During this week’s How To Not Lose Your Sh!t podcast, Katie Paris had a question for our guest Judy Richardson. Judy was — and still is — a civil rights icon who’s dedicated her life to fighting injustice.
You must’ve been afraid. So how did you feel the fear and do the work anyway?
Judy’s response centered on a few things: community (she says she never felt alone), music (freedom songs gave her strength), anger (we can relate!), and dedication to building a better world for the next generation.
There are plenty of things to be afraid of today too. If ICE is knocking down your neighbor’s door, if you can’t get a life-saving abortion, if your LGBTQ child is facing threats of violence, or even if you’re just standing in the grocery store unable to afford food for your family this week… it’s natural to feel fear. This is a scary time and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.
But the goal isn’t to feel unafraid. It’s to feel those feelings, lean on each other, and keep moving forward.
If people like Judy could do it back in the 1960s, when she and her friends were being imprisoned and shot at by white supremacists, we can do it now. Their efforts weren’t in vain — they led to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. If we keep supporting each other and fighting for justice, we’ll see results too.
