In a Chaotic World, How Do We Make a Difference?

What twenty years in a justice campaign taught me about people power

I’ve had a lot published in the last few weeks but today I wanted to share a piece of writing with you that I’m the most proud of. It’s an essay I wrote for The Guardian this weekend about how we make a difference, the role of solidarity and how ordinary people can change history.

Specifically, it’s the story of my role running a justice campaign after the most high-profile police shooting in British history and what I learnt on that journey. The piece is personal, political, and emotional. But it’s also about hope.

In the final paragraph, I write about what has stayed with me most through the heartbreak and the campaigning: the people. Not the institutions or the inquiries, but the ordinary individuals who stood up, spoke out and refused to forget.

This feels especially pertinent to share these days when it’s so easy to feel frozen with helplessness and want to look away. But what I learnt from my campaigning is that coming together in community is the best weapon we have. It’s how we learn, how we inspire and, crucially, it’s how we help. Because when it comes down to it, the most powerful force we have isn’t up high in political or legal institutions. It’s with each each other.

I hope you enjoy it and that it perhaps makes you reflect on how you could contribute in the community around you. Away from all the loud posturing on social media, there is much powerful and beautiful work that can be done in a more sustainable way and we all have the capacity to have an impact. I used to think justice was about predominantly about outcomes. But these days, I think it’s just as much about the effort. In the end, maybe that’s what making a difference really means: choosing to care, when it’s easier not to.

Let me know what you think in the comments and please share if you enjoyed it

All the best

Yasmin xx