Sara Haile-Mariam

Just responded to the Daily Beast piece by Benjamin Sarlin in my latest Global Grind Piece.

“Jackson was the King of Pop, and while his life was comprised of trials and turmoil, his legacy is in his music, and it is there where we saw an awareness that went beyond his celebrity and instead focused on people, on the condition of humanity. While we grieve and reflect on his life, we must remember that we continue. With each day that passes, we might insist that the best way to pay tribute to our fallen icon is by living out his declaration that it us who must heal the world.”

Read the rest here.

Another piece on Global Grind on how the situation in Iran speaks to the importance and power of one voice.

Speaking of which, checkout this WAPO piece on exactly that, how Americans are using technology to impact events over there. One of the individuals profiled, Chas Danner, is a good friend. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been blown away by how his actions (on his computer in Brooklyn) could have such a profound effect on so many.

My thoughts and prayers are with this blogger, and everyone else, who protests tomorrow.

“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…”

(h/t) Andrew Sullivan