By Shermeeka Mason
After a year of stepping back to do some much needed self-care, the desire to participate in local activism finally came back.
Since the month of April, I thought about many ways I could rejoin the Land of Radical Politics without burning myself out as I had done years prior. I once volunteered my time for an organization that helps victims of illegal foreclosure remain in their homes. I provided time and services for the group in 2011 and thought it’d be easy to slide back into resuming my duties. But after one meeting (and the drama that followed with my romantic involvement with one of the members), I chose to remove myself from the group as I realized my heart wasn’t in it.
I continued to watch from the sidelines, posting political content on Facebook as an online activist. Due to untreated mental health and neurodivergent issues, however, I grew accustomed to hiding in the room I was renting at the time, living my political life through a computer screen. Though I enjoyed sharing information on my page, I still felt as if I weren’t doing enough. Granted, I had my radio show every week and my co-hosts and I always discussed political content. But I knew that it was only a matter of time before I had to venture beyond that platform.
I was unknowingly given the opportunity to do just that when I relocated to my Buddhist uncle Phill’s apartment. Thanks to my newly prescribed medication, I was better enough to to build a stable life and get involved in local politics. A week after getting settled, I heard about the Black Lives Matter rally taking place at the Liberty Pole here in Rochester. On July 9, I walked in the burning hot sun to the downtown area where the event took place. I remember feeling exuberance and power as I marched with the other activists, my voice booming and exciting the crowd that repeated chants after me. But I also recall the large presence of riot police who sat in their squad cars, suited up and prepared, meeting us protesters at one part of our designated route, batons in hand. Then there were the videos posted on Facebook of cops pushing and shoving protesters, arresting seventy-four of them by the end of the night.
The combination of videos, the personal experiences friends posted on social media, and my own eye witness accounts of what occurred at the protest was the reason I recognized that the activists were being lied on by the Rochester Police Chief and the mayor. But it was the local, national, and independent media that angered me the most. The information reported about the Black Lives Matter rallies and Black Lives Matter in general was completely inaccurate, oppressive, and in some cases, derogatory. And I only knew this because I knew what happened.
And because I knew, there was no way I was going to let the public be misled by erroneous information about anything involving Black people. So I wanted to do something—I just didn’t know what. So I sat in front of my gohonzen and chanted for an answer, both in the morning and evening for two days. The answer finally came in the form of a Huffington Post article featuring trans author and fellow Nichiren Buddhist Venus Selenite. Regarding her intentions behind her new book trigger, she stated “I’ve already completed one of my goals which was to be a trans woman of color creating a volume of poetry and I’ve chanted and prayed on what this work will do in the world.”
After reading those words, I decided to use my skills as an author to be of service to the Rochester radical community.
From that moment on, I chanted to not only be granted the opportunity to write reports for local independent media outlets, but to use my novels and blogs I already have to speak the truth regarding politics, how it affects Black people, and how the entire human race can evolve politically and personally. Morning and evening, I chant nam-myoho-renge-kyo for a full hour with the intent of using writing propagate accurate information and to do so creatively.
And I am now beginning to see benefits. For those who don’t know, I am an independent author of a political science-fiction novel (the first of a three-part series) that highlights issues like capitalism, trafficking, and slavery. I not only receive positive reviews from friends, but from two fellow authors who recognized the political content of the novel—which is what I hoped for. On Friday, July 22, I attended an event organized by a local Black activist organization that highlighted the mistreatment of protesters at the rally. I heard from one of the members that the group had a newsletter and the person publishing it needed help. So I was introduced to the publisher, gave him a brief synopsis of my writing experience, and expressed my intention to contribute to the newsletter. He, in turn, was grateful that someone wanted to collaborate with him and said I’m more than welcome to share ideas. So I will not only be a member of this organization, but will be writing for the newsletter!
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda writes “The powerful may appear great, but in reality they are not. Greatest of all are the ordinary people. If those in power lead lives of idle luxury it is because the people are silent. We have to speak out. With impassioned words, we need to resolutely attack abuses of power that cause people suffering. This is fighting on the side of justice. It is wrong to remain silent when confronted with injustice. Doing so in tantamount to supporting and condoning evil” (For Today and Tomorrow: Daily Encouragement, pg. 216).
I’ve always felt that politically-conscious artists have an obligation to use their craft to speak candidly about the injustices inflicted upon ordinary people and to do so responsibly. For me, writing is another way to use a mode of communication I love to propagate information about our community, but doing so with the intent of connecting with the outside world. I wouldn’t have had the wisdom and courage to act were it not for my practice.
The Chuck Taylor Buddhist 