ALICE WALKER: We are the ones we have been waiting for!!

"We have come a long way, Sisters, and we are up to the challenges of our time. One of which is to build alliances based not on race, ethnicity, color, nationality, sexual preference or gender, but on Truth. Celebrate our journey. Enjoy the miracle we are witnessing. Do not stress over its outcome.
Even if Obama becomes president, our country is in such ruin it may well be beyond his power to lead us toward rehabilitation. If he is elected however, we must, individually and collectively, as citizens of the planet, insist on helping him do the best job that can be done; more, we must insist that he demand this of us. It is a blessing that our mothers taught us not to fear hard work. Know, as the Hopi elders declare: The river has its destination. And remember, as poet June Jordan and Sweet Honey in the Rock never tired of telling us: We are the ones we have been waiting for. "

My friend, Phillip Martin, founder of lifted veils production pointed me to this inspiring article by Alice Walker, Lest We Forget: an open letter to my sister who are brave. Her message beautifully illustrates our dream to unite strong, positive, spiritually oriented women of all background to bring about a new consciousness rooted in our role as mothers, healers, peacemakers, sisters, dreamers, lovers and creative movers and shakers. We are part of a new movement that is here to counteract the failures of the system on several level...By saying this, I do not mean to exclude men from this project. We al need to be part of the change.
I mean we need a completely new educational model and new approaches to inspire and empower youth through the arts, for instance (this is my pet project). The public educational system is in shambles, and we need to take things in our hands to provide alternative models for nurturing talents (which is what education should be about) among youth, especially those let down by the system. They are the next generation and we cannot allow them to grow up feeling neglected, under appreciated and robbed of their dream of self-realization. There are many projects already in place that work towards these goals...imagine if we come together to unite our forces.

I would also like to recommend Phillip Martin's blog, Lifted veils production, an independent radio journalism company that explores issues that divide society across the globe. Phillip has dedicated his life exploring issues of cultural identity and color as it pertains to their representation in the media, advertisement, pop culture, political discourse, and in everyday life. Currently he is heading up the Color Initiative, a year-long BBC/WGBH radio-journalism project funded by the Ford Foundation, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the Funding Exchange (Paul Robeson Fund). He is a former Supervising Senior Editor and former National Race Relations Correspondent for NPR, and one of several former senior producers responsible for developing The BBC program The World on PRI and WGBH in Boston. Get the link for the rest of the Alice Walker article and read Phillip's work on his blog, lifted veils production here.