Hope As A Practice

I’ve always been a very unsure person, I question everything and I take time with my decisions and because of that remaining hopeful has always been hard for me. As I’ve delved more into organizing and activism over the last 4 years remaining hopeful as an abolitionist and organizer has been even harder. Meeting Chelsea Glass showed me that hope really is powerful and necessary within organizing. When we first met I was really resistant to becoming friends but that didn’t stop Chelsea lol. She was persistent and over the last two years we became really close. She and I were research nerds and I’d be on calls with her and Chanelle or her and Alex for hours sometimes, strategizing and plotting ways we were going to make the world better.

There’s a song by DOE called “Mercy” that I’ve been listening to on repeat. At the beginning she says:

“There is power in your name,

Your sacrifice was not in vain,

There is healing in your name”

There is so much power in the name Chelsea Glass. Any room you walk into whether organizing, political, activist spaces, policy research, etc. they’ll know the name Chelsea Glass. She made so many sacrifices to fight for justice and organize over the years, including showing up and working on initiatives when her health was declining. I remember having to literally force her to stop working and telling people to not reach out to her or add her to group chats because she will respond lol. My relationship with Chelsea healed me in so many ways from past experiences with white people. And she understood my hesitation and called out others when they were causing harm.

I’ve been ruminating on whether or not Chelsea knew I really did love her and appreciate our relationship so much. I’ve been so worried she didn’t know and it’s making losing her so much harder for me. I’m not good at telling people how I feel about them, I really just hope people can feel the love I have for them because I naturally just don’t express it a lot. The hook in that song “Mercy” says:

“I’ll choose your love over fear,

I will believe you when you say you love me”

I’m so glad I chose Chelsea’s love over fear from past experiences, it’s made such a powerful impact on my life. Every time Chelsea got off the phone she would “K love you bye” to everyone. I know she meant that with her whole heart. I just hope she can feel and see the love we have for her and her family as she watches over us now.

Chelsea Glass was a true embodiment of hope as practice.