Ain’t No Ambulance Coming
#4 from the series Righteous Indignation, by Laurent Chevalier.
As millions of people around the world take to the streets, most of us are seeing for the first time the collective realization that if we are to correct the injustices legalized by generations passed, we are going to have to do it ourselves.
“Ain’t no ambulance coming.”
That’s what my mom heard an old man in East New York, Brooklyn tell the police while they waited for an ambulance to rescue a little girl who had fallen from a bus. “You know ain’t no ambulance coming.” It’s also the bedrock of her TEDMED talk— a call to action in our existential fight against climate change. It provides a guide for what each of us can do today to save ourselves and each other. You should watch it!
Our country is in the midst of a different fight for its life; and just as with climate change, it will take everyone working together to win. The outpouring of passion and emotion is more than a rally against all that is wrong and unfair, it is also a massive demonstration of love.
I know this is true not just because it has to be, but also because people have told me directly. In the last week, I have had more than 100 individual conversations with people of, it seems, every race, ethnicity, gender, and income bracket. Everyone asks the same question, What can I do to help? The answer is always: More.
You won’t find me in the streets unless I’m running to my bunker, but here’s what more I’m doing.
This Saturday, I’ll be turning over my weekly Zoom call, Jaja in Live, to Dr. Shakira Kennedy and Dr. Folusho Otuyelu who will lead a free anti-racism training. Together, they have decades of experience in the diversity and equity space, and will provide resources and guidance for any questions you may have for healthily managing the workplace, channeling your activism, effective allyship, and more.
This is clearly a unique moment in history with unique opportunities. Let’s all do our part to maximize them, and to set each other up for success.
Looking forward to all that may come, together.