To the Activists in the Room

When we think about activists, activistas, our minds immediately go to revolutionary leaders that have performed acts out of the ordinary to become recognized in history textbooks and academia. Activism has a connotation of being this big, bad thing that only young rebellious people participate in just to create chaos. When I googled the definition of activism to further explore the concept of this idea, I found that the definition explains that “Activism consists of efforts to promote or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society.” This sounds like something anyone can partake in, but why do we only associate activism with those who are the loudest at every march or at the forefront of every movement? We have these two extreme names for people who do the right thing; activist or good Samaritan. A good Samaritan is someone who does something out of the goodness of their heart without being asked, opening the door for someone or returning someone’s lost wallet. An activist is basically the same thing, doing something out of the goodness of their heart because they believe it’s the right thing to do, without being asked, only its more politicized. I don’t mean to discredit the actions of the radical activists and leaders that have come before us, but I want to give us big, bad thing that only young rebellious people participate in just to create chaos. When I googled the definition of activism to further explore the concept of this idea, I found that the definition explains that “Activism consists of efforts to promote or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society.” This sounds like something anyone can partake in, but why do we only associate activism with those that are the loudest at every march or at the forefront of every movement? We have these two extreme names for people who do the right thing; activist or good Samaritan. A good Samaritan is someone who does something out of the goodness of their heart without being asked, wopening the door for someone or returning someone’s lost wallet. An activist is basically the same thing, doing something out of the goodness of their heart because they believe it’s the right thing to do, without being asked, only its more politicized. I don’t mean to discredit the actions of the radical activists and leaders that have come before us, but I want to give us are the loudest at every march or at the forefront of every movement? We have these two extreme names for people who do the right thing; activist or good Samaritan. A good Samaritan is someone who does something out of the goodness of their heart without being asked, opening the door for someone or returning someone’s lost wallet. An activist is basically the same thing, doing something out of the goodness of their heart because they believe it’s the right thing to do, without being asked, only its more politicized. I don’t mean to discredit the actions of the radical activists and leaders that have come before us, but I do want to give us more credit. I truly believe that anyone can be an activist, every single day. Allow me to explain.

In January, I was invited to a Social Equity Summit that my nonprofit internship hosted. This event was a day-long event in which hundreds of people from the community got together to talk about social injustices and oppressions and how we must work to combat these obstacles that hinder us every day. We are all sitting in a large ballroom in the middle of downtown Santa Barbara. Round tables with about 8 people sitting at each one, populated with people from all over the community. From nonprofit professionals, to high school and college students, to community members who had just moved to Santa Barbara. At one point during the conference, people began standing up to share their experiences and how they relate to whatever we had just been discussing. And there’s this brown, Latina woman, who stands up and explains in Spanish that she goes to every single board meeting at her son’s school to make sure that he gets the help he needs. She says “No tengo las palabras, pero tengo el corazón.”

“I don’t have the words, but I have the heart.” As soon as she says these few words, I immediately start sobbing.

She reminds me of my mom, who has always and continues to, advocate for her children in school, to make sure they get the help and resources they need. This is the moment I realized; my mom is an activist. She’s revolutionary. She’s a hero. She stands up for those she loves and cares about and advocates in any possible way that she can. Phone calls and emails and IEP meetings are just as critical as protesting down State Street. Since then, I have begun to pay closer attention to every action I make and the actions of those around me. My dad is an activist because he makes every single person he meets, laugh. I don’t even think he means to, he’s just naturally funny, which is where I get my humor from. But there’s power behind this. To brighten up someone’s day instantly, simply by saying a couple of words. The stranger that my dad jokes around with could be having the worst day of their life, but this kindness and joy that my dad brings can make it all go away, even just for a second. That’s revolutionary to me. I can write books and books, detailing how my parents are my heroes. I most likely will one day. But they’re not the only activists in this room. Look around, you’re surrounded by them. These simple acts that aren’t written about in textbooks are very real acts of activism. They’re not just acts that come from being a decent human being. The difference is that they’re intentional and powered by love.

Now, if you know me, you know that I am in love with love. I love talking about love, seeing love, feeling love, being love. I love familial love, romantic love, self-love and all the complex forms of love. If I’m on the phone with someone, I’ll always instinctively end the conversation with “Bye, love you.” I currently live with eight other girls (I know, sounds insane), but every single time I walk out of the house, every single day, I get an automatic jumble of “Bye, love you, have a good day!” from whoever is in the house, that follows as I close the door behind me and start or continue my day. It is so ingrained in me that when I’m on the phone with customer service or the person from jury duty, I have to stop myself every single time from ending the call with a “Bye, love you.”

Love has become so normalized to me, that I’ve had to take the time to relearn the deeper power that it holds. When we think about love, we think about pink hearts and chocolates and roses, and we forget the true power of love. Bell hooks, an inspirational Black scholar and author, wrote that “Without love, our efforts to liberate ourselves and our world community from oppression and exploitation are doomed.” I believe that when we put intention and love into our actions to advocate for someone, or help someone, or be there for someone—we are being activists. Recognize that you are an activist, and you hold so much power in your daily actions. Do not let this idea of having to be outspoken and loud keep you from thinking you could ever be an activist. You can change so much in the world with every action you take, small or big, quiet or loud. All I ask is that you just love. Love yourself, love your neighbor, love the trees around you, and love love. Love is something that each and every one of us innately have within us, we just have to learn to choose it every single day. And with that, we’re unstoppable.