Amani means faith, certitude, promise, trust, commitment.
I was named Amani because I was born into a protest
As a newborn, my mom, Milele Chikasa Anana, then known as Bettye Latimer, brought me to State Street, like so many others, in a time of racial discord, to give voice and press for the changes she knew had to happen.
Amani represents something of value.
During one of these demonstrations, my life was saved by a stranger who snatched me from my mother’s arms after a bomb of tear gas was thrown in her face.
This person, a propagator of peace, took me and placed me in front of my dad’s door just blocks away.
My dad, Professor Latimer, was working at the University to prove his worth and lift up the soul of our community, through music.
Amani also means wishes, hope, desires.
So after that, the legendary Helen Vukelich, who became one of my mom’s best friends and co-conspirators —both forever committed to making a difference in peoples’ lives —went on a quest to help my parents search for the perfect name for me.
In this, she found Amani.
Amani means peace and freedom from civil disorder.
Together, the name chosen for me and the activism that I was born into, represents a pledge, that together, we can make our hopes real and change be.
In fact, together we can give life to the peaceful future that we know exists when we work in collaboration, and create spaces where we can be #UnitedInOurDifferences making a difference for everyone. You. Me. Us.
I am that possibility of Amani.
In this namesake of change rooted in faith; a manifestation of the tenacity and grit we need to navigate the pathway out of civil disorder, disinformation and disruption of community onto a new path grounded and guided by a moral past leading us into a diverse future of respected difference.
You are that possibility of Amani.
This path has been laid. It’s a path of empowerment and inclusivity, of engagement and empathy, of truth and understanding.
A transparent path laid with Integrity.
A path rooted in a firm belief in what we all ultimately seek:
Freedom.
The freedom for you to be you and for me to be me.
This unyielding belief, as Barack Obama once said:
“That all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.”
So together, we are that possibility of Amani
Recognizing that:
I’m looking for freedom.
You’re looking for freedom.
And as such, together, we, as individuals are all looking for freedom.
So yes, it’s freedom we seek
And having fought that the bitter battle against a transformational pandemic, unprecedented political chaos, and an uncertain future, WE were reminded that, WE, in fact, that WE are at stake.
You. Me. Us.
Our lives, our livelihoods, our ability to live freely we’re put squarely at stake.
So yes, I will advocate for freedom in:
Our Communities
Our Families
Our Businesses
Our Environment
We know that we need freedom:
In Housing
In Education
In Aging
In Our Voting Rights
Our democracy
And yes, freedom rests in healthcare, in our right to choose, in the future of our environment, and our quest to pursue our dreams and our right to live our lives as we see it.
We need freedom in all of the reforms that we know are needed —whether it be in our economic capacity as individuals to live or for the very breaths we take.
I stand for that and it’s exactly why I am running.
I’m running to make your life better; to make my life better; to make our lives better.
To hear. To listen. To understand.
To weigh and balance.
To measure and decide.
To build on the past into the possibility of its future.
So let’s work together to create and build a peaceful future that works for everyone.
And let’s do it together:
#UnitedInOurDifferences
As doing it divided amongst ourselves, as history has taught us, has never, ever worked.