Consenting to Lead

Oct 17

Oct 17 Creating a Land of Peace in the Here and Now

Nichiren Daishonin, a 13th-Century Buddhist monk in Japan, said, "There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil in our minds."

Sep 11

Sep 11 #NeverForget is more than just a hashtag

Lucia Brawley

Couldn't figure out why I felt so sad this morning. Then I remembered what day it is.

I will never forget turning the corner to the street where I grew up and seeing the twisted heap of burning rubble where I had been riding my bike just a few days earlier…

Jul 4

Jul 4 What does July 4 mean in 2019?

Lucia Brawley

Dec 20

Dec 20 CNN Just Named Lucia Brawley's Opinion Piece one of 2018's Top Op-Ed's

Lucia Brawley

As a society, we must take this incident -- appearing in the public consciousness during our #MeToo moment -- as an opportunity to have some painful, nuanced conversations…

Nov 12

Nov 12 JOURNEY THIS: Seeing this Play is a Political Act

Lucia Brawley

Activism, Change, Inspiration, Women

Sometimes art is so powerful, so courageous, it unsettles you, startles you awake, makes you re-think your world view, and you can’t shake it.

Veteran New York stage actress, the beautiful, incomparable Cheray O’Neal, has created just such a piece with her virtuosic one-woman show, the critically acclaimed, twice-NAACP-Image-Award-nominated Journey This…

Sep 17

Sep 17 The Kavanaugh Controversy is a Watershed Moment for the GOP

Lucia Brawley

This is a watershed moment for the GOP. A President who boasted about sexual assault has nominated a judge for an empty Supreme Court seat -- and a woman has accused that judge of physical and sexual assault, an accusation he vehemently denies. The outcome of the hearings could decide the fate of women's bodily autonomy for the foreseeable future.

Sep 2

Sep 2 HOW MUCH ARE YOU WORTH?

Lucia Brawley

Activism, Change, Immigration, Women

“I never want to see a little girl lose hope of her dreams. So I will always encourage young girls to go after what they truly want to do. When you do love something, it’s not a job. From the time I graduated from the apprenticeship, I have always tried to encourage women. I never sugar-coated it. It’s not glamorous operating giant machines in sideways rain and ice. but there are those women who shine through…”

Sep 2

Sep 2 My friend Alfred Fraijo, the Angel of Boyle Heights

Lucia Brawley

Activism, Change, Immigration, Inspiration, Peace

“Across the tutor’s living room where our freshman orientation took place, the young man with the glistening black pompadour and mustache immediately caught my eye. Fresh from Roosevelt High School, Alfred looked more grown up than the rest of us motley freshmen moving into Harvard’s Canaday Hall dorm. His startling hazel eyes stood out against his brown skin, reflecting more of life’s heartbreak than the rest of us had seen, already alchemizing it into compassion…”

Jul 18

Jul 18 Did Trump Just Make Himself A Lame Duck President?

Lucia Brawley

Activism, Change

As he was flying home from his treasonous summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump was watching Fox News and discovering that even his usual cheerleaders find his subservient performance on the world stage disgraceful.

Trump doesn't know it yet, but he just rendered himself a lame duck president…

Jul 8

Jul 8 Maria Teresa Kumar: Immigrants Pay More Taxes Than the President

Lucia Brawley

Activism, Change, Political Organizing, Women, Immigration

Our job is to make it easier for people to vote. There are imperfect political situations but we can have perfect participation.

Jul 1

Jul 1 Why I have created the Consenting to Lead blog

Lucia Brawley

Women, Activism, Political Organizing, Inspiration, Peace, Change

Each week, I will share an interview with a different amazing woman leader -- like VotoLatino's Maria Teresa Kumar, Black Lives Matter's Alicia Garza, Everytown for Gun Safety's Shannon Watts, Center for American Progress' Neera Tanden, and many more. Then I will offer tips and tools, so that any woman anywhere can take steps in her own community to make progress on that week's issue. I will also offer simple organizing how-to's, so that we can mobilize unprecedented progressive voter turnout across all ages, gender identities, races, and socio-economic levels.

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