Vice President Meshea L. Poore, Esq. shares thoughts on community and the special feeling of being part of something larger than yourself - of having a place to belong.
(This originally appeared in the Charleston Gazette-Mail.)
One of the earliest experiences of community many of us can relate to is our high school football games. As a young Black girl from the West Side of Charleston, I stood confidently with my Capital Cougars and performed with the band as we cheered on our team. Reflecting back, I remember the crowd of people that did not all look alike standing united in celebrating our community. We recognized what we could accomplish when we all played as one team.
That feeling did not leave once the team’s season ended. At all times, we were and still are a community. We live together. We eat together. We worship together. We win together and, unfortunately, we lose together as well. Through it all, we never lose the prospect of a better tomorrow.
As a daughter of these majestic hills born and raised in West Virginia, I know our state can be one of the most welcoming and embracing places for people who choose to call the Mountain State home. We certainly know how to celebrate community through large annual gatherings like MultiFest or laughing around the kitchen table with family and friends. These celebrations, no matter their size, are our way of showing our community is as committed to the person passing by on the street as we are the to the football team on the field. We celebrate together not because we must, but because we made this community, and we are proud of it.
There’s something special about that feeling of being part of something larger than yourself – that feeling of having a place to belong.
Looking back on the past year and a half, we have seen some of the best and worst of ourselves and neighbors. We have seen caring as well as conflict; sacrifice and selfishness; fellowship and fear; grace and greed. From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the national attention to racial and social injustice, our community has needed to come together like never before.
Now that vaccinations are readily available for free to the majority of West Virginians, we can come together as a community, have the necessary courageous conversations, and renew our commitment to celebrating one another. We have endured; and that is a reason to celebrate.
We know as West Virginians we are not immune to the racism, discrimination, intolerance, and disrespect that plagues the entire nation. However, I still hold on to the spirit of celebration because, despite the pain I have seen inflicted upon members of our community, I still believe in the potential of who we are and who we can become.
We as individuals get to choose each day what role we play in our communities. Our community should include all identities and is only limited by our biases and our fears. Rather than focusing on our differences, we can work together as one community to build momentum to make sure everyone’s voice is heard and there is fair opportunity for all. Communities are strongest when everyone is included. West Virginia can only move forward if we move forward together.
Building and celebrating community is my job and your job. It takes us all. West Virginians of every race, gender, religion, ability, and sexual orientation. West Virginians of all income levels, professions, political affiliations, and ages.
In order for us to see the best of ourselves, we must embrace diversity and ensure that we are intentionally inclusive in our actions.
I know we can do it because I know West Virginians, our courage, our creativity, and our conviction.
What matters is that each of us cares about the human condition, about the community in which we live and the communities in which we don’t live. It matters that we care.
And when we do – when I do and you do – that’s something to celebrate, so Let’s Go!