Honoring Our Past, Fighting for Our Future: My Time with Congressman Al Green (TX)

This weekend, I had the honor to attend Congressman Al Green’s 4th Annual Slavery Remembrance Day Breakfast and Legislative Update with the NAACP Houston Chapter, and it was so much more than an event. It was a reunion of spirit, a remembrance of the past, and a call to action for our future.

We began the morning standing tall as we recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” That moment alone had so much significance, pledging our allegiance to a country that has not always treated us with love, and then lifting our voices in a song penned for our perseverance, resilience, and hope for our tomorrow. That moment set the tone for a morning of both reflection and resolve.

The program continued with encouragement from our churches and reminded us that faith has always played an important role during liberation. Bishop James Dixon, Pastor of The Community of Faith Church and President of the NAACP Houston Branch, delivered a fiery word that stirred our souls and shook our consciousness about strength and unity. Judson Robinson III, President of the Houston Area Urban League, ended by introducing a call to equity and opportunity while encouraging us to realize our collective power and responsibility.

Then came a powerful and unexpected moment. Representative Ron Reynolds recently grabbed headlines as one of the Texas Democrats who traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to break quorum and put a stop to the gerrymandering of the historically Black congressional districts. Upon his return to Houston, he came to meet with Congressman Al Green. The meet and greet was not simply ceremonial, but meaningful in a crucial way; solidarity and sacrifice. He reminded us that leadership sometimes requires putting everything on the line to protect the essence of democracy. Then Congressman Al Green closed the morning with important remarks; the fight for our right to vote is not over. He emphasized, Black and Brown votes matter, not as a hashtag, but as a lived truth that can and will change Texas and this country. His remarks resonated even stronger as Texas heads for more gerrymandering in 2025 that will have targeted historic Black and Brown districts. The slick campaign to destroy our previously drawn congressional maps represents an actual, targeted plan to mute our communities and take away fair representation. This is why the Black and Brown vote is so critical right now. Our ballots are our resistance, our power, and our claim to justice.

The day then segued into the Black Voters Matter Press Conference, which amplified the same important message that our votes are our power, and our power cannot be erased. It was the perfect crescendo to a day that began with remembrance and ended with activism.

I write this because too often, our stories, our truths, and the lived experiences of those on the frontline are censored from the media. But what I witnessed cannot be explained any other way. A coalition of clergy, civil rights advocates, and community voices declaring that we will not be muted, we will not be erased, and we will continue battling for a just democracy.

And just want to say - to my fellow Texas Democrats, I thank and encourage you - you are the harbingers of change for Texas Black voters; you carry our ancestors' work, struggle, resilience, and vision. And I believe our ancestors would be proud that we remember slavery, not as a defeat, but as fuel to rise, resist, and take back our democracy at the ballot box.

This was more than breakfast. This was a declaration - we will fight, we will vote, we will win.

With love,

- your Sistah in the System

Congressman Al Green with church and community leaders standing behind him in solidarity.

Ms. Joy Davis, Pure Justice, and I at the breakfast.

Congressman Al Green holding a Black Voters Matter poster at Black Voters Matter Press Conference.

Congressman Al Green giving his legislative update.