These groups have taken on uphill battles to gain the right to control and care for their land in accordance with their own values. Their efforts have resulted in substantial wins at both the California and British Columbia Supreme Courts, demonstrating that our inner convictions can serve as an endless source of fortitude to help us persevere to the very end.
10. Never give up hope.
A few of the cases we’ve supported represent the life’s work of the people involved. Massive cases that span decades, these epic battles show us what human determination and tenacity can produce. The attorneys and plaintiffs in these cases take up the mantle for issues much larger than themselves, and they never give up hope. (Well, I imagine that their hope falters from time to time, but they continue to show up the next day, and the day after that.)
Two grantees that personify this commitment are the Brady Center and EarthRights International. In an ongoing lawsuit that began more than two decades ago, the Brady Center has been working year after year to confront the gun industry on behalf of Gary, Indiana, a city devastated by gun violence. This case is just one of many examples of the organization’s 50-year commitment to working for change on behalf of families hurt by gun violence. And recently, EarthRights International celebrated a historic victory for Colombian families whose relatives were killed by paramilitary death squads funded by the banana company Chiquita in the 1990s and early 2000s. After more than 17 years of litigation, a jury awarded more than $38 million to the families of the victims, the first time an American jury has held a major U.S. corporation responsible for serious human rights abuses in another country. Next, EarthRights will defend this victory on appeal.
The perseverance and determination demonstrated by the attorneys and plaintiffs in these cases show us what people with conviction, grit, and hope can accomplish, despite having fewer resources.
WEATHERING THE STORM TO ONE DAY REBUILD
As the storm clouds gather around us, many questions hang heavily in the air. We wonder: What will become of the systems we have come to rely upon? How will my life change? We can’t shake the question that haunts us the most: What will happen to the least powerful among us, who already bear so much?
The nonprofits, public interest attorneys, community groups, and plaintiffs from the examples above have much to teach us as we navigate this phase in our country’s history. They all dug deep to find the courage and strength to speak truth to power. They thought creatively and strategically to achieve their goals. They stood arm in arm with their fellow community members and allies to become stronger than any one person or entity. And they did all this because they were playing the long game: dreaming big to take on deep-seated injustices and rebuild broken systems.
While we respond to the challenges that are upon us, it helps to remember that humans have faced such mighty forces and persevered in the past. Today we must focus on keeping ourselves and those we love safe during the storm. When the day comes that the storm clouds recede, we can rebuild our systems to be better and more secure than they were before. In the meantime, may we look to this rich community of people and organizations as inspiration for how to stand strong when facing a bully — and triumph to tell the tale.
