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Maya Angelou reads slain peace activist's words on the transformative power of being alone

Peace activist Rachel Corrie died shortly after composing this email on a peace mission in Gaza.

via FakroonMedia/YouTube and Wikimedia Commons

Maya Angelou and peace activist Rachel Corrie.

The death of peace activist Rachel Corrie in 2003 has come to greater prominence over the past year as war rages between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. Twenty-one years ago, 23-year-old Corrie became the first American to be deemed a martyr in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, after being run over by an Israeli bulldozer.

Corrie had gone to Gaza to nonviolently protest the bulldozing of homes in an area Israel was clearing to prevent militants from having a place to hide. While protecting the family home of local pharmacist Samir Nasrallah from demolition by the Israel Defense Forces, she was run over by an armed Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer.

Israel claimed that the bulldozer driver couldn’t see Corrie and that her death was unintentional. Corrie’s family later sued Israel for a symbolic $1 in damages, but a court rejected the suit. The court ruling was called “unacceptable” by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.


On the third anniversary of Corrie’s death, in 2006, poet Maya Angelou read one of the final emails she wrote home after leaving Olympia, Washington for Gaza. Angelou is a famed American author, historian, and civil rights activist best known for her 1969 memoir of growing up in the South, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Rachel’s email from January 2003.

We are all born and someday we’ll all die. Most likely to some degree alone. What if our aloneness isn’t a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness is what allows us to adventure – to experience the world as a dynamic presence – as a changeable, interactive thing?

If I lived in Bosnia or Rwanda or who knows where else, needless death wouldn’t be a distant symbol to me, it wouldn’t be a metaphor, it would be a reality.

And I have no right to this metaphor. But I use it to console myself. To give a fraction of meaning to something enormous and needless.

This realization. This realization that I will live my life in this world where I have privileges.

I can’t cool boiling waters in Russia. I can’t be Picasso. I can’t be Jesus. I can’t save the planet single-handedly.

I can wash dishes.


rachel corrie, gaza, maya angelouRachel Corrie stands up to a bulldozer before being killed.via Joe Carr/Wikimedia Commons

The key message in Corrie’s email is that there is power in being alone. It shows that sometimes when we aren’t preoccupied with the expectations of others, we give ourselves the space to grow to our fullest potential. It’s also a sad commentary that many of the people we love in our lives can hinder reaching our potential.

Corrie's words are a great reminder, in a world constantly distracted by screens, that we can only truly develop as people when we have a moment of solitude to explore our own thoughts and deeply held moral beliefs.

The piece is also an invitation to visualize what our lives can be if we follow our own paths without worrying about what others think. What truths would we speak and what adventures would we seek? What causes would we stand up for if we knew we wouldn’t be judged?

Corrie’s words also echo those of Maya Angelou, who believed that only through courage can we reach our potential. “One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest,” she told USA Today in 1988.

Two years after Corrie’s death, her diaries and emails came to life in a play called “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” which has been staged worldwide, including in her hometown of Olympia, Washington, in 2017.

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Gen Z is all right—check out these young activists stepping up to make a difference

Aniyah Ayres, Trinity Jagdeo

2020 has drained everyone, by way of a pandemic, political upheaval, and a shaky economy. Somehow, despite all of this, Gen Z has maintained the energy and focus to create a better state of being in the United States.

Generation Z is made up of everyone born after 1996, and studies show that this generation leans into their civic duty. Whether through inspiration or service projects, here are five youth-run businesses that are striving to make a difference during this unpredictable year.

Trinity Jagdeo


Trinity Jagdeo, We Can't 2 We Can

Trinity Jagdeo is striving for inclusivity for disabled children. Inspired by her childhood friend's battle with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2, Jagdeo saw the need for representation and was determined to close the gap. Her comic book series We Can't 2 We Can gives disabled children powers and makes them superheroes.

She also has started a non-profit of the same name, Trinity explains the mission, "We offer many services to the special needs community; hosting inclusive events is one of them. This year, in celebration of our second anniversary, we planned to host a fashion show called, 'I Love Me and My Disability.' Unfortunately, due to the current events going on with the world, we have had to postpone our show." She was still able to fundraise online, and the proceeds have gone to the many families she works with.

Trinity started her charity at 17, and now 19, her business has grown. She is now a public speaker and gives talks about entrepreneurship and goal-setting at high schools and colleges. How does she measure her success? "I will know I've made it when I get invited on the Kelly Clarkson show."


Stand Up, Fight Back


Andreya, Isabelle, Piper, Lee, and Noelani, Stand Up, Fight Back, Tucson

Stand Up, Fight Back (SUFB) is the brainchild of five teens, ranging in age from 15 to 19, who all met at Tucson protests for George Floyd. Since its inception, the teens have held events, calling for justice for victims of police brutality and relocation of police funding into the community, like housing and school initiatives. "We all grew up seeing how unjust this country really is. We had very similar ideas and morals; so we easily adopted a connection. Because of this strong connection, we all agreed to join together and find a way that we could make a difference in this country, big or small."

"In our city, three people have died in police custody in the last few months. Our goal is to be a part of the change in history, and to do whatever we can to help move this revolution forward. We are trying to make this earth a good place for all of us to live, not just a select few."

The teens believe that the best way to support their organization is to support their causes. "Black lives matter, as well as immigrants, LGBTQA+, and civil rights. Whether that means working with your local official donating, sharing, protesting, signing petitions. Do whatever you can do to eradicate the injustice in the system." The group always needs extra supplies for their efforts, and they have attached a Venmo donation link to their social pages.

Carrie and Sophia Fox


Sophia Fox, Adventures in Kindness

The idea for Adventures in Kindness was born one year ago when Sophia (then nine) asked her mother a tough question. "I asked my mom one night why there is so much mean in the world. She didn't have an answer, so we tried to answer it together. We decided to replace the word mean with kind." The pair sat down and created a list of age-appropriate activities. That list became the book Adventures in Kindness.

Carrie explains, "The book is written primarily for children between the ages of seven and 12, and it is designed to be a practical resource for them and their families, where they could open the book and literally have everything they need at their fingers to go create positive change."

The book, as well as the website, have become a platform for kind kids. For members of the Kind Kids Club, there are rewards for completing a certain number of activities. Their slogan is "Kind is cool, so wear it proud."

The book is available on Amazon and their website, and if purchased through the site, at least 10% of the profit will go to one of the charities featured in the book. For July, the donations went to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Carrie says they were chosen "because of their work with a platform called Teaching Tolerance. In the book, we talk about the importance of empathy and learning about cultures different from your own." To purchase books, kits, or apparel, visit their website.

Ventura Website Builders


Deive Mece, Evan Robert, Yash Rondla, Ventura Website Builders

Three 17-year-olds saw their community hurting in the wake of COVID19, and they felt compelled to take action. Evan explained, "We noticed that a lot of small businesses in our area—many run by older folks—were struggling. Nobody was visiting their businesses, and we realized that they had no online presence at all." The three noticed that without customers able to walk through stores, and they started what they called a "community service project" to help their local businesses stay afloat.

With the downtime they had while sheltering in place, the teens taught themselves how to build websites. According to Deive, "We're all interested in computers and coding. So we all pretty much learned how to build the websites over the past couple of months. We just looked up like tutorials and YouTube videos, and figured it out like that."

The boys are excited to continue helping businesses in need, and since they all want to major in business in college, Evan says that they are loving the early lesson in entrepreneurship. "Deive is interested in maybe minoring in software engineering, so we are all getting valuable experience." The three would like to expand their business outside of their Simi Valley area. If you know a business that has been impacted by COVID and can't afford web design, visit their website to request a consultation.


Aniyah Ayres


Aniyah Ayres, Aniyah's Mission

Since Aniyah was six, she's had the desire to give back. That is why she founded Aniyah's Mission. Her organization has been tending to the needy in West Philadelphia by feeding the homeless, as well as back to school supply drives and scholarship giveaways. At six, she started with a water ice stand, and now, at fourteen, she is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, community activist, motivational speaker, and author.

COVID-19 changed the dynamics of Aniyah's mission, but with her mother's help, she's still able to make a difference. "My mom went to the store for families and took their groceries to their houses, and we started supplying lunches for hospital workers."

Aniyah, who is now 14 and starting high school, hopes that her next steps are writing a second book. She wrote her first, which teaches children how to grieve after a loss, inspired by losing her own father really young. "There weren't any resources to help me cope with my anger or grief. So I wrote a book, hoping to help others process their grief. I definitely see myself and another book, and having more of a global impact."

Aniyah recognizes the advantages she has had with starting a nonprofit, but she wants to encourage others who may not have as many resources to still give back. She offers this advice: "You have to make sure it's something you really want to do, because it can get tiring. Then make sure you have the mindset to get started. Start out small, you can hand out bags of food in your neighborhood, or you can take part in a community cleanup day. From there, gather more people. Learn how to fundraise, and make sure you have a strong supporting family and friends behind you."

2020 has taught us many tough lessons, but one worth carrying into 2021 and beyond is that you're never too young to make a difference.

Tonya Russell is a freelance journalist who is passionate about mental health, wellness, and culture. To see more of her work or cute dog photos, follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

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The Facebook advertising boycott has changed everyone's favorite social media platform forever

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Sometimes a boycott succeeds when it fails.

Although the general aim of a boycott is to hurt profits, there are times when the symbolism of a boycott gives birth to a constant, overt and irreversible new optic for a company to nurse.

When the boycott of Facebook began in June and reached its peak in July, it gathered thousands of brands who vocalized their dissatisfaction with the platform.

The boycott, under the hashtag #StopHateForProfit, was launched by civil rights groups. By July brands were fully behind removing their ad spending - resulting in a small financial dent for the social media juggernaut, but a forceful bludgeoning in the press.


Although Facebook still saw growth during the boycott, the social network was left with no choice but to address its own long standing apathy towards hate speech and disinformation. With copious amounts of money constantly flowing through the company, it's clear that in many ways the Facebook executive team see their reputation among activists and the public as a more elusive form of intangible capital.

Intangible capital that they cannot afford to burn through at the rate they currently are.

Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg once again attempted to rebuff the assertions that Facebook has done little to stem hate speech and misinformation on their platform.

"Some seem to wrongly assume that most of the content on our services is about politics, news, misinformation or hate," Zuckerberg said.

"These make up a small part of the content on our services, although they are all things that people generally tell us they'd like to see even less of. We do not profit from misinformation or hate," he continued.

"We completely agree that we don't want hate on our platforms, and we stand firmly against it," Sandberg said. "We don't benefit from hate speech. We never have. Users don't want to see it. Advertisers don't want to be associated with it."

This is a lie.

Many of Facebooks top performing posts, advertisements and public figures peddle a deluge of white supremacy, conspiracy theories, homophobia, misogyny, death threats, coronavirus misinformation and just about every other form of information that can be mangled and weaponized for public consumption.

However, Facebook has more recently made one symbolic step towards something resembling integrity.

Facebook took down a video posted by the Trump campaign in which he claimed children were "virtually immune" to the coronavirus. This is generally regarded by the majority of health experts as completely false and flies in the face of any basic level of logical thought. The reason for it being removed from Facebook was due to it being in violation of the social network's rules against misinformation about coronavirus. This represents a positive small step forward for the social media giant, a small step in a marathon of decency that should have been started over a decade ago.

The boycott began what will be a series of future reality checks for Facebook, as they can no longer plead ignorance or impartiality. In a statement, the boycott organizers said, "This movement will not go away until Facebook makes the reasonable changes that society wants. The ad pause in July was not a full campaign — it was a warning shot across Facebook's bow."

The fact is, despite what Zuckerberg and Sandberg would have you believe, that Facebook is molding the national consciousness and finds itself dangerously close to irrevocably poisoning the body politic.

There is a small window within which to salvage what integrity remains, but consistently denying their own faults does nothing to begin this vital process.

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Opinion: Why I'm asking my high school to ban students from wearing Native American headdresses

Photo by Janine Robinson on Unsplash

Editor's Note: To sign the petition started by Hannah Lee and her fellow students, click here.

"I promise nobody cares at all. Let us have our fun and stay away from our school pride," was what I was told when I asked a school-pride Instagram account if they would share a petition on educating students on Cherokee culture.

This is one of many interchangeable conversations that take place on the topic of honoring Native American people. My school showcases a singular problem that stems from a larger issue of negative societal views and perceptions; there are so many accounts of other political and economical impacts that take place because of the constant cultural appropriation and stereotypes that are said about this ethnic group.


In a survey published in 2018, 40% of the respondents did not believe that Native Americans still existed. With this large misconception, how can we expect that Native Americans are rightfully represented, when they are not even recognized by a population that resides on their original land? During the Dakota Pipeline Protests, in which the Sioux tribe fought to protect their land, the media finally began to shine light on Native Americans. The Sioux were recognized for their efforts in preservation, and in the end, were granted justice.

These media coverages help put out that Native Americans were still, very much alive and fighting to have their voices heard. This situation happened in 2016-2017, resulting in the pipeline being moved to a different location.

However, in recent light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Native Americans have been forgotten once more. The virus continues to disproportionately affect Native American tribes. Because Indians have less access to government funding and supplies, they have had to be twice as careful when opening and closing businesses. To protect their own, many tribes have had to close their main sources of income. Not only does this further setback Natives economically, but it also threatens their longevity. Already, Native Americans have a lower life expectancy and higher rates of poverty. This virus and lack of government aid, (because officials do not give the same attention to reservations and tribes as they do to non-Native citizens!) contributes further to the erasure of the Native American people, culture, and history.

So, what does this have to do with your school?

Glad you asked, reader!



The East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, GA mascotassets.change.org


My school, East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, GA, is part of the many schools and sports teams that use an Indian (or Native American) as their mascot. Though we (like-minded peers and I) have considered creating a petition to completely change the school mascot, we have come to a consensus in which that would be unnecessary for the purpose of changing the mascot (in our case).

After speaking with Lamar Sneed, a Cherokee Indian culture/history educator, he told us that the mascot was not offensive and was actually a way of honoring the Native American people as strong warriors. Furthermore, he talked about how the school systems, especially in high school, do little to educate its students on their local Native American culture and history. Dr. Sneed asked that students not wear headdresses or any mock "Indian garb". The reason? By students doing so, they are disrespecting the huge symbolism and ceremonial significance that a headdress contains. Even within tribes, headdresses are not commonly given out; why should we, as non-Natives, culturally appropriate this custom?



Images from Elle Magazine via Mic


The type of "Indian garb" that students wear at my school is not only a Halloween-costume type garb, but also an outdated, stereotyped clothing that further stipulates that there is only one "type" of Indian. Currently, there are over 500 nationally recognized Indian tribes, and by students continuing to wear such clothing, they only contribute to the ever-deteriorating image that blatantly states that "Native Americans are from the past" and that "there is only one tribe of Indians". Numerous sources ( including BBC and Mic) go on to say that while students claim to be honoring the Native American people through wearing these types of clothing, they rarely know the history or background of where that clothing came from.

These continued allowances of cultural appropriation derive from a lack of students being educated on these topics. The upside is that we have a plan! This plan would involve a video created by the Cherokee Indians, educating the high school's students on the history and culture of the Cherokee and Creek Indian Tribes, which had presided in the school's area in past history. This video would be shared throughout the community, and eventually shown in school during orientations and homeroom periods. The plan would also include banning students from wearing Indian garb and headdresses.

By both these ideas being implemented, I believe that students would stray from making ignorant decisions, and grow as human beings to love, accept, and APPRECIATE the Native American culture, rather than appropriate it. In order to try and implement these ideas into real-life, a group of peers and I have created a petition with a goal of trying to reach 3,000 signatures. Though this may seem like not much, the town where I come from has proven difficult to sway to supporting this petition. Many say that by banning headdresses and Indian garb, that I would be taking away from my high school's personal culture. For some people, I suppose it is hard to get rid of a normalized custom.

An example includes a petition started in opposition to the one that has been started by a group of peers and I. This petition has garnered almost 1,000 signatures (mostly from adults?) to call for my high school to continue using headdresses. The petition outlines that the reason they want to keep it, is because the headdress is my highschool's culture (huh?). As these are grown adults signing this petition, I am shocked and saddened of the ignorance of some of the older generation. Contrary to this statement, there have been an amazing group of supporters who have shared and signed the petition. From old to young to the in between, the support has been strong enough to keep the petition relevant. As of now (me writing this), the petition has garnered a little over 300 signatures, 10% of the intended goal. My hope, as well as other supporters' hopes, are that the petition will at least have started a conversation needed to be had on cultural appropriation and the normalization of these stereotypical forms of racism.

Does petitioning actually work?

Yes! Not only does it grab the attention of the person who has the power to make the petition happen, but it also helps to initiate the interest of community members as well. For example, when the Sioux Tribe was fighting to keep their sacred land out of direct contact with the Dakota Access pipeline, the 370,000 signatures goaded the president at that time, Obama, to issue a response and solutions that ultimately ended in the Sioux and other Great Plains Indian Tribes finding victory and justice. The newfound pressure that comes upon the person who can make it happen, is a result of people coming together on a topic that they support. This kind of pressure is showcased through the story in which the Washington NFL team ended up dropping their previously insensitive name. So, it isn't necessarily the petitioning itself, but rather the hundreds of thousands of people rallying together to fight for what's right that ends up convincing the decision maker to act!

This kind of support does not magically come up on its own, unfortunately. Which is why we need the help of people outside my small community, to help others become knowledgeable of these issues and ultimately work together to do what's right: shed light on the Indigenous people and stop cultural appropriation from within.

Hannah Lee is a student at East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, GA

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