ACTIVIST SPOTLIGHT: JASMIN PROPHETE
Jasmin Prophete (2nd from right, front row) with members of the Workers Circle Delegation at the Hands Off My Vote: Moore v. Harper Rally in Washington, DC on December 7, 2022
Hello! I’m Jasmine Prophete (they/them), and I’m a junior at NYU double majoring in Dramatic Writing and Social & Cultural Analysis with a minor in Public Policy.
I first got involved with the Workers Circle in 2021, when my former classmate and now good friend Noa Baron (Workers Circle’s Social Justice Organizer and formally a College Organizer) stood up after class to ask if anyone would be interested in getting arrested in Washington, DC to protect voting rights.
Previously, I’d been really involved in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests as a protest monitor for the NYCLU. These had continued in New York for well over two years before eventually dying down without the more major demands being met, as had happened in much of the rest of the country. By that time, I’d developed a great deal of faith in the future we were fighting for, as well as affection for all the virtual strangers marching in community with one another for that same dream. It was disheartening to watch the number of people in the streets slowly dwindle, but as Dr. King once said, “... it all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with attained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.” As a black queer person involved in activism, while disappointment has become a very familiar feeling, the idea of ever genuinely growing discouraged is nearly absurd to me. As deeply as I understand the fatigue that leads others to take breaks or divest from fighting altogether, I’d never know peace if I threw the flag down. Accepting the invitation to go to Washington, DC and risk arrest in the interest of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was the most natural decision in the world.
I’ve now accompanied the Workers Circle to attend several social justice actions, most of them in Washington, DC but one in Selma, Alabama. Every time I go I’m always dazzled by the amount of love shared in the groups they put together and the way many of us are able to instantly click even after weeks or months of not seeing each other since the last action. The main two things we all always have in common, which I’m convinced makes this connection possible, are A) the understanding that we’re partaking in something that’s bigger than ourselves, and B) acceptance that even if change doesn’t come within our own lifetimes, fighting for a better future is worth it.
We are made kin not only because of our political ideology, but because of our values, which is the crux of what brings us out together each time. I love marching with the other members, but I also love talking to them about their lives, their feelings leading up to and after protests, what ideas they’ve been mulling over lately, jokes they’ve thought up, and more. Working to further a movement can be repetitive, depressing, and at times, traumatizing. Still, when the communities leading them have their hearts in the right place, there’s also a lot of support, room for joy, time set aside for aftercare, and a general feeling of warmth.
I know fighting for democracy is important because I know that people, their lives, and their well-being are important. I think it’s important for me to participate in protecting democracy because I have both empathy and sympathy for people who experience injustice, and I believe that understanding alone is sufficient reason to invest time into getting them justice. Within our political system, voting is the most powerful avenue American citizens have to advocate for change. Politics rule your access to public transportation, quality of healthcare, the impact of climate change on your area, the amount of money going into public resources and services, as well as so much more. Whether it’s via gerrymandering, voter purging, disenfranchising returning citizens, and/or a plethora of other aggressive attacks on voting rights, every day there are politicians who exploit legal loopholes to put their careers before the interests of their constituents. Liberation won’t come through voting alone, but protecting voting rights is the best way to help others retain the ability to advocate for themselves.