My Way of Making Good Trouble... and other Random Thoughts

Last edited Tue Aug 5, 2025, 09:48 PM - Edit history (1)

A friend of mine sent me a Facebook link that really moved me. Hope Giselle is talking about what's happening in the US and the importance of taking a stand, forming alliances, being prepared.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/590883103778141

I am forever trying to figure out what is "safe" to do. Being moderate. Dr. King hated the moderates. We were always thinking about what was safe, and then did nothing. I work with Trump supporters. My boss is Mexican American and he still could be a Trump supporter. I think people know I'm pretty liberal, but no one has come after me. I work in a very DEI-friendly German-based company. Still...

I participated in the No Kings Rally. Not with a sign or a shirt. Just a flag. Trying to be "safe". And as I saw people driving by taking videos, I thought - I could end up on social media. My neck stuck out just a little bit.

One of my best friends' job is compromised. A nephew lost his job. A friend in the government got unwanted early retirement. It's around me. It's happening. Is it really time to be safe?

So, I have decided to design, and wear, a shirt. It has two sides. On the front side:

"Get in good trouble, necessary trouble,
and help redeem the soul of America."
- John Lewis

On the back side:

Democracy Is on Life Support.
This Is Bigger Than Politics.
Silence Is Permission.
How Far Will You Let This Go?
Take a Stand!
Resist. Rebuild. Repeat.

It's on Zazzle because it was faster than finding a black-owned business. Shame on me.

I need to do more walking. So I am going to make a pledge to wear my shirts. To the grocery store, out walking the dog, through airports. NOT to job sites. But everywhere non-business related. My husband saw the shirt and asked me if I knew what I was doing. If I really wanted to invite hatred and ugliness. As a woman, I don't think anyone will hit me. But for every person who is incensed, there will be others who are inspired. I'm even thinking of putting together fliers of websites for taking action. Business card sized. ACLU. SPLC. NoKings. (Let me know if you can think of others. Organizations supporting Latinx, the LGBTQ community, native Americans, Palestinians and Arab-Americans...) Maybe I will end up on social media. Maybe I will get in trouble. I've decided to take that risk.

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Switching gears, I had an opportunity to talk, for over an hour, with a friend from college. We go back nearly 50 years. One of those friendships with long gaps, but quick catch-ups. A forever friendship. Always good to have. She was around when I first started compiling Black History Month e-mails. I think I started in the 1990's. Then stopped for a while, then started back up. In the beginning, I did something every day. When that got too much, something every work day. Then something a few days a week, then something once a week. I would buy books and transcribe them, search websites, find articles. And one of my goals was to avoid black entertainers and sports heroes. I was so sick of the emphasis on entertainers and sports heroes. We are so much more.

When I moved to Baltimore, I was on the distribution list for my sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, and I started sharing my Black History Month e-mails with my sorors. And then thought that maybe it was bothersome, so I simply asked anyone who was interested to sign onto my distribution list. There were about 100 people on that list in the end. At some point, I started posting the e-mails on DU. Just reaching out. Trying to make sure people knew our history.

Over the course of 20 years, less than 10 people have told me that they read the e-mails. So, it was a real shock when my college friend talked about them. She praised them. She told me that she shared them with her kids. And she said "Lauren, it should be your mission to share black history with the next generation. Maybe once a week, maybe once a month. You were so thorough. So devoted. So informative."

I have 6 months to figure out how I'm going to do this. I know it has to be visual. I know it has to be free. I know it has to be 3-5 minutes tops. I'm thinking YouTube, Facebook... maybe TikTok... and here, of course.

If you've read this far, thank you. If you think you'd like a shirt, here it is - feel free to steal the idea and have it made by a black-owned business. I get no royalties for this shirt.
https://www.zazzle.com/business_name_and_logo_on_navy_blue_t_shirt-256183273899716832

If you can think of youth groups that would be interested in black history month videos, please post. If you have children or grandchildren that you think would be interested, or would benefit from knowing our history, please send me a DU mail.

Let us not be silent. Let us, each one of us, look at this multi-faceted attack on our way of life, and find a way to fight back.