Spoken Word by Kimberly Ellis
A POEM by Kimberly Ellis
Lasting for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring. Perpetual, eternal, persisting - at all seasons of the year. Everlasting.
Color me Perennial.
As the 5th largest economy in the world, here in the Golden State, we don’t follow trends, we set the trends.
And if ever there was a time for women to disrupt the status quo and reinvent the future in a more fair, equitable and just way, that time is now.
Because we live in a time where she remembers clearly - them standing over her, hands over her mouth, laughing…
The time of “I can’t breathe, hands up, don’t shoot.”
A time when inequality is a matter of life or death.
But finally, at long last, the world is ready. Ready for feminine leadership.
A new generation of women leaders, we are emboldened, educated and woke AF. Our world is ready for you. Ready (or not) for me.
Cleopatra, Isis, Nefertiti, Athena, Manat, Hatshepsut. Diana. It’s time to dig deep and remember who we are and where we came from.
The givers and protectors of life, birthing everything from ideas to civilizations, we were rulers, warriors, queens and Goddesses.
Let us not forget that power is never given. It is always taken. And it is time for women to wake up, speak up, rise-up, take back our power and lead.
No time to be angry and discouraged, because - well, we’ve been here before.
Wanna know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it tastes like to be knocked down, slapped down, beat down again and again and again and nevertheless to persist? You’re looking it. Lemme assure you, we gon be alright.
It’s time to get off the sidelines, flex your activist muscles and report to the battlefield. We all have a role to play - and being here today proves you’re ready.
Ready for what? The What. That’s what.
It’s game time, ladies. Time to rally for truth and love. ❤️
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Kimberly Ellis is a nationally recognized Progressive leader who has been credited with revolutionizing Democratic politics in California. Kimberly is frequently interviewed and quoted by leading political media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post and Associated Press. A captivating orator, most recently, Kimberly was a candidate for Chair of the California Democratic Party, where she inspired hundreds of thousands and lit the spark of an ongoing movement for the next generation of Progressive activists. Kimberly is the former Executive Director of Emerge America.