The Responsibility to Use our Voices

by Jun 6, 20208 comments

For better or worse, as a result of the career I have chosen, I am blessed to have a voice, a platform, and an audience.  All of us, whether we have a voice and a platform or not, have a responsibility to speak up in these pivotal times, because we have a chance to make history. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” Our responsibility now is to ensure that this famous quote is never relevant again—starting now. Martin Luther King again: “I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal.”

On my recent “Inspiration in the Cloud” weekly Zoom call, I began by asking everyone to pause for a moment of silence to honor all of our brothers and sisters in America, their grief and pain, their sacrifices and contributions, and to pray that, at long last, the oppression of minorities, especially people of color, but all marginalized people, will be undertood by us all, that they will be treated with dignity and equality, and honored for who they are—sacred beings.

Less that half of black Americans are employed; black Americans are dying from Covid-19 at three times the rate of white Americans; proportionally, 10 times more black Americans are behind bars compared to white Americans….and the list of inequities goes on.

We’ve been here many times before in history, hoping that a tragedy would become the tipping point for a more just society, and we have failed just as many times before too. George Floyd’s six-year-old daughter, Gianna, said, “My Daddy changed the world.” Let’s do everything in our power to make those words from an innocent become true. Let’s use our voices this time—LOUDER THAN EVER— to speak truth to power, especially at the ballot box, but also everywhere else humanly possible.

How will you make a difference today? Do you have the necessary courage to make your voice heard? How will you use your voice to influence change? Beyond reading your newsfeed and signing online petitions, where will you direct your voice so that it has impact, and directly influences a positive outcome?

As the Hopi elder saying goes, “We are the ones we have been waiting for”.