Sonia Lewis

I was asked to empower young women of color, by sharing how I became an activist, focusing on the importance of voice and agency. The theme of my message was "we are enough," and no longer is it appropriate for us to silence ourselves and bow our heads to systems intent on oppressing us. I speak in the spirit of Harriet Tubman and Fannie Lou Hammer, ready to free us from the mental conditioning of slavery because too many of us are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

In an era where King's legacy is co-opted and commercialized, many are unaware when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive, he was public enemy number one. He was arrested over 30 times and was the target of law enforcement attacks in every state and every city he travels in pursuit of civil rights. It is always my mission to inspire the crowd to activate their activism and be more King-like....staunchly opposed to war, poverty, and capitalism. It is in this space that we are able to motivate our community members to be more RADICAL, REBELLIOUS, and REVOLUTIONARY in this fight for Black LIBERATION.

Highlighting and exposing the inconsistencies in the lack of accountability and transparency of officer-involved shootings, especially when Black bodies and/or communities are on the receiving end of historical and intentional trauma and oppression. Our intent was to shape the narrative of who Stephon Clark and the community of Meadowview were. I also drew attention to the ways in which law enforcement is unnecessarily militarized in Black communities and residents live in constant fear that the war will explode at their door or backyard. We were determined as a community to change local ordinances and state legislation to better serve those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable.