"Still Rising: Love, Labor, and the Long Fight for Justice

In Go Luck Yourself, by Sara Raasch, Loch tells Kris that Kris is a poet. Loch kisses him. Kris lets the energy that is Loch take him.

Loch acknowledges Kris came back, but as a question. Kris gasps, “yeah.”

In Beloved, by Toni Morrison, Sethe reflects that men encourage you to put some of your weight in their hands. The days she forgets to pick some pretty thing and take it with her are days butter won’t come or the brine in the barrel blisters her arms. To her, it turned out that Halle was just a man.

Paul D took to morning love making with Sethe. Beloved has been with them for five weeks. Something in Beloved’s face makes Paul D speak.

Sethe places her “knives of defense against misery, regret, gall and hurt” down one by one “on a bank where clear water rushed on below.” She decides to go to the clearing where Baby Suggs had danced in the sunlight. Baby Suggs hadn’t approved of having more talk than necessary, saying, “Everything depends on knowing how much,” and “Good is knowing when to stop.

Paul D remembers his time being chained to other men, and how they would sing to make it through, garbling words so the bosses would not understand them. Because a man could risk his own life, but not his brothers, the eyes of those who had been there longer signaled “Steady now” and “Stand by me” to those they were afraid of panicking. After 86 days of this, Paul D thought he had finally beat any hope of life out of himself.

Sethe remembers trying to raise her babies with no one to ask for help except Mrs. Garner, who never had children. She circles the room constantly as she tells Paul D her story. She remembers her little girl had just learned to crawl faster than she expected and loved the stairs in the home so much they painted the stairs so she could see her way to the top.

On May Day, I met up some friends at Canyon Rim Park in Murray City for a Don’t Mourn, Organize Event celebrating International Workers Day. Angel Vice discussed the Haymarket Square Massacre and other events that inspired the creation of the day, as well as acknowledging and honoring Joe Hill, an early organizer in Utah who suffered for the cause. It was noted that while the event that inspired the memorial happened in Chicago, the U.S. deliberately created Labor Day in September instead so as not to be associated with the tragedy. Between musical pieces, speakers from several union and organizations shared their work and how to stay involved.

Friday, I did my first hike on Wild Rose Trail with the Utah Outdoors Group. I took my new trekking poles, backpack, and headlamps, wearing my new hiking shoes. The guide took us up at a challenging pace and we reached the lookout point after about 20 minutes. The view of the sunset overlooking the Great Salt Lake was spectacular. It was definitely very challenging, and I welcomed the break before heading back down. The trail has a 341 ft elevation gain, and I developed a blister on my heel that should heal in the next few days. I’ve ordered some athletic socks so that I don’t encounter the friction that caused the blister next time.

Saturday was the Salt Lake County Democratic Organizing Convention. I attended the Veteran’s Caucus and Progressive Caucus and led the Utah Stonewall Caucus. The Veteran’s Caucus asked how the Utah Stonewall Dems are able to raise money for their caucus and asked the group about how they can build up participation. I promised with the Utah State Progressive Caucus chair to help them navigate how to set up a state PAC.

All three caucuses were visited by representatives from Utah Care, which is pushing a ballot initiative to create a non-profit single-payer system for all essential medical care. When asked if the legislature would be able to restrict care it didn’t like, the proponents said that it would require medically necessary healthcare. The problem is that medically necessary healthcare defined by some organizations, like WPATH for gender confirming treatment, is not considered necessary by others. The sponsor said that would have to be done along the political path. Because Utah’s legislature has a super-majority of Republicans that seem hell-bent on denying trans people their rights under the constitution, and one member already tried to run a bill that would deny any government funds be used to provide for gender confirming treatment, this becomes problematic. The non-profit would be considered in charge of government funds, and because employers may decide not to provide private insurance, people may be left trying to fund care that is medically necessary for them out of pocket.

I asked several Democratic legislators about this issue, and most felt that it would be problematic because insurance code is considered sacrosanct. Fundamental human rights to healthcare are at stake, and if that means sacrificing someone’s sacred cow to make it happen, so be it. We should not be forced to live under laws that in their very outdatedness benefit some at the expense of others. The laws should be updated to be just and fair, and just because someone refuses to educate themselves on the issues real people face, we should not be forcibly denied our rights based on that ignorance.

I announced to the Utah Stonewall Dems that the time is past when just being pro-equality was enough. While that was all we could reliably count on a decade or more ago, we need the people that we endorse to be outspoken champions for LGBTQ+ issues, not just silent supporters. They need to speak up when our community is under attack. So we have officially opened our bylaws for review for that purpose. Next week, a committee will be formed to review the suggestions, with an eye toward our tweak to our mission. After that, we will go through the approval process in accordance with the bylaws.

Both the Utah Stonewall Dems and the Progressive Caucus endorsed Michelle Rivera for First Vice Chair and Jesus Jiminez-Vivanco for Second Vice Chair. Both are people of color, and both won their races.

At the Stonewall Dems meeting, I reminded everyone that we are not running a sprint. We are running a marathon, and it may take four years or longer. We can’t use up all our indivual energy on 30 days of protests. If you need to take a physical or emotional break, take it. Take care of yourself. Hydrate, get your breath, find your ground, and then come back to the fight as necessary. People tell me they see me at every rally. I actually miss a few here and there. I’m in it for the long haul, and to do that, I sit it out when the exhaustion hits me, and come back in the next opportunity or the one after that.

After Executive Committee Candidate speeches, we broke out for house district officer elections. In my house district, I expressed why we had a vacancy for the chair seat and my intent to continue serving in that role. Temporarily handing over the meeting to the parliamentarian, I was voted in unanimously. For an organizing year, we had a better turnout than four years ago. We had eight people versus the three that showed up last time. Zach Angell was also voted in unanimously, his contender not showing, and Angel Flores was nominated and elected as the district secretary. We are starting this cycle with a full slate of officers.

We discussed one of us considering running for Jake Fitisemanu’s seat on the West Valley City Council since he was elected to the Utah Legislature, and one of us running against Scott Harmon this year for his seat. If Zach Angell is not able to do it, I will. The Utah State Party is sending me recruiting messages to either run for District 2 or Mayor. I aksed them why they thought this might be my year. They replied with a message to contact the Salt Lake County Democrats. Filing closes June 6.

We also discussed doing neighborhood voter registration, which I think is a great idea. I let the precinct chairs present know that they just had to contact the state party to get access to VAN for their precinct to know which houses had a registered voter, so they would know which ones potentially did not. I also discussed the importance of getting involved in the city’s new community committees.

One person present lived in the area, and requested to be a delegate, and I have since submitted that change for them. It's too late for them to be a state delegate, but if any vacancies occur between now and neighborhood caucus night, they will have a vote in choosing any successors.

This morning was Flower Communion Sunday, a tradition started by Norbert Capek, a former Baptist that founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia on June 4, 1923. The ritual in which everyone brings a flower and leaves with a different one signifies the diversity everyone brings, and the need to value and celebrate that diversity. The Flower Communion was introduced to the U.S. in 1940 by Norbert’s wife, Maja V. Capek. Separated from his wife during the war, it was discovered later that Norbert died in a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis.

Also today, we had a record number of people deciding to become members of our Unitarian Universalist congregation. Twenty people decided that South Valley Unitarian Universalist Association was the place for them. Our little congregation is growing, spreading its message of love and acceptance despite the authoritarian regime which daily threatens to invade and disrupt our lives. As one university professor noted regarding the recent state flag ban, “we are becoming ungovernable.”

Outside, before everyone departed, and before the new members officially signed our membership book, we celebrated May Day with children dancing around a May Pole, and a couple unified within the weave of beautiful colors. We were assured that they would be cut free, with jokes that they should be able to keep each other warm all night.

In the midst of blistered heels, hard-won victories, painful truths, and moments of joy that feel like sunlight breaking through cloud, we find what it means to endure—not just for ourselves, but for each other. From poetry shared between lovers, to the quiet laying down of knives forged in pain, to a congregation daring to grow in hostile soil, this week was a reminder: liberation is both personal and collective. We are building something lasting—thread by thread, step by step, vote by vote, breath by breath. So let the maypole ribbons remind us: we are bound not by constraint, but by purpose, resilience, and love. The fight is long, but we are still here, still rising, and still choosing to dance.