Women at Work in the Pursuit of Justice and Equality
There are no idle hands in the pursuit of Justice and Equality
We will finish the work of our elders and
ancestors who worked tirelessly to blaze a
trial with sweat and tears
We will care for our elders who fought for us,
write their stories, and share them with each
generation so that we always remember on
whose shoulders we stand
We will not be passive in the face of injustice
and allow every generation to fight the same
battles
We will drive our communities to the polls
and vote like the lives of our children depend
on it because it does
We will rewrite the history books so that our
children know that it didn’t all begin with
slavery but with kings and queens
We will reject the derogative names that
broke the hearts of our ancestors
We will buy and build and own and leave a
financial legacy
We will raise our children to reject mediocrity
We will continue to speak for those who were
silenced, marginalized, and those whose
dreams remains deferred
There are no idle hands in the pursuit of Justice
During Women’s History Month, we honor all women who continue to work for justice and equality, especially women of color who are at the intersection of racism and sexism and work tirelessly to eradicate both. The poem, Women at Work, is from the poetry book, The Heart and Soul of Black Women by Janet Autherine.