We are entering the fall.
The season, I mean. I suppose that’s a pretty important distinction, especially when we consider the year we’ve all had. At this point in a normal year, we might be saying things like “there have been highs and lows,” or something like that. Throughout this year, though… 2020… the lows have been plentiful.
Yet, through the lows, the power of our people has swelled. At Surge, people are moving. Many of our incoming fellows and alums have chosen to see the global pandemic as the perfect opportunity to re-examine and challenge systemic inequities that existed long before this year. Our community has built spaces to love, heal and design together, leveraging the current lens on racial injustice to speak louder about the things our people have spoken about for decades. The tragic loss of our heroes, John Lewis, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, and Chadwick Boseman, have united us once again in love, loss and inspiration as we look forward with warriors’ work in our hearts.
This is only the beginning.
We are proud to welcome in a new class of Surge Fellows, across Oakland, Chicago and Indianapolis, who are eager to use the Surge space as a catalyst for their wildest dreams. We are honored to distribute more than $100,000 in support to communities of color impacted by COVID-19 and civil unrest. We are humbled as we pore over the results of our 2020 Alumni Survey revealing the latest impact data for all the work this movement does.
As we enter another season, I challenge you to own and feel the hurt of it all, while still finding strength and invigoration in the us of it all. We will Surge on. It’s what we do.
We are entering the rise.
