Election day was a very tough day for all of us at The Brotherhood/Sister Sol. It was a day of despair, sorrow, and anger.
This is not an attempt to analyze what has occurred politically or to set a plan forward - but we as an institution will have to figure that out in coming weeks. This is instead an affirmation of our work - work based in humanity, love and justice.
Donald Trump ran on a platform that is diametrically opposed to all that we work for and believe in - ours is a vision of a more inclusive and equitable world and greater opportunities for our children. We stand, proudly with our undocumented and Muslim children, against sexism and misogyny, against ablelism, against bigotry, against anti-intellectualism and fascism. Donald Trump campaigned on these ideals - and for it he will become President of the United States.
Already many in the media seek to make Trump's long displayed bigotry and demagoguery palatable and acceptable - his election does not change the bigotry of his campaign. Trump was a bigot on Monday - he remains one today. It must be named. The cloak of the Presidency does not change reality. Every day we will work against him and his insidious policies.
After the election we met with our staff to process what has happened and provide information and background to support them as they work to help our young people understand what is now a re-ordered America. One staff member said that this election was a "referendum on humanity." These are difficult conversations that so many parents are having with their children and we too will have the necessary conversations with our children.
We are an organization committed to social justice and creating a more equitable and humane world for our children. This has been the case since our inception. And we will remain steadfast in our work. Since our founding our themes have been positivity, knowledge, community and working towards a better future. We need to be focused on these ideals now more than ever. America needs them. Our work has always been to provide support, love, guidance and education to our children and to create a sense of family and belonging - this work is more critical now than ever.
I believe that we have some very very dark days in front of us - difficult times for the issues we care about and the world view we hold dear. These will be a challenging four years. The work of Bro/Sis has always been important, but it is more important today than it has ever been.
We all need a way to direct our sorrow, disappointment, and well founded anger. In times like this we all need community and connection and allies to stand with and find strength from. Our work to educate our children to understand their conditions and become change agents will be a response to the egregious policies of the Trump administration. Our continued commitment to work and organize for progressive change and a more humane world will be a form of revolt against what will now become the official American domestic policy.
The Bro/Sis family - our staff, our alumni and our Board will stand strong for our children - for it is they who are most vulnerable to the heinous and abhorrent policies that will soon come. We believe we must continue to speak out and lead in these times.
Our work continues.