I don’t feel like I’m making a difference, that I’m just fighting the same old fight again and again. But I met Satia Orange. My word for the year is ‘diligence’ and Satia certainly embodies the spirit of diligence. Satia challenged us not with what we could do to continue the struggle, but what would we do tomorrow? Those of us in that room were called together for a purpose and if all we got out of it was a reminder of why we do what we do, who else is doing it and new ways we can do it, I want to say that’s a good thing. But, lets remember as Violet Harris reminded us, this fight has been going on since the 1847.

I’ve come to realize that when really good librarians die, we lose a library. We lose their professional knowledge, access to their personal and communal historical knowledge as well as to their memorabilia. Our network becomes incomplete.  We lose all the things they were yet to do. We lose their joy, confidence, and voice. With Satia’s death, we’ve lost a bridge, a pathway, and a fountain. I think Satia’s life reminds me of something I read recently about doing Seventh Generation work, that is working for the benefit of our children’s children. I will remember her integrity and her grace.

There will be obituaries that detail her numerous significant contributions to each of us as well as to our children. I think I’m writing today to share a little about my friend who I will miss, and to send the reminder that tomorrow isn’t promise to any of us; we should never miss the opportunity for a visit, a note or an email, or any chance to remind someone how much they mean to us. Thinking tomorrow will be there is as foolish as thinking it won’t be.

Debbie Reese remembered this from Satia that day, “This is a dangerous time for black and brown children, she said. More than anyone, she called out the power structures that aren’t with us in this struggle. More of us have to step up. We have to challenge publishers and do more, like selling books in non-traditional places. She challenged the gathering to do something dramatic next week, and next month, for children of color.”

Little has changed except that Satia’s gone. There never was another Day of Diversity. But for all those generations who have come before us, and those who will come after, we cannot stop working to make a difference.

Let’s keep stepping up. Every. Single. Day.

I send condolences to Satia’s family and friends. May she rest in eternal light.