An Historic Moment

Gabor and I are sitting in a cozy house in Huntington Heights, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Actually, Gabor isn’t sitting. He is ironing a shirt for me to wear at Oakland U., Michigan. I will be one of about 20 people speaking tomorrow to the Board of Trustees on behalf of Micah Fialka-Feldman.

Micah is a student who is an avid and active Democratic student leader. His parents are both community and political activists so perhaps it’s in his blood. Tonight we attended the Democratic party to celebrate with them and Michigan as the USA both elected its first Afro-American President and put in a breakthrough number of women senators and congress(wo)men. I feel extraordinarily privileged to be witness and participant. My participation consisted of assisting Erin to return to her home state so she could vote Democratic in a swing state, Virginia. It made a difference.

At the moment I am writing this crowds are chanting “Yes we can”. The world is at an extremely low ebb, but there is nothing people cannot do. Finally, it seems that we have not just a leader but also grassroot energy arising everywhere in the world to organize ourselves as gifted people and communities in order to make great lives available to all alive now and in the future on this planet.

Micah has been refused entrance to the dormitory of Oakland U. The excuse is that he is not following a degree program. He is following an adjusted schedule so that he can accommodate his learning challenges.

Since the refusal students, politicians, and many others have written and rallied to Micah’s support. This has been Micah’s victory. He has rallied and raised the consciousness of countless young students. Regardless of how the Trustees respond Micah knows he has made a difference.

When I heard of the opportunity to speak to the Trustees tomorrow I couldn’t imagine a better beginning to the World Peace through Inclusion Tour than to come and speak on behalf and beside my brother in gifted citizenship.

Well it has already been better than I could imagine. Today we visited a burnt out area of Detroit, called the Heidelberg Project, that has been reclaimed by artists and urban farmers who are also part of a regeneration of economy and community led by ordinary people in this city. One of the original leader artists, Tyree Guyton, spoke with me and we shared our visions. In response he painted one of his famous spots, a white circle reminiscent of a moon, on my van.

This gave me an idea for an organizing principle for the Tour. At each encounter I will ask local artists to paint an image of community or peace on Bronte or Avalanche.

I must keep this short – it’s well past midnight. It has been truly an historic and marvelous day.

Love; Judith