By Malak Ghazal, Media and Communications Fellow
My first week returning to ADC was a lot. The Women’s March became the anti-Palestinian-Women’s March, Congress had the first hearing on the Muslim Ban, and I met with Census 2020 Organizers from around the nation.
Two weeks into the job as “Media and Communications Fellow,” I finally have had the time to set up my desk and breathe. I have a lot of that “bright eyed and bushy tailed” energy that 21 year-olds have. Naïve? Maybe. I have high expectations for myself. But also, I needed to spend some time understanding what ADC expects of me too. I needed to put all this energy into some sort of vision.
I spent a day in our office archives to draw some inspiration. Do you know how much stuff we have back there? 40 years of Civil Rights advocacy comes with 40 years of wisdom. It was like walking into a museum: I flipped through the pages of hundreds of “ADC Times” dated from the 90s; uncovered beautiful photographs of our community in action; and even found a drawer full of floppy disks and cassette tapes holding all kinds of videos and interviews. It was striking – I realized I am standing on the shoulders of giants who came before me. Where do I even start?
These magnificent stories of the past must continue to be told. On my desk, the covers of ADC Times and annual Convention booklets are hung. As are old posters, activist artwork, and published poems of Arab Youth (along with Khalil Gibran and the classics!). And a picture of my baby sister. She will write the stories of the future. As for the present, well, that’s my job now.
In the weeks to come – give me grace as I fit into my new role. But also, please leave me feedback! I want to hear from our community about what they want ADC to be. Most importantly, stay tuned on our social media pages, blogs, and (future) newsletters! We will be exploring different mediums of how to best communicate with the community.
ADC is powerful. It is a reminder that when we organize, we tell our stories, and we do the work: we can move mountains together.
I am thrilled to be here.
-MG