Hello all–

Happy May Day! The cause of labor continues to be one of the greatest sources of hope for the world. I pray you’ll get to gather with comrades today and reflect on the long arc of solidarity built by multiracial workers across nation-states. Our protesting, rallying, and organizing will never be in vain, and it flows from a rich tradition.

I returned from a two-day work trip to Mississippi yesterday evening, and I’m excited to share this dispatch.

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Last week, I confirmed the logistics of a sojourn to Mississippi with Ruth, and my soul buoyed with joy and anticipation. After meditating deeply on the century that has passed since Grandma Jackson was born, I knew it would nourish me to visit the state where she began her journey. Through my work with the Dignity in Schools Campaign, I’d come to view it as the site of struggle, contemplation, and possibility it fully is.

I landed around noon in Jackson, and I picked up the rental car without much fuss. Ruth took the train up from New Orleans, and I had a few hours before she would cross through the threshold of the downtown Amtrak station. After a quick lunch, I decided to return to the home of Eudora Welty, which I had visited during my last work trip to Mississippi in 2023.

I meandered through the grounds, recalling the time I picked up The Optimist’s Daughter in D.C. nearly a decade ago. Having attended a writers’ group the previous evening, I drew inspiration from a strong example of a beautiful environment where a writer created their art.

I continued inside.

I enjoyed a playful session on a typewriter, feeling called to create for no other reason than honoring the fact that I can.

Ruth made it to Jackson safely. After we checked into the hotel, she and I grabbed dinner with several phenomenal young Black women in Madison that evening. We caught up on what had occurred in the eighteen months since our trip to Houston and broadly discussed the organizing terrain for racial justice work in 2026. Kameisha shared how they’d been recently invited to convenings that sought to extract traumatic memories from young people, rather than meaningfully incorporate their perspectives into legal, policy, communications, and advocacy strategies to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. We recommitted to the work and ourselves, striving toward democratically governed public schools in the American South, all without a police presence.

The next morning, following an exceptionally delicious breakfast at IHOP, Ruth and I drove one hour north to Durant. For years, I’d admired the impactful community work of Nollie Jenkins Family Center. I felt so honored to plant my feet on the ground there. I met Royalty for the first time in-person, filled my plate with delicious home-cooking, and proceeded to chat with comrades for four hours. We strategized, hypothesized, and dreamed. Dianna Freelon-Foster made us laugh so hard; I thanked her for the grounding of our presentation on Black Socialism and Solidarity at the 2024 biennial meeting of the Dignity in Schools Campaign. Ellen Reddy demonstrated her innovative approach to land stewardship and intergenerational care. I recognized the gift that I’d been given as a lawyer who is fortunate to work with a member-based coalition; litigation and administrative advocacy rightfully take the back seat, as authentic relationships with organizers are established and cultivated.

On April 30, I dropped Ruth off at the train station and returned to Durant to commemorate the International Day to End Corporal Punishment. Comrade Ellen gave me a tour of the grounds, which includes two single-family homes, a pond, and abundant plots for gardening. We conversed about mutual aid and solidarity networks, necessities in this era of increasing political austerity and repression.

We spent forty minutes on Facebook Live, broadcasting from the page of Nollie Jenkins Family Center, and Royalty brought tears to our eyes with a heartfelt anecdote. Comrades cast a wide net about how violence against children – perpetrated by police officers, departments of child protective services, and adults who generally deny their agency – hinders all of us from achieving true liberation. We embraced at the end of the session and leaned into a physical manifestation of the optimism that informs our world-building. We hugged as I departed and affirmed our intent to gather together again in Mississippi this summer.

I ended this spiritually refreshing journey with Aunt Joy, sharing a meal at the buffet where I discussed trust with two brilliant children two and a half years prior. The Black radical tradition persists, meeting the current epoch with the wisdom from the past and the better vision of the future.