We have had a long history of demonstrations in this country going all the way back to the Boston tea party, through the suffragettes, to the civil rights movement, arriving in the modern era.

Many may argue that the modern era of protests started in 2016. But I say, it started in Ferguson and the #blacklivesmatter movement.

People of color have always been the canary in the coal mine so to speak when it comes to the lack of Liberty and justice this country aspires to be.

I am sad to admit, even though I was paying attention, I wasn’t listening hard enough and like a lot of Americans woke up in November 2016.

That week I attended my first protest. Organized by black Lehigh students, it’s where I felt I needed to be.

Days later I held my own rally modeled after theirs - silent. I had never done anything like that before. 150+ people came including city officials and people from all walks of life. We wept and hugged together.

From that grew my organization FIERCE. It quickly jumped from a few friends to thousands of members. We started to do kindness and charity projects because the world seemed terrible all of a sudden. We raised thousands of dollars for anti-bullying groups, at risk youth and more.

Members hosted a women’s march locally, while I attended in Washington DC. My husband attended with me. More than a million people came that day. It was the largest demonstration in our nations history. I will never forget it.

Since then I’ve attended countless rallies and too many vigils, including @MarchForScience in DC in the rain

Marching for her life, and ours @AMarch4OurLives with the Parkland students

Standing against racism and hate in the wake of Charlottesville

Participating in reading names of children of gun violence in a day of rememberence in Allentown.

Standing to bear witness to family detention at the Berks Detention Center, long before family separation became a sad national headline.

I even organized some more actions of my own when needed, like a gathering to make space for the #metoo movement. People who I had known for years bared their souls in ways I can’t fully describe, and it was a beautiful and powerful day.

I’ve shed tears at vigils for Tree of Life Synagogue, and Charlottesville, and Parkland, and El Paso and too many more.

This gathering in community has become a grotesque regularity, to the point where a month rarely goes by I don’t find myself at another rally, or protest, or vigil.

A few months ago when we were getting ready for another rally, my daughter asked “What are we marching for today, Mommy?”

America 2019.

But it has netted some positives including all my new friends along the way. My daughters favorite place is now the Muslim Center.

We celebrate holy days and holidays together including this fun time at the JCC.

And this Mother’s Day spent at a PowWow which I had the honor of being welcomed into the circle.

I’ve doubled my efforts to learn history - ALL of it - not the whitewashed version I used to know. And that’s brought us to Seneca Falls, to DC, to New Orlean. As an eager student, I’ve taken it all in.

And I have done the hard work of Democratic organizing. Registering people to vote, knocking doors, making phone calls. I even ran as my Precinct Captain and won. My husband bought me a cake for the occasion.

And we got results. We flipped my county back to blue immediately the year after Trump. In 2018, we elected the first woman ever to Congress to represent my region. @wildforcongress has become a wonderful friend and strong advocate. We are so lucky to have her.

So as I reflect on the last few years and look toward 2020, I want to emphasize what a journey it has been for me personally, and how though I wish things had gone differently in this country, in many ways, I feel like we are moving forward.

I see it in the record setting attendance of Pride events. I see it in the addition of a Muslim prayer room at a Catholic University. I see it in the unapologetic presentation of Japanese American internment at the WW2 museum. And the John Lewis exhibit at the Newseum.

And though by all measure, racists, xenophobes, sexists etc. are emboldened in this era, I finally see some negative consequences for their actions. Not enough, and not with consistency, but it’s a start.

All of these things add up to societal change. Barrier breaking, norm setting change. The kind of change that can bring safety and freedom to all of us, not just some of us.

I feel like we are nearing the top of this high mountain. If we play things right we can get there in 2020, and slide down to start climbing a new one. The one where we make society better for all Americans.

And yes, I know this is Pollyanna of me, but that has always been America and the promise of America. America isn’t just a country, but an ideal we strive to live up to.

And she’s never been perfect, and she probably never will be, but I’m going to do my damndest to try.