"I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world," Tupac Shakur once said. Here's what we can learn from his powerful words today.
Shakur was the son of a Black Panther, Afeni Shakur, who dedicated her life to our liberation. Tupac's "Thug Life" philosophy opposed anti-Blackness and its creations, like poverty and policing. He was committed to speaking truth to power. "Every time I speak, I want the truth to come out, he explained."
“When they see me, I want them to know that every day when I’m breathing, it's for us to go further.” Tupac admitted to not having all the answers, but had a bone-deep belief in Black liberation, so he used his talents, confident in his power to spark future change. He also understood something we must.
Tupac understood he might not live to see the change he desperately wanted for us, but he knew using his talents to spark a future change was still worth it. We can do the same thing right now.
Working to imagine and build a new world for our people is constant—it's lifelong and intergenerational. We must endure not only to witness changes to our present reality but also for future Black people whose lives we have the potential to impact in the best way possible with the work we do right now.