Take My Place
Deepening the commitment of European American Anti-Racists.
Quotes from Ruby Sales and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II are incorporated within words by Sarah Pirtle, melody by Sarah Pirtle © 2021, Discovery Center Music, BMI
Lyrics
1. A larger heart carries us still.
See where we’re going.
A larger heart carries us still.
See where we’re bound.
A larger heart carries us still.
Each soul makes that heartbeat real.
See where we’re going.
My heart carries this dream.
2. Where’s the breath of the people who should never have died?
See where we’re going.
Where’s the breath of the people who should never have died?
See where we’re bound.
Where’s the breath of the people who should never have died?
I honor their breath and it’s deep inside.
See where we’re going.
My heart carries this dream.
3. The place of justice is trying to breathe.
See where we’re going.
The place of justice is trying to breathe.
See where we’re bound.
The place of justice is trying to breathe.
We’re in the struggle and we won’t leave.
See where we’re going.
My heart carries this dream.
4. I plant my feet in a justice space.
See where we’re going.
I claim the hope no one can erase.
See where we’re bound.
I plant my feet in a justice space,
Step on the journey and take my place.
See where we’re going.
My heart carries this dream.
5. A justice journey is what I’m choosing.
See where we’re going.
A justice journey is what I’m choosing.
See where we’re bound.
A justice journey is what I’m choosing.
I take my place and I’m gonna keep moving.
See where we’re going.
My heart carries this dream.
About This Song
“I plant my feet in a justice space.” That’s the vision Ruby Sales described at her workshop at Rowe Conference Center in Rowe MA.
As Nikole Hannah-Jones summarized, “Systemic racism is rooted inside the soul and psyche of our country and culture.” Oprah Winfrey hosted a panel of Black leaders right after the death of George Floyd in a two-part series called, “Where Do We Go from Here?” During that program, Rev. Dr. William Barber said to Oprah, “George was already being suffocated in this country. The last breath that came out of George Floyd comes into us.... The establishment of justice is trying to breathe.”
When the Resistance Center of Northampton, MA held programs on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day 2021, I led a workshop called, “Commitment Deepening: Conversation for European Americans about Changing White Male Supremacy Culture.” We created a learning space making common cause towards accountability. “No one should stand in this struggle alone.”
“There is something about a movement spirit where you transcend fear and you become part of something larger than fear,” Ruby Sales said. She gives European American a vision that each day we can think of ourselves as taking another step in our commitment to racial justice.