Bernadette Merikle

Image courtesy of Sunny Martini

Racial Justice work is pleasure work. Black joy motivates me, especially that which originates from opportunities to be our fully liberated selves. I do social justice work rooted in racial justice because I am descended of the middle passage and I remember who we were before they stole us. I am an artist, a scientist, an archivist. I cannot stand by while they distort our origins to keep us captive in lived nightmares that don’t serve our magnificent futures. I do this work because I love Black people more than I hate the white supremacist systems that oppress us.

Bernadette Merikle is the Executive Director for the Community Center for Education Results.