Advocacy [n.]: any action that argues or speaks in favor of, in support of, or in defense of a cause, person, or group of people.

I have always been a believer in creative advocacy. Advocacy executed through creativity allows for an innovative brand of empathy to emerge, which is capable of functioning not only as a source for inspiration, but also as a tool for social good, a means for actual work and change. In other words, the application of creativity has the potential to motivate a deeper level of awareness and understanding, and from these emanate commitment and, ultimately, action. 

Over the past months, in our bimonthly newsletter installments, we have discussed much about the work, policies, programs and practices that continue to be built at Global Village Project in order to intentionally create our DEI community. Today, I offer this original poem as an act of creative advocacy. I hope it serves as a catalyst for both hopeful inspiration and deeper understanding of what it means to use one’s Voice – what it means to be heard, and to find in this relatedness, the essence of true connection.

Yesterday I Found My Voice

Yesterday
I found my voice
Today I live to tell about it
I didn’t shout from the rooftops
Didn’t whisper or scream
But I spoke, and the words that I heard
Were my own

Yesterday, I found my voice
Today I live to tell about it
And I sing a hallelujah chorus
In a key I’ve never tried before
Tell about it. Tell about it

I am a warrior woman
I won’t roll over or die
Give u, dry up
Or be sucked up

Yesterday I found my voice
And it’s here to stay
Cause I can’t let it go
I chant over and over
Write on all my pages
Say it again and again in my head
And then I open my mouth and cry out loud

Yesterday I found my voice
Today I’m here to shout about it
And this one’s for you
All those who know exactly what
I’m talking about . . . 

[Excerpt from And How My Spirit Soars: Learning to Pack for an Extraordinary Journey by S. Jai Simpson-Joseph]