Dr. Erlange Elisme

Spring has arrived in Georgia, and with it comes a familiar invitation: to pause, to notice what is growing, and to tend what needs attention. April carries a particular energy. The blossoms are no longer a promise. They are here. The ground is warm enough to receive whatever we choose to plant. As we carry forward the spirit of Women’s History Month and the strength of the women who anchor our families, workplaces, and community spaces, this season offers a framework for something deeper than

Every February, we speak the name Martin Luther King Jr. We know his dream. We can recite the speech. But there is something we do not always understand: the ground beneath our feet in America was broken open by people we do not always remember. And when we forget them, we forget ourselves. We forget the truth of how we came to be here.

As we stand at the threshold of a new year, many of us in the diaspora carry the weight of what broke us in the last one. 2025 has been particularly brutal. Political leaders have belittled us, reducing our stories to lies and our humanity to talking points. Families face deportation after decades of building lives here. Businesses that took years to establish now struggle as customers stay away, afraid to be associated with us. The professional credibility we worked so hard to earn feels fragil