It All Matters
Last week I wrote letters to the City of Milwaukee and Village of Shorewood’s leadership, donated, protested, went to a sit-in, and watched as artists of all ages, sexes and colors painted a civil rights mural in an alley at the intersection of Locust and Holton.
This week I celebrate the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that protects gay and transgender workers from workplace discrimination and in doing so remember and honor all of those who protested, sacrificed, and fought for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 without which the decision on Monday would not have been possible.
It is a reminder that protesting, writing letters, donating, sitting-in, creating art, showing up, listening, leading, following, making space for new leaders, being an ally, and voting matters.
If you would like to write your own letters, please feel free to use mine as a template. I do not pretend to know if I got it completely right. But I did reach out to my brown and black friends for whom this is all too real. And to my white friends who have been long time allies. And, I did my own research.
In the end, showing up in whatever way you can matters. That is what we are seeing now. That is what we saw on Monday, when the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in support of gay and transgender workers and that is what we saw in 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed.
It ALL matters.