By Sydney Freeman

n the words of singer Aliah Sheffield, “the Earth is Ghetto,” especially the United States. I, like many of you, was depressed and devastated by the presidential election results. In the short time after the election, I was faced with the question of what do I do now as a thought leader, activist, and black educator? Several ideas began ruminating in my mind that I would like to share with you. These thoughts were honed during my recent time serving as a United Nations Fellow within their Human Rights program for People of African Descent.

During my tenure, I focused on advocating for reparations for black Americans and capacity and infrastructure building for black-led activist organizations. The three lessons I learned, that I hope will assist you in developing your own black power toolkit to thrive and flourish, are: 1) Impact will need to derive from the bottom up; 2) You must have stamina; and 3) Your story and gifts can have local and global impact.

In this moment we may be tempted to just try and figure out how to survive the next four years. But I want to encourage you to have a mindset of flourishing and thriving. When I say flourishing I mean creating and facilitating an environment for you and other black people to be successful. And when I say thriving, I’m saying that you are living a fulfilled life. I believe that trusting in God and utilizing these concepts will be important mechanisms to help you achieve such goals.

When I arrived at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, I thought that such a large international agency had unmatched influence on countries around the globe. While in many ways they do, I quickly learned that such power had its limitations. The United Nations was looking for regular citizens like you and me to partner with them to help advance the civil and human rights of black people around the globe. The UN personnel made it clear that they were there to amplify and bring attention to the work we as fellows were doing. But ultimately it was our job to fight on the ground on behalf of our people within our respective countries.

The lesson I took away from that experience, and what I hope you take away from this story, is that often we are looking to large institutions like the Black Church, mosque, and legacy civil rights organizations to be the catalyst for change. But as former U.S. President Barack Obama once said in a speech, “We are the change we seek.” It is our job to hold our government and our institutions accountable, ensuring they’re doing what’s best for the community.

The work is hard and often you will feel like you have taken three steps forward but are quickly shoved two steps backward. Pacing your advocacy work is mandatory. It’s easy to burn out when you are advocating for what’s right, especially with the myriad of daily responsibilities we each have.

Partnering with like-minded, committed people is also an essential object in your toolkit. Of particular note, it is important to make sure that you mentor younger folks and give them opportunities to lead with you so there is multi-generational transfer of knowledge.

It is also important to maximize moments when the climate is receptive to change. I have worked with so many people who did not want to compromise their comfortability when things seemed relatively safe. However, it is my experience that you must maximize such moments.

Lastly, I think such a toolkit enables you to embrace your unique story and heritage. I believe one of the reasons I was selected for the fellowship was because of my experiences living across multiple regions of the country, particularly in rural areas. The world needs to hear your story no matter if you come from a large city, suburb, or rural area. The world needs to know that black people come from various spaces and have differing needs and aspirations. I am a witness that you can make history while making a difference. You are part of a global story. Don’t limit yourself by artificial national boundaries.

Know that you can thrive and flourish in the days ahead. Building the right black power toolkit can be a wonderful way to achieve those goals. Understanding that you can make an impact where you are, building stamina for the fight ahead, and embracing and sharing your story and gifts provide a great foundation for the road ahead.

Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr. is a Full Professor & Executive Director/Chief Research Scientist of both Black History Research Lab and Black Research Institute for Flourishing and Thriving at the University of Idaho. He also is the founder and director of the Liberation Movement, Inc. and is 2024 Fellow of the United Nations.