Dear Maxine Waters,
I’ve been an admirer of your work for a very long time. Since Trump has taken over the country, you have risen like a true champion to defend the people.
I’m writing to you because it’s imperative for my generation to support leadership of your caliber. It’s even more important for us to feel supported by warriors such as yourself. We share several commonalities with our elders, but, all too often, the contributions of both parties are minimized and misunderstood. We are living in a world that many of us young people did not design. Since we didn’t create this madness, often we look at the solutions as if they are one size fits all. We were told by the Obama administration that change takes time. We were also told change could only be accomplished in incremental steps.
The Trump minions basically dispelled this theory in one week. Agent Orange issued a few of the most insidious executive orders the United States has ever witnessed. We’ve been set back nearly 50-60 years in the short time he’s been in office. While CNN, MSNBC and Fox News play cat and mouse with this demon, our futures are at stake. It is clear that he has collaborated with the Russians to some degree. The evidence hasn’t fully surfaced yet, but it is blatantly apparent that the case for his impeachment is starting to present itself.
The Trump administration is a group of foul individuals. But they are no different than the previous tyrants this country has witnessed. The Bush administration was equally dismissive of Black people. Our basic humanity is something this country even struggled to acknowledge with a Black president in office. I have zero faith in male leadership in Washington, as men both Black and white have run this country into the ground. Latino men roll over and identify as white as well. The perpetuation of white supremacy as a governing tool for all Americans is our collective reality.
Their egos cannot be contained and they now poise a threat to all of humanity. I’ve questioned if I’m even capable of voting for male politicians with too much visibility. This is especially true in the case of white men involved in the bureaucracy of our laws. I’m writing to you because no one in Washington has challenged them to the degree that you have. Right now, you must have the weight of the world on your shoulders. I’m assured that they are about to come for you. They do not attack with facts and solutions, reality is morphed in their eyes. Our Black elected officials have shamefully silenced themselves and buckled their knees to the power of this regime. We have allowed our elected officials to negotiate with these bipartisan terrorists for far too long.
Black voters today are disenfranchised by the fact that our politicians go to work simply to lay down and die. We understand the complicated nature of American politics. We uphold this democracy moreso than any other group of people in the country. In the name of honesty, equality and fairness, we protest, march, sing, chant and resist all forms of this new world order. We understand the global connections between the American war machine and our comrades abroad. We are the offspring of Ronald Reagan’s war on Black people.
We are the crack babies that survived the ATF’s assault on our skin color. We are the grandchildren of the original Black Panther Party. We are straight, queer, transgendered, poor, Black, white, latino, Asian, Arab, Muslim, Christian, atheist and everything in between. Without our contributions to America, there is no hope for the future of this country. Yet, a generation of right-wing conservative politics seeks to eradicate us from the face of the Earth. Donald Trump’s regime simply seeks our demise. We resist this narrative because history has shown us what happens if we don’t fight back.
The fact still remains that Donald Trump did not receive the popular vote. So, the resistance shares a common enemy in him.
As voters, this generation is vastly complicated. In the most recent election, many of us voted for Hilary, while others were Bernie supporters. Some of us even voted for the Green Party candidate and some of us didn’t vote at all. Our political identity is no longer a monolithic one, as the times have changed and so have we. The Democratic party can no longer blindly depend on our support. We deem many of them as the opposition to our futures, so we intend to fight them as well. The stagnancy in their approach to working for the people is officially on high notice.
We thank you for being brave enough to stand up to these pundits. We value your voice and honor you for being the woman you are. If it weren’t for your audacity, many Blacks in Washington would’ve tucked their heads and normalized this Neo-Nazi-styled regime.
Despite our political differences, hardly any of us voted for Donald Trump. We are a generation that disagrees with the very foundational values of this person. Our entire existence is positioned as the enemy of the state. His entire platform presented to rural white America is the necessity to cage us like animals.
It’s as if we are viewed as nothing more than insects and vermin to this man and his cronies. I’m writing you because the future of the developing free world depends on people like you. Historically, the record will show you stood up to these fascist bastards.
When the curtain is finally unveiled for future generations to study this era of Black politics, the antics of Steve Harvey and many others will be questioned. Our children’s children will want to know why more Black elected officials said nothing. History will not fail to hold them accountable for their silence. We need you now more than ever, Auntie, and we pray for you now more than ever.
I hope this letter encourages you, and I pray it finds its way to you. I hope you receive this message with the clarity necessary to continue fighting. I am from Missouri, so I could not vote for you, but I have always supported your courageous stance for our people.
But, you are carrying the front line of this resistance on your shoulders at this current moment. Your refusal to normalize this genocidal, homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, racist, pro-white, anti-woman administration has energized us all. When Trump was elected, I prayed more politicians would be like you. In Washington D.C., abusing the power of our democracy is a social norm. It’s easier to go along with the show, it’s safer to keep your name absent from the headlines. We ask the ancestors to protect you, as we know what these men are capable of doing to truth speakers like yourself. Please continue to be bold and vigilante even when the support seems to be lacking from your colleagues.
We reject this man and his ideology for our people. These are some of the most sophisticated war criminals America has ever known. You are up against the FBI, CIA and the entire weight of the Pentagon. These are the most powerful surveillance institutions on the globe. They are funded by the American people, yet they use us for target practice daily. Our lives are reduced to pinpoints and memes. We rely on different flanks of the resistance to save us.
Your platform was manufactured by the people and we thank you for understanding this. It is clearly apparent that our government has something to hide. We deserve to know the truth, so we encourage you to continue fighting.
You are standing on the shoulders of giants and we are standing with you, supporting you, loving you, being humbled by your grace and presence.
Thank you,
Ase’
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Tef Poe is a hip hop artist and a co-director of Hands Up United, a community-based political organization that was founded in 2014 following the unrest in Ferguson, Mo. His latest album, “Black Julian,” was released February 14 and can be purchased on iTunes.
Go to www.handsupunited.org or http://www.handsupunited.org/huudonate/ for more information or to donate to the cause.
