Today is the final day of "Thirty Days of Hope." We encourage you to scroll through these thirty postings and download those that speak to you. Whether or not you knew the Rev. Dr. Hope Johnson, you've come to know her spirit through these posts. Take them to heart, use them for inspiration, refer to them when the challenges we face are getting you down. We all need hope, but we can't be hopeful alone. Reach out, find others who share your passions, celebrate the small victories, and keep on working for change. We shall overcome!
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On this day in 2012, the City of Ruleville, Mississippi, unveiled and dedicated the National Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Statue. The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth in Alabama and Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer in Mississippi were two unstoppable figures in the fight for justice and equity n the Civil Rights Movement. Their commitments were fueled by an abiding sense of hope that things could change.
What do you hope to change in the coming year? Are hope and conviction the same thing? Do you need one to have the other? Can you have one without the other? How does agitation relate to hope?
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court on this day in 1967, where he served until his death in 1993. The first African American on the nation's highest court, Marshall had previously served as the lead attorney in the Brown v. Board of Education case which led to the end of legal segregation in the nation’s schools.
Is there any greater hope for young people today than there was in Marshall's time? If so, what is the source of that hope? If not, do you agree that "we must dissent" from our government? What does that look like? Race and racism is a reality that so many of us grow up learning to just deal with. But if we ever hope to move past it, it can’t just be on people of color to deal with it. It’s up to all of us — Black, white, everyone — no matter how well-meaning we think we might be, to do the honest, uncomfortable work of rooting it out.
Do you have hope that we can move past racism? Where does that hope stem from? Do you agree with Michelle Obama that it is up to all of us? What are you doing today to root our racism? For all of the anger and outrage behind the cry, “Black Lives Matter,” the movement holds out the hope that we might still live together in a society marked by justice and goodwill.
Do you find hope in the Black Lives Matter Movement? In what ways, is it a hopeful movement? Is hope necessary for it to succeed? What do gratitude and appreciation have to do with hope? Are they connected in your life? If so, in what ways?
In 2019-2020 Caitlan Breedlove, then campaign director for the Unitarian Universalist Side of Love Campaign produced Fortification: a podcast about the spiritual lives and spiritual sustenance of leaders in social justice movements. What better inspiration when you're feeling hopeless than to listen to others who have found ways to center their spiritual practices to keep them engaged with the work to be done? What fortifies you when you feel despair?
Fifty-nine years ago, on September 27, 1962, Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring was published. The seminal book indicting the pesticide industry did more to develop environmental awareness that any other single effort. Publishing this book took tremendous courage. Do you think that courage was based in hope? What acts of hope in your own life required courage?
Choose a line from Hope Johnson's meditation, "Keep Your Dreams Alive" from "Bless the Imperfect: Meditations for Congregational Leaders" (Skinner House Books) and draw, paint, photograph, or write about how you've lived this in your life.
In Ross Gay's poem, "To the Fig Tree on 9th and Christian," he writes about the impact of sharing figs between strangers. Share a story where a simple act like sharing a fig with strangers, brought people together.
Read the complete poem here: https://poets.org/poem/fig-tree-9th-and-christian Do you agree with Thích Nhất Hạnh that "if you believe tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today?" How has that belief guided your work as an activist/organizer?
In this TED talk, community organizer and queer activist Miracle Jones explains Black joy why this sense of pride and hope is another crucial component of the racial justice movement. Do you agree that joy is a necessary ingredient of hope? How do you express joy, even in troubling times?
Read more about cultivating hope in your life in this article: Five Reflection Questions to Cultivate Hope in Your Life by Martha Tesema. Is cultivating hope a part of your spiritual practice? What are some ways you cultivate hope for yourself?
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© 2010-2025. Living Legacy Project. All Rights Reserved.