See Whose Face it Wears: Reflections on The Death of Voting Rights

Jan 20

“For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.

Racism and homophobia are real conditions of all our lives in this place and time.

I urge each one of us here to reach down into that deep place of knowledge inside herself and touch that terror and loathing of any difference that lives here. See whose face it wears.

Then the personal as the political can begin to illuminate all our choices.”

-Audre Lorde

(Lorde was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," who "dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.")

These powerful words of Lorde repeated themselves in my head this morning, upon reading the expected but disappointing news that so many of this country’s so called leaders voted against voting rights. and the law supports them.

The system is broken.

The system was not created to protect BIPOC or LGBTQ+ or anyone except wealthy white males and those they deem worthy of their protection.

It is working as it should to continue to protect them and will do so.

Until a new system is built.

We have these moments where we feel like change is coming.

Like we might be able to change the system from within, that the love and fierce desire for truth, freedom, justice, equality will overpower the greed, fear, violence and corruption.

and maybe it can. I will always hope.

but more and more, I catch these words floating in my ear. The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.

It does start by looking within, especially for those in the wealthy white population.

“touch that terror and loathing of any difference that lives here. See whose face it wears.”