Quarantine Week 10: Wins, Setbacks and Hope
"If I fall, I'll fall five feet four inches in the direction of freedom. I'm not backing off." -Fannie Lou Hamer
By Maya Boddie
Over the past few months, life has looked different. Schools have closed their doors. Primary elections were delayed or canceled. What we once knew to be normal is no more. But one thing has remained the same: the need for our work here at Advancement Project National Office. Our model is perfectly situated for us to be first responders in this moment.
In the midst of warranted fatigue falling on our lawyers, communications experts, organizers and partners, from working late hours, frustration from the setbacks, and fear of the future, we must remember exactly why this work is so important. We've made real progress pushing the needle for racial equity, even when it hasn't looked or felt that way. Despite the setbacks or losses that might feel like failures, we continue to envision a future where people of color are free, where they can thrive, be safe and exercise power!
The past two months have looked especially different for us at Advancement Project National Office. Although we can't make our normal travel arrangements to meet with our partners on the ground, we've filed four lawsuits in four different cities with the goal to release people in jails across the country, and although we still have a ways to go as we combat judges who make inhumane decisions, we've made significant progress in both Detroit and Miami, bringing attention to horrific jail conditions nationwide. You, too, can help keep our loved ones #FreeAndSafe from COVID-19.
Now is our time to illustrate to the masses how movement lawyering can be used to build power on the ground. For us, it's always been a matter of life and death, and this pandemic is showing the world how true that is. Help us make this vision a reality!
