I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, which makes it ironic that I’m writing for this particular feature of the ADR website. But I DO believe in setting intentions, and following them up with focused, purposeful action, and the start of the year is a great time to do that. 

As an activist, author and educator, these intentions guide how I show up in the world in line with my values of integrity, empowerment, transparency and equality and my commitment to community as we fight oppression together. That said, here are my intentions for the coming year.

My Anti-Racism Intentions

1. I will work in community with others committed to making a difference, knowing that as Fannie Lou Hamer said, nobody’s free till everybody’s free, and that we don’t solve the perennial problems of racism and discrimination and the capitalist and patriarchal systems and structures alone. 
2. I will continue to do my anti-racism work, knowing that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and that there are several lanes. I do NOT have to do everything.
3. I will model rest as resistance, and avoid burning myself out in the service of my purpose. My rest will be guilt-free. As I have said before, drops of water working together created the Grand Canyon, and we can be the drops, knowing there are many others on the same mission and path who can be active when I rest.
4. I will continue to help people see that, as Guante said, racism is the water, not the shark, so we can work to clean the water.
5. I will do my part to undermine and dismantle the systems that support racism, discrimination and oppression, using storytelling, education and my commitment to the SHHARE anti-racism community. 
6. I will use my work to create opportunities for empathy leading to action, and will shine a light on global experiences of racism, and the colonialist, capitalist, patriarchal, white supremacist, and discriminatory foundations that support that structure.
7. I will lift others up and support Black and Global Majority activists, founders and community builders especially to get their voices heard through my courses and mentoring offerings.
8. I will continue to show up for equality and to speak about the imperative for everyone to get their needs met in a non-extractive, non-harmful, and fully supportive way because all oppression is linked.
9. I will break up with self-doubt, perfectionism and productivity culture, knowing that these are how oppressive systems and white supremacy culture try to keep us too exhausted to fight back.
10. I will be a good ancestor and never give up, as my ancestors didn’t.

Inspiration For This Moment

These intentions are a starting point. Just like last year, I believe now isn’t the time to give up, but to continue to step up. 

I continue to take inspiration in this moment from Toni Morrison, who said:

“There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom.” 

And from Maya Angelou’s iconic poem, And Still I Rise

“You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”

More than ever, those of us who care about equality have to continue to do the work we feel called, guided or impelled to do. To call out and undermine oppression wherever we can, knowing that every little bit makes a difference, even if it feels challenging and overwhelming in the moment, and even if we are seeding change we’ll never see, as Erin Corine Johnson says. My ancestors would expect no less.

Bio:

Sharon Hurley Hall (she/her) is an author, educator and anti-racism activist with more than 30 years’ experience as a journalist and writer. She is the author of I’m Tired of Racism: True Stories of Existing While Black and Exploring Shadeism. Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter has become a trusted resource for thousands of subscribers seeking to understand and combat systemic racism. She shares personal insights, curated resources and actionable strategies for anti-racism work. Her most recent initiative is the SHHARE anti-racism membership community, founded in late 2024.