You Belong Here

Yesterday was Juneteenth—a day that reminds us how powerful it is when marginalized communities refuse to let their stories disappear.

For generations, Black families and communities kept this history alive when textbooks ignored it. When institutions failed them, they became their own historians.

And look what happened. A story that was almost erased became a federal holiday.

But right now, we’re seeing autocratic regimes around the world trying to delete the histories of marginalized people. Again.

So my question to you is: what are you going to do about it?

Start With What’s In Front of You

Your grandmother’s letters. Your community’s oral histories. The photos gathering dust in closets.

These aren’t just family keepsakes. They’re evidence. They’re proof we existed, we mattered, we survived.

Document them. Digitize them. Make copies and store them everywhere—your computer, the cloud, with trusted friends in other cities, other countries even.

Don’t wait.

Record the Voices That Matter

Talk to the elders in your community while you still can. Ask them about their experiences. Record their voices.

These conversations matter more than you think. Official records miss so much. But your great-aunt remembers exactly how it felt to walk into that segregated restaurant. Your neighbor knows what really happened during the protests.

Their stories fill in the blanks that powerful people want to keep blank.

Find Your People

You can’t do this alone.

Connect with librarians, teachers, artists, historians—anyone who cares about preserving truth. Build networks that can survive when institutions get threatened.

And look beyond your own community. Partner with people in other countries who can safely store your materials when things get dangerous at home.

Because they might.

Get Creative

Artists have always been truth-tellers. Writers, musicians, performers—they hide dangerous truths in beautiful packages that slip past censors.

Create. Support creators. Fund the art that tells our stories.

Keep your cultural practices alive, especially when someone tells you not to.

Teach the Real History

When schools stop teaching our stories, we become the schools.

Organize study groups. Host community workshops. Create mentorship programs. Be the adult who tells young people the truth about their history.

Because if we don’t teach them, who will?

Protect Yourself

Use encrypted messaging when you’re organizing. Learn basic digital security. Don’t make it easy for them to track your preservation work.

Document everything—including attempts to silence you. That documentation might matter later.

Think Long-Term

Here’s something that might surprise you: they never win permanently.

Suppressed histories have a way of coming back. The materials you save today might become the foundation for justice tomorrow.

Every story you preserve is an act of resistance.

So What Now?

Juneteenth reminds us that marginalized communities have always been their own historians. We’ve kept our stories alive when no one else would.

We can do it again.

But only if you actually do something.

So what’s your plan? How are you going to show up for this work consistently?

I’d love to know.

Summer Break is Here

More sunshine and school being out mean summer is officially here. I will be taking the next few months off from regularly publishing my newsletter as my daughters and I go adventuring together.

I look forward to being back in community with all of you once school is back in session! Keep while and care for one another. ❤️

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