Women’s March in Oakland: Justice as Love Activated in Public

In Oakland today, we saw all of humanity. Families of all backgrounds and happy children with signs of hope and justice and resistance. We felt energized even when the marching stalled and we stood, waiting for signs of movement. Babies on the backs and chests of mothers and fathers, looking out at their futures. Taking it all in, without knowing exactly what it was they were seeing. None of us know what our freedoms mean until they are taken away. And yet, the whole world went and marched today. Seems like it’s dawning on us that our freedoms need protecting.

Cornel West has said, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” We saw love today, but not the flowery kind. More like the fierce and resilient love. The kind that we’ll need for the next four years.