My first action with SURJ was canvassing a white neighborhood in North Buffalo in 2015. We went door-to-door with Black Lives Matter yard signs, asked people if they’d be willing to put them in their yards, and started conversations about racism.
As my friend bravely marched up to the stranger’s doors, I stood in the corner and shivered while my friend talked to everyone. I thought, “There’s no way I can do this.”
Nine years later, I have spent hundreds of hours canvassing with SURJ. In Buffalo, we ran campaigns to try to oust a racist, deadly sheriff and I recently drove to Pittsburgh with a crew of SURJ Buffalo members to knock doors to help deliver a win for Summer Lee.
Throughout these nine years, I have learned new skills and come to call myself an abolitionist. I came to SURJ because the rage and grief I felt over police killing young black boys was threatening to overwhelm me and I needed to do something productive to deal with those destructive feelings. When I walked into my first meeting in Buffalo, I thought, “Wow, I have never met white people in this world who care this much about ending racism. These are my people.”
Throughout these nine years, I have learned new skills and come to call myself an abolitionist. I came to SURJ because the rage and grief I felt over police killing young black boys was threatening to overwhelm me and I needed to do something productive to deal with those destructive feelings. When I walked into my first meeting in Buffalo, I thought, “Wow, I have never met white people in this world who care this much about ending racism. These are my people.”
I’m a 67 year old grandma. And I can say at this point in my life that I’m really proud of who I am. I feel really good about my place in the SURJ world and my willingness to not turn my back on how hard things are in our country.
I still feel rage and despair, but SURJ fills that hole in my life with hope.
I’m proud to be a part of this organization. I want thousands more people to find a home here, too. We’re in the final week of our Spring Fundraising Drive. Can you join me in this final week of our Spring Fundraising Drive to give a gift to SURJ to help reach other people like me?