Stories to #InspireInclusion

To think about inclusion to for me means to first come to terms with what it means to be excluded. To be told your thoughts and aspirations, your concerns and fears are not valid. To be on the periphery. To be denied your history. To be silenced. I’ve been all these things. So many of us have. On this International Women’s Day, I’m grateful for those who have risked so much to #InspireInclusion through selfless acts of bravery by telling their stories and demanding that their voices, their history, their thoughts, and aspirations be heard and validated.

There are just too many to name, so instead, I’m going to share a story I heard growing up about my great-grandmother Emma. She was a French-Indian (First Nations) woman from Quebec who was known to my mom and auntie as a “blanket carrier.” She married and they eventually immigrated to Michigan via the Detroit border.

This story is all we know—it’s all anyone remembers or was willing to share. Upon crossing she was listed as white. Census records list her as white. There are no birth records. There are no marriage records. We know more about who she married than her.

As I shared this post with my cousin, she reminded me of Elizabeth Hoover and how mean people are before commenting that she liked my bravery. Neither one of us agree with the backlash and treatment Ms. Hoover has received--who grew up believing based on the stories she'd been told she was Native American. As is the case, things are always more complex than that sentence, but the reality is she meant no disrespect. She was simply trying to learn her stories, and they took another path.

Sometimes our stories aren't remembered right. Sometimes they are passed down wrong. And sometimes, well meaning people try to give meaning to a future not understanding the consequences words can have.

What I know today is my truth today. Tomorrow is still to be a memory. As for my great-grandma? She is but one ghost I think about often.

Today, I honor her untold stories toward a world where we strive to #InspireInclusion.

*note: this has been updated since original posting as my cousin and I realized wires got crossed on Grandparent names. See what I mean about stories and intentions?