Being an activist in Austin you get to meet some truly remarkable people. One of them, Cecile Richards, passed away this week. (Fittingly, she died on MLK Day.)
Cecile had a burning passion on behalf of anyone born outside the hierarchy of white, male, theocratic power. It was such an honor to drive with Cecile to do presentations in the early days of her brainchild, the Texas Freedom Network.
It was obvious Cecile had little interest in fame, power or money. She wanted to make peoples’ lives better, and she was willing to get into trouble to that end. I love the story about how Cecile as a teen had to change schools because she had protested the Viet Nam War. Cecile knew that those on the outside of systems of vested wealth and power need to struggle for their rights and that decent people need to join them in that struggle.
As I understood her, the original purpose of the Texas Freedom Network was to protect the children of Texas from religious propaganda. The purpose of the organization was not partisan, but its insistence on UNIVERSAL human right placed them in conflict with those who would scapegoat other Texans for political gain. Every year since then TFN has widened the circe of people it protects. Cecile’s passion for justice lives on in that wonderful organization.
Cecile then moved on to lead Planned Parenthood in Washington. She would still come down to Texas when local activists needed her voice, but now the whole nation would witness her passion for a nation that respects the moral agency of women.
Cecile’s memory will go along side Ann Richards, her mom, and Sarah Weddington, her friend. She will also be honored with Texas’ other wonderful “steel magnolias” who would not kneel before the patriarchy and who have given us the torch of hope for our own times.
Cecile Richards will be sorely missed, but I can’t think of anyone who planted more seeds and prepared more people to carry on the work of making the world a better place. Cecile died on the day of Trump’s inauguration, but we do not have to guess how she would have responded to the rhetoric of that day. Cecile’s lifelong activism was a testament to a code of nobility that so many of my heroes and sheroes share:
Life isn’t about winning, it is about being of service.
Government shouldn’t be about control, but empowerment.
Bi-partisanship isn’t meeting injustice half way. It means living and dying by the principles that would make this a fair world for everyone.
No one should have to wait another minute to claim their full rights as human beings.
But Cecile always said it better, so let’s give her the last word in today’s post:
“This is your life. It is the only one you get, so no excuses and no do-overs. If you make a mistake or fail at something, you learn from it, you get over it, and you move on. Your job is to be the very best person you can be, and to never settle for anything less.”