We can be a part of steering our humanity towards justice before it derails into hate and hopelessness. All I do know is that I can’t do it alone and I can’t do it without you.

So this is a love letter to remind you, my humble, heroic women organizers, how much I appreciate each of you—your perspective, reflections, criticism, insights, wisdom and honesty. You are truly brave souls that I feel deeply honored and privileged to work with. I look up to each of you in different ways. This isn’t comfortable work that we do—confronting our own racism is never simple or easy. There are times when I beat myself up for my mistakes and for causing more hurt than I intended. At my lowest points of failure or resignation, each of you have lifted my spirits and offered a symbolic helping hand to encourage me forward.

To this end, I am recommitting to this important work for playing a strategic role in fighting white supremacy and racism. May we stand strong and tall in our essential role in being activists. My heart is 100% in it. I offer you, dearest comrades, my continued dedication, devotion and support to stand by each of you when you need someone to lean into while doing this hard work. May you feel my outstretched arms and loving embrace as we walk this path towards a racial justice future. Because even if we may not have a concrete path for how to get there or what true racial justice looks like, I know that we dream of a world that will never settle for less than racial equity—socially, politically, economically, legally, institutionally and beyond.

When people think of social movements, they might imagine giant marches with throngs of protestors carrying political signs while chanting their political demands on the streets. But our group represents a smaller grassroots kind of movement that is driven to shift the paradigm on white dominant culture in terms of thinking and behavior and consciousness. We are a small group but we are a dedicated one. And I love this about us.

Most of all, thank you for holding me accountable in the honest but gentle ways that you do. Thank you all for walking this difficult (and at times painful) road of awakening with me and for showing up with your unwavering open hearts. This work can take its toll on the spirit, so I’m grateful for your steadfast commitment.

In love, solidarity, and unwavering appreciation,

Wendy