As the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk was reaching
its final stages, I began this exploration, this deep journey into the “why” of
this time and place where I found myself actually walking across the world for
peace with fellow walkers including my mother.
After three years of walking, we were in the last five months of our
world peace walk.
I awakened that particular morning to the sounds of
vendors passing through the alley chanting their presence and their products;
and children laughing - little ones crying - as they headed to school. The
aroma from the corner bakery had been taunting me since 4:00 a.m. (I was 8 days
into a 21 day fast). The sun showering the room with light was announcing the beginning
of a new day and I was filled with awe. The walk often had that effect on me –
waking up to the different countries, cultures, environments, colors and
languages, as well as causes and struggles.
A wave of gentle, peaceful and tearful
acknowledgement of all the places and people we had met along this journey and
those Trail Angels who continued to love and support us came to me. The Grace
that had been granted to us as we traveled by faith from our very first (take a
deep breath) step in Atlanta, GA, to our current location in Marrakesh, Morocco
filled me with wonder.
Sitting here today (six years after
the completion of the walk in 2009) contemplating my “current place,” like
Langston Hughes, I too, “Wonder
as I Wander.” I also deeply
consider the significance of this world walk…as a woman, of African and Native
American ancestry, born just in time to be profoundly impacted by the Civil
Rights movement – the walks, marches and
spirit of the people standing together for change – not the possibility of
change but change “itself.” I was inspired by the role of my family inthe
marches and sit ins in Fayetteville, NC, long before it was “popular”
to be identified with the movement.
Early Inspiration
I was a young child when the world
(not just America) was ALIVE with causes and struggles for justice and equality,
when walking and marching were the foundation for creative resistance. My
elders and peers were wrapped up in a mighty cause to put an end to oppression
and segregation - ridding America once and for all of the laws upholding the
practice of “separate but
equal”. I was inspired by
the sit-ins, marches and amazing acts of courage to withstand oppression by
Black folk from coast to coast. This demonstration of creative resistance
influenced many.
Women
were burning their bras and demanding equality. The American Indian Movement
was birthed and put new energy into standing up and demanding
self-determination among Native Americans and international recognition of
their treaty rights. Kwame Nkrumah was leading African countries into
independence as Ghana’s first elected Prime Minister (1951), over thirty other African countries
would soon follow. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned (1962). The Caribbean, Asia
and India were all standing up to colonial governments and demanding their independence.
Poetry and music rang out with We Shall Over Come, Give Peace A Chance, What’s
Going On, Say it Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud, Inner City Blues, All We are
Saying… amid shouts of I Have A Dream, Black Power, Red Power,
Participatory Democracy, Women’s Power, Chicano Power … This period (1950’s - 1970’s) was spontaneous,
emotional, passionate, ALIVE! Change was in the air.
As a child whose parents met the call for action
head on, perhaps my destiny, unbeknownst to me, was already being shaped,
molded and set for the day when “a
dream” would send me on a
walk for peace around the world, a walk to engage, assess, and be reborn into
the truth that comes from a journey to places and people often confined to
pages in a book.
I became the dreamer who stands in the midst of the dream, intoxicated by its
possibilities, and seizes the moment to set a course for years to come. Harriet Tubman, a conductor of the Underground
Railroad, walked the trails from north to south, connecting with those who
would journey to freedom under her leadership, dreamed the dream that reached
through time and pulled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. forward. He, among many
others, affected great change by marching and organizing throughout the south;
and he had the Dream that pulled me forward to stand on this world stage and
declare that we can change the world one step at a time. Dr. King made it
emphatically clear that, “injustice
anywhere is injustice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of
mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one, directly
affects all indirectly”.
Giving Witness
I give witness to this as I walk. This legacy of
walking for change is as ancient as the human presence on the earth. I
recognize in my entire being that with each step I am connected to something
ancient and powerful. Walking the planet puts me at ground zero where I see people
and places and experience life with them. I am not the observer but rather a
participant in humanity’s never ending struggle to be loved, safe, free. Simple
truths we called them as we walked in and out of countries and communities.
From this experience I can say only through determination, hard work and
embracing the gift of diversity of humanity can we begin to end, once and for
all, colonialism, systemic racism, sexism, oppression, violence, starvation,
imprisonment, poverty, warehousing of human beings, war…”
Harriet Tubman once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always
remember, you have the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the
stars to change the world.” Her
words echo in my head often. In fact, on the walk I carried a walking stick that
was given to me on my first walk in 2000, the Trail of Dreams Ancestral
Journey. On it my dear friend, Jason
carved out the face of Harriet Tubman, intentional or not, I do not know. When
I pulled that walking stick, now known around the world as Mama Harriet, out of
the postal wrapping, my hands began to tremble. There was a transference of energy
beyond my understanding. In that moment, I knew my life was changed-- forever.
Had I known the fullness of what was to come maybe I would have run the other
way — fast! Why? Because,
the dream once embraced demands one’s soul. And calls out for us, as W.E.B. Du
Bois said, “…to be ready at any moment to give up what you are, for what you
might become. ...”
It is Grace that has the pieces of a dream given out
bit by bit, in digestible doses, which at first appear to be random
disconnected acts. It is only in hindsight that the callings become puzzle
pieces that fit together to reveal a greater truth. This is when I learned a
valuable lesson as a peace walker. To start a walk is easy -- to carry that
walk to its end is the real work. It is the dreamer’s torment. It is the
dreamer’s victory – the ultimate test of endurance for a cause.
Following a Dreamer’s Path
Following
a dreamer’s path bears a hefty toll. Harriet Tubman had a way of saying, “Lord, I'm going to hold steady on to You and You've
got to see me through.”
I have found on this
journey that there are times when all I have to hold on to is the dream,
because I cannot see the way, nothing is indicating to me what I should do, nor
how. I have come to know
that at the core of a dreamer’s path is FAITH -- faith in the dreamers vision,
passion, cause -- and it has to be strong enough to lead you through the FEAR,
all of the “false evidence
appearing real” that
will engulf the dreamer at any moment and often by those persons and situations
least expected. “Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to
service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” Mary
McLeod Bethune.
As a dreamer walking a dreamer’s
path, I want to say: “Be mindful of where you place your feet --
with each step you are lighting a path for others to follow.” In an
article, “Following a Dreamer’s Path”, I wrote, “No apologies, no what ifs, -- embrace the good in
your choices and learn from the challenges. Victory is in a life well lived.
Defeat is the enduring death that comes from the living that died too soon to
their dreams and passions. And
when misunderstood, condemned, laughed at, belittled, remember the words of
Frederick Douglass, “I
prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of
others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
On
that early morning in Marrakesh, with vendors calling out through the alley,
the tantalizing aroma of fresh baked bread, and children’s voices, I held fast
to the dream of the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk. Born in 1955, I am the “living” Dream
of all my ancestors, which means I am also the means to the fulfillment of
their dreams. So I, Wondered
as I Wandered, this great planet, swaying to sounds of music (hand drums and clap sticks, a symphony, the blues,
bee-bop, hip hop and salsa); vibrating to the rhythms of sacred
drums, chants, and prayers. I walked silently in a mindfulness meditative
space. Rightfoot down, breath in. Left foot down, breath out. How many dreams
brought me here?
Making Change
Here I am now in 2015, six years
after the three and a half year walk around the world, face to face with
landmark events that are forcing us all to look at racism, poverty and
injustice in America and the world.
The Occupy Movements; the June 27,
2013, U. S. Supreme Court decision striking down a key portion of the landmark
Voting Rights Act of 1965; and July 13, 2013,
the not guilty verdict of George
Zimmerman in the murder of Trayvon Martin; and a stream of victims of violence
at the hands of police officers – Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric
Garner in New York; Walter Scott in South Carolina; Freddie Gray in Baltimore,
Maryland; and on and on; to include the deadly silence of humanity as nearly 5
million people are enslaved in a 32 billion dollar a year, human/sex trafficking
industry today; and the sheer numbers of people of color caught up in mass
incarceration rivals any other country in the world.
In the midst of these events, was the
historic 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday March (the Selma to Montgomery March)
where nearly 40,000 people walked across the Edmund Pettis Bridge, demonstrating
their “knowing” that this is a time for change and conscious evolution of our society.
The feeling of walking
together with 40,000 walkers lifted me above the struggles -long enough - to
see the end result of all we work and walk for – the evolution of our
consciousness to usher in a world transformed by love and guided by truth to
truly be the “beloved community.”
I know in my heart that each generation has its
calling. I often ask myself, “What is the power shaping our society today? Is
it ingrained structures that sustain, racism, sexism, greed and power? If it
is, whose responsibility is it to shift the power structures to make this
country as it should be – indivisible, with liberty and justice for all?” I
hear the echoes of my ancestors who changed the world by coming together to
walk for freedom. They are whispering the answer, “All of you - together. You
are the POWER!” As Amelia Boynton Robinson, 103 years wise (one of the original
organizers of the Selma to Montgomery March), still standing up for justice,
says to me often, “Get off our shoulders and walk your walk, march your march.”
If our
experiences are to help us transcend this current state, then we must be
willing to engage in dialogue and nonviolent direct action to affect a systemic
shift that replaces racism with truth, justice and equality -- once and for
all. We can empower each other by walking for peace, walking for change, walking
for a greater love - together. Walking
as creative resistance has power rooted in dignity; in truth; rooted in the
best of who we are and who we can become. Walking exudes power because to walk for change,
one must be the change. Walking tramples fear because together we are fearless.
Walking opens our eyes and the eyes of the world because we are our communities
and walking draws out the good and the bad for the world to see. Once seen, our
humanity rises up and change happens. Drawing on the legacy of all of those who
have “walked” before us, let us do our part to advance the evolution of our society
and humanity -- If not us - who? If not now – when?
This
morning sitting at my desk in southern Alabama, I feel the presence of the
leaders and participants of so many walks and marches from the past. I feel
them in me -- all the precious souls who walked, marched, bled and died, and
those who lived to tell their stories. They strove to shift the consciousness
of humanity toward the higher ground of justice and equality; of Agape Love; of
enduring change to realize the beloved community here and now.
I hear their whispers (The Great
Peace Maker, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela,
Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer, Harriet Tubman, Peace Pilgrim,
Jigme Norbu…), “When everything seems
hopeless, and anger and despair begin to set in, take to the streets. Find
someone who cares and walk together, speak your truth and ground it all in love
and a great senses of purpose. You must know the outcome you wish to achieve. Walk with dignity and discipline.
With each step, more will join, the answers will come, and a way will be made.”
As I bring this writing to a close, I confirm
in me the clarion call of my life, echoed in the words of Nelson Mandela, in a
speech he delivered at the opening of the South African parliament in Cape Town
on May 25, 1994, "Our
single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order
in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the
individual. We must construct that people-centered society of freedom in such a
manner that it guarantees the political liberties and the human rights of all
our citizens."
The
Walk Continues….
Audri Scott Williams is a spiritual
leader and peace builder, convener of the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk. She
is a Global Council trustee with URI, a worldwide interfaith organization
dedicated to building bridges of peace, justice and healing among people of
diverse religions, special expressions and Indigenous traditions. As co-convener of the Global Indigenous Imitative,
a program of URI, Audri created a sacred space for an historic gathering of Indigenous
wisdom keepers from diverse Indigenous communities from all over the world.
Wk. 44 is another 4" x 3" book made from an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper with a split fold. it's actually a small music catalog book of song titles recommended by students who had to write a compare/contrast paper on socially conscious music of the 60s and the first decade of the 21st century. that was fun.
