In memory of Charity Hicks, Detroit Water Activist
In these disturbing times, I know I’m not alone in desperately wanting to re-focus my fears, sorrow and anger into meaningful action. People are fighting for their jobs. Fighting to continue living safely with their families in their communities, to be safe from bullying in schools. In our small corner of collective struggles, EEP is still fighting to elevate and defend energy as a human right.
If we don’t find a way to face the cavernous harms that are unfolding, we can expect to feel gutted and overwhelmed. If these cycles persist, we may slide into despondency.
I’ve felt myself on the brink of these feelings in recent weeks. Knowing that if I couldn’t muster a mantra that was simultaneously healing and empowering, I was in trouble. What single drumbeat opens space for grief and outrage, for gratitude and forgiveness, for hope and fierce motivation to act? When I made time to listen, the call to #WageLove resonated.
#WageLove was originally lifted by Charity Mahouna Hicks and fellow Detroit Water Warriors. I had the immense privilege to work in the same Cass Community Commons as Charity and connect with her regularly. Her vision was expansive; she cared about everything from pollinator habitats to supporting young people as community leaders to the commodification of water. She was always three steps ahead in connecting the dots and mapping the strategies of resistance and community-building. I was stunned when she was killed by a hit and run driver in NY at the height of her activism. She was one of the magnificent leaders in the Black community who cannot be forgotten.
What started as an honorific and an offering to those who faced water shutoffs, #WageLove broadened. It grew deeper roots after the 2016 elections, and I hope that eight years later, under a familiar, but even more pernicious tyranny, #WageLove can nourish us.
For more stories:
- The life of Charity Mahouna Hicks
- Wage love poem, Allied Media Conference
- Response to Detroit Water Shutoffs, ACLU (see embedded letter to the United Nations)
- Water activism as told by Alice Jennings, graphically in TruthOut
- The revival of #WageLove in 2023
- In her own words
P.S.
If you need a simple way to translate #WageLove emotions into action, we have some Valentine’s cards to share. Just a small step can bring us back to sturdy footing, to the resilient earth and community we need to face in solidarity.
