Because of Her

Growing up the way I did has had a profound impact on my life and how I think about service to others. Over the last few weeks, as I celebrate Marcus Garvey Day, my mother has been at the top of my mind. She is the one who continues to show me and others the ins and outs of what liberation means.
 
My mother is an academic and a creative. She takes a pensive approach to building community, with deep understanding and care for all who are marginalized. I learned about Black Excellence with my mother.
 
Growing up, we celebrated Marcus Garvey Day even when only a handful of families around us did. For my mother, Garvey’s vision of self-determination, pride, and collective liberation was a blueprint for how we lived. She made sure my siblings and I understood that honoring Garvey meant honoring ourselves and our people. That spirit shaped the way I came to understand Black Excellence.
 
What also stood out was the lesson my mother drew from the history of Garvey himself. The fact that W.E.B. Du Bois opposed Marcus Garvey at one time became, for her, an opportunity to show us the importance of unity among Black people — despite political parties, differences of opinion, or competing ideologies. She reminded me often that there is always an unseen hand working to divide us, and that true liberation requires pulling together. She exemplified this by embracing other Black people regardless of their philosophical views, religion, or ideology. She taught us that even in disagreement, we must seek common ground for the sake of liberation. After all, while Garvey and Du Bois had their differences, before Du Bois died, he came to embrace Pan-Africanism, passing away in Accra, Ghana. Meanwhile, Garvey, who carried the political risks of championing Pan-Africanism, died in the UK. These realities served as a reminder that the struggle is collective, and that unity remains essential.
 
As the oldest sibling, I witnessed my mother escape domestic violence. She was so young and alone. I remember the day we boarded the plane from Cincinnati, Ohio to Los Angeles, California with nothing but a suitcase and my baby sister, who was just a few months old. I still wonder what her life would have been like if she and my very brilliant, freedom-fighting father had worked out. What could they have done together? She didn't have a choice but to go at it alone, and so she did.
My mother shows up for me in so many ways still and from afar. As I get older, I admire her even more because I recognize, more deeply, what she’s given me. Any and everything I’ve ever offered to the community is because of her. If I’ve shown compassion and empathy, it’s because of her. Anytime you called and I answered, no matter the hour, it’s because of her. If I stood up for you when no one else would, she modeled it first. If you felt like giving up and I didn’t allow you to, it’s because she never allowed me to give up.
 
If I resisted and fought when something went against my morality, principles, or wasn’t grounded in justice, know this: it’s because my mother never bends her integrity. Justice, fairness, love, compassion, and empathy are always at her center.
 
Everything I stand for and everything I fight for carries her imprint. My mother’s legacy is not only mine to hold, it’s also the gift she has given to every person I’ve ever served. She gives me the confirmation I need to know that liberation is possible.
 
And on this Marcus Garvey Day, I recognize even more clearly: the lessons my mother poured into me are the very principles Garvey called us to live up to and those are:  Pride, self-determination, and an unshakable belief in freedom. His vision and her integrity walk with me still, shaping the way I show up for others. And just as she taught me from the story of Garvey and Du Bois, our path forward depends on unity, no matter our differences. That is how we honor their legacies and hers.
 
So today, let us celebrate Garvey’s call, Du Bois’s journey, and the everyday mothers like mine who carry liberation in their bones.
 
Our future depends on us remembering that unity is our greatest weapon and love our greatest strength.