Hello all! Welcome to my column, Stories of Resistance. I’m Alice, and I’m a young activist and organizer in San Francisco. Since my freshman year of high school, I have immersed myself in the social justice activism realm through a leadership development program called Youth MOJO (Youth Movement of Justice Organizing). I have been to countless numbers of community events, marches, rallies, etc. and participated in campaigns regarding issues like immigration reform, affordability in San Francisco, gender & sexuality, #blacklivesmatter, and many more.
I remember attending my first march, the May Day March, which brought together the power of the working class to fight for workers’ rights. I immediately fell in love with the collective power of people standing together in solidarity to fight injustice, and since then I’ve developed an intense passion to create social change and leave an impact on the world.
Stories of Resistance will be a column that documents my journey through the social justice activism movement, and explores the stories of my fellow community members. It will explore the many ways that people resist; whether it be the standing up against oppression, nonconformity to societal standards and labels, or breaking through boundaries– resistance is boundless and powerful. Organizers, activists, individuals, and groups alike are paving a road for the future generations, and leaving their mark of resistance on the world.
The name of this column was inspired by the quote, “My existence is resistance”; a quote that resounds with so much power. Through this quote, I can hear the battle cries of the indigenous people fighting to save their homes, blacks fighting against racism and women fighting against sexism, and marginalized groups fighting for equality and justice; fighting against the systems that have oppressed them for too long. As marginalized groups, minorities, and multifaceted people, our existence is the resistance to the systems of oppression that socially, politically, and economically repress us, and tell us that our skin colors, ethnicities, classes, sexual orientations, and identities determine our self worth. We are standing together in solidarity to break free from the chains of oppression. We’re rising up, fighting back, and we’re here to stay.
These are our stories of resistance, and this is OUR movement generation.
Words and edits by Alice Kuang. Photos by Natalie Gee and Ayo Suber (Millions March).
