The Ghost That Calls Me (Anne Braden)

"An older, African American leader that I respected highly told me I had to make a choice: be a part of the world of the lynchers or join the Other America"

-Anne Braden

I feel a ghost over my shoulder.

I hear her voice calling out to me

to organize, to create, to fight.

There is a ghost watching my journey.

She is cheering me on, and whispering,

saying not to live in guilt, but to move on and learn.

I see a spirit drowning mine.

In my reverie i see

a woman reaching out to me.

And in the screaming and the guilt,

I find a sense of hope

foe the woman made me see.

I've seen the other side of war,

I've seen the other side of pain.

I understand what I must do now

I must rewire my brain.

"I don’t sit around feeling guilty about it, because I think guilt is a really immobilizing emotion."

-Anne Braden (Speaking about racism)