Dear South Central LAMP community,
I want to begin this month’s letter by thanking everyone who has reached out to support those we serve. Your love and encouragement mean so much, and I am deeply grateful. These past months have been difficult for our community—as they have been for many others. Personally, I have felt this both as a Latina, the daughter of immigrants, and as a citizen. Witnessing this administration and its allies strip away civil liberties and attempt to silence critics has been both infuriating and eye-opening.
It’s clear to me that the only way forward is through.
Recently, I heard a phrase that resonated deeply: change requires not one grand act of courage, but a thousand small ones. This is true for us as individuals and as a society, because we are all connected. Each time we challenge our own assumptions or confront uncomfortable truths, we choose courage. And these choices are not only acts of courage, but they are also acts of faith: faith that there is a better way to coexist on this earth, with each other and with the environment that sustains us.
In recent months, we’ve seen far too much violence, aggression and injustice. Yet we’ve also witnessed countless acts of kindness, sacrifice, courage and unity. I have seen what people united for good can do. While we are living through an extremely tumultuous time in history, I believe all that is happening is shaping our future by truth, not illusion. We cannot build a solid foundation on lies. This is an opportunity for us, as a society, to live our values and ensure that we do better for everyone, not just ourselves.
As James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
And now, I ask you… what is an act of courage you have witnessed? Please share with us, so we can all start seeing all the acts of courage taking place every day in our country.
Diana Z. Pinto
Executive Director