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“I thought it was time someone spoke to you, about you. And here is what I want to say: I acknowledge your existence. I acknowledge your pain. I acknowledge your bitterness. Being ignored is one of the greatest wounds a human being can receive. And you were ignored for so many years. I cannot even imagine what that must do to the human psyche. How it destroyed your souls and the souls of your mothers. I acknowledge your existence today, and I celebrate it. You are my siblings, and I am your sister. This is your family, and you are welcome here any time, no matter what. I cannot pretend that I know how you must feel, but I have been through a lot of pain myself. It’s no fun.”
Someone in the audience laughs, and others follow.
“But I’ll say that all the pain was worth it, if it brought me to you. To my family. You have said so many times that things need to change, and I whole-heartedly agree. If you’ll have me, I want to be part of you and for you to be part of me. Part of my life and my work. I don’t know what that work will be yet, but I know what it will be towards: change. Nothing is needed more at this point than change, this much is obvious. So, to all my siblings, whoever they are: You are welcome here. You are welcome in my life. Power corrupts, but it’s not power that’s the problem. It’s not the lies. Lies do not exist without people to tell them. I acknowledge the lies of my father and the harm they have done. I refuse to be part of them, even by omission. I refuse to contribute to them, even by staying silent. I want to say, standing here today, that I acknowledge my half-siblings and that I am one of them. I am more half than they are: I am zero. But maybe together, all these broken pieces of a broken word, can create something good. And I invite you, my siblings, whoever you are, to be a part of it. It will be my honor, and even though I have known privilege my whole life, this is the first time that I understand, fully, the meaning of the word, when I say: It will be my privilege to be your sister. Thank you.”
I wanted to say a few closing words in the end, about how proud I am to be an Asterian and things like that, but I’m not allowed.
Such a roar of applause starts from the crowd, the sound reaching me in waves that gather power as it keeps going, that my voice is drowned in them. The guards turn around and struggle to contain the people who are bursting at the seams of their tight line, reaching their arms out to me, rushing to be allowed to run to me. To embrace me, I hope. They are all smiling and clapping.
This is not an angry mob.
This is a happy crowd. I know the difference by now.
“Thank you,” I scream into the microphone. “Thank you.” I doubt anyone hears, but I blow a kiss, which is such an unroyal thing to do, but people are laughing and screaming that they love me, so I don’t care. All of this was an unroyal thing to do anyway.
I step down amid deafening applause.
Every single hand is raised with a phone in it, filming my every word. Nothing was rehearsed or written down. My hair is my natural afro, my clothes simple.
I said what I’ve wanted to say for so long, and I said it as myself.
Now,thatwas power.
Let the chips fall where they may.
...
I take one last look at the crowd over my shoulder before getting into my car, my eyes running idly over the faceless faces. And then I stop short.
And the bottom of the world falls out from under me.
/Hector/
{transcript of a phone conversation}
“Hector?”
“Yeah?”
“Holy cow, did you see that on the news? Did you see her? How did she—What the hell did she—Did you see her?”
“I saw.”
“Wait—are you ok? Are you crying, Hector?”
“I am.”
“What a loser.”
“Yeah, right, I’m the loser, because I’m so proud of my sister for having the literal guts to do this right now that I’m crying. And I’m not even ashamed of it.”
“Ok, fine. I just called to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“After watching that, after listening to her, I think… I think I found it. Remember, Hector, when you said that I might find it one day? The thing that’s more important than my fear.”
“And what is that?”
