“To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give it up. Do not be misled into passivity either by false security (they don’t mean me) or by despair (there’s nothing we can do). Each of us must find our work and do it.” — Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) was a Black feminist, poet, and activist whose life’s work centered on naming injustice and pushing for liberation. She spoke truth to power while advocating for self-care as a form of resistance, reminding us that survival itself is an act of defiance. Her writings, including Sister Outsider and The Cancer Journals, remain essential guides for those committed to justice today.
Lorde’s words feel especially urgent now as many grapple with exhaustion, disillusionment, and discouragement. The weight of injustice and the frustration of slow and stalled progress can make stepping away or bowing out feel like the only options. “Let it burn” has become a refrain for those who feel let down, unheard, and unwilling to keep pouring into something that does not pour back.
But if we abandon the future, who will shape it? Finders keepers. If we do not claim what remains, someone else will—and their vision may not include us.
Lorde wasn’t asking for blind optimism or relentless sacrifice. She was issuing a challenge: find your work and do it. That work doesn’t have to look like what came before. It can be stepping away from broken systems to build new ones, resting as resistance, reclaiming joy, or pouring into the community in ways that sustain rather than deplete.
If you’re feeling done, Lorde might ask: What now? What next? What will you do with what remains? How will you shape what comes next? Despair is real, but so is possibility. Find your work. Do it in a way that nourishes you. The future depends on it.
Another installment of melanated mail has been delivered. Ponder, reflect, and pass it on.
