Yohuru Williams is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas in St.Paul, Minnesota. He is a noted scholar of Black history. And he also serves on the board of the Network for Public Education.
Dean Williams writes here about the activism for social justice in Minneapolis-St.Paul, inspired by the words of the late Congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis.
Earlier this September, in Minneapolis and St. Paul, a brave collection of principals and assistant principals banded together to take on the issue of equity and justice in education.
Lewis’s letter, though directed at Black Lives Matter activists in particular, encourages all of us to find ways to get into “good trouble, necessary trouble,” in order to advance the goals of justice.
The members of the alliance, now 159 strong, have branded themselves the “good trouble” coalition after the mantra of the late Congressman John Lewis, who, before passing away in July, wrote a final letter that sought to inspire a passion for activism around racial injustice.
In his last months of life, Lewis lamented the dangerous and deadly state of affairs in the United States: persistent unjust police violence against African Americans, the failed governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued efforts to erode American democratic practice at the highest levels of government.
And Lewis’s letter, though directed at Black Lives Matter activists in particular, encourages all of us to find ways to get into “good trouble, necessary trouble,” in order to advance the goals of justice—especially in tackling the most urgent issues of racial inequality, climate change, mass incarceration, economic disparities, healthcare gaps, and political division.
He also invited young people to consider how they might transform the future through studying history as a means of understanding our enduring struggles to achieve lasting peace and equality.
It is ironic that Cong. Lewis urged young people to study history as a means to “lasting peace and equality,” even as Trump demands a reactionary revision of U.S. history to glorify its “leaders” (no doubt including the Confederates who rallied to preserve white supremacy) and diminish or remove the role of African Americans in that history.
We have been blessed with many models of getting into good and necessary trouble. Now we must walk the talk in tribute to everyone of them.
“America has lost a warrior and it’s OK to be crushed. I am flattened. And I will mourn, because she deserves to be mourned. But we are also facing an almighty battle that will rage in the coming weeks, with attempts to fill her seat in an unseemly and grotesque manner. It will be hard, and painful, but if you find yourself feeling hopeless and powerless, then you are empathically doing it wrong. Because if anyone had a right to say “nah,” it was the woman who couldn’t get a job or a clerkship after graduating at the top of her class. But she pushed on, and then she pushed forward. She stepped into the fight of the phenomenal women who paved the path before, and now, well, it’s time to step into her fight and get it finished. I think the Notorious RBG would have peered owlishly out at all of us tonight and asked what the heck we are waiting for. And I think we can probably honor her best by getting to it.” Dahlia Lithwick
RBG is a TZADDIK…..a person of great righteousness.
Indeed. And thank you to Diane Ravitch, another great maker of good trouble!
Her great book of life is complete….every chapter ended. She doesn’t get on the list for another year, but her death on Rosh Hashanah (and also on Shabbat) is an honor bestowed upon her. She left us with a legacy of better law that enables everyone to live fairly and equally. It is up to us all to continue her work. She is “The Notorious RBG”.
I recalled reading and admiring Dahlia Lithwick 20 years ago when she must have been incredibly young writing for Slate. She is amazing and she is right.
With the loss of both Lewis and RBG, two social justice leaders are no longer with us. Black, brown people and women may all have to fight for equal treatment under the law if Trump gets a second term. The two main tools at our disposal are protest and voting. If we make a decent choice at the polls, we may not have to make so much “good trouble.” However, we must work together and be prepared for whatever happens on November 3rd and the days that follow.
Let us consider voting an act of “good and necessary” trouble. We trouble ourselves, we bother ourselves with thinking, examining issues, feeling deep for our civic sisters and brothers. Many of us defy a Pandemic and stand out in long lines just to vote. We have a history of people who were murdered just for trying to vote.
Yes!
It’s worth noting that the great RBG, a woman of courage and determination, was appointed by Bill Clinton. Elections do have consequences. I’m praying that Stephen Breyer (also appointed by Clinton) is healthy and not ready to retire for the time being.
Elections have consequences. I think everyone knows that.
People demonstrate with their vote exactly how much the consequences of an election bother them or even excite them.
In this case, many people in America — those on the far right and those who voted 3rd party — are either celebrating or indifferent at the idea of Trump replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
The things posted by those who are celebrating today or indifferent come from the same place — the one thing they all agree on is destroy the democrat because that achieves the goals they value most.
Thank you, Dean Williams! And Happy Birthday!