To My Young Warriors,

As many of you may know, you will never sugarcoat, skip or patty cake your way into justice. Justice will never come on a silver platter.  Justice will never be served with triangle white bread cucumber sandwiches and a steamy cup of tea. Justice will never be found in the shadows or heard in the whispers.  Justice won’t be stirred awake when it is convenient.

Justice is loud and messy and ugly and painful. Justice shouts, and it screams. Justice shows up when it wants, how it wants and goes where it wants. Justice will inconvenience you. Justice will rearrange the life you had planned. Justice boxes you into a corner and challenges you to come out swinging.  Justice is a sacrifice. Justice is tears and heartache and going on even when everyone around you is telling you to quit. Justice in the hands of right people can move a nation.

You are part of the resistance. And it is called resistance for a reason. You are pushing back against systems that have benefited a few at the expense of the many. The same effort you are resisting is the same effort, and perhaps, even more, they will be resisting against you. You are two colliding forces pushing against one another until someone yields.

The people in positions of power have overlooked or pretended as if they have not seen the culture shift. They are so caught up in their own press and hype they do not understand that the current of the culture has changed. And for people who are so used to resting their laurels, sitting on power and privilege, the mere thought of losing that power and privilege scares them. They are fearful that for once those that believe in truth and righteousness will band together and stand up against the system. And it is that fear of disrupting the status quo that has them upset. It is not you leaving class for 17 minutes out of a school day. It is what those 17 minutes represent that has them bothered. Because if you STAND UP FOR THIS WHAT ELSE WILL YOU STAND UP FOR? And that is what puts fear in their hearts.

They will tell you that you are too young, but keep on resisting.
They will tell you change won’t happen, but keep on resisting.
They will tell your voice doesn’t matter, but keep on resisting.

Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty

You have all the power and the power is in the people standing together and saying, “Enough!”

What used to be tolerated will be tolerated no longer.

You will NOT continue to kill our Black youth with no regard or consequences.
You will NOT continue to vilify Muslim men, women, and children.
You will NOT continue to expel Black and Brown students at an alarming rate, and it is okay.
You will NOT continue to tell the American people that they cannot have healthcare.

You will NOT continue to tell us that Trump is right for the future of this nation.
You will NOT continue to tell us that there are good people on both sides when one side is nothing but racists.
You will NOT continue to strip pensions away from teachers that have worked diligently and think it is acceptable.
You will NOT continue to give us reasons why Confederate statues remain erected in states with a history of slavery.

You will NOT continue to let us send our kids to school on a bus and have them return to us in a body bag.

You will NOT continue to allow those that are sworn to serve and protect, murder innocent people and believe that it will be okay. 
You will NOT continue to gaslight your way out of the truth.
You will NOT continue to tell us that athletes cannot have an opinion on politics, race and police brutality.

You will NOT continue to tell us that is acceptable for women to be sexually harassed just to do their jobs.
You will NOT continue to tell women what we can and can’t do with our bodies.
You will NOT continue to rest in your bed of willful ignorance and hypocrisy and think we will not call you out on it.

You will NO LONGER give us the crumbs and think that we will be satisfied!  This time we are coming for the whole damn loaf of bread.

We refuse to go along just to get along.

We refuse to remain silent.

We refuse to accept the status quo.

We do not stand up against injustice when it is convenient for you. Our job is to make it inconvenient for you. Our job is to make you uncomfortable because have been far too comfortable with your bullshit for too long and that is the problem.

The tide is changing, and at this point, we realize we have nothing to lose but our chains!

With Love and Revolution,

Hannah