Justice Walks April 2026

Author

Abby Anderson
April 30, 2026

Welcome to The Justice Walk newsletter!

I’m glad you’re here.

Things are pretty short and sweet this month. Below I’ll:

  • Share that we don’t have to feel wise and inspired to “do the work”

  • Let you know about coaching slots open for the summer/fall

  • Recommend Julio Torres’ new special

  • Offer a recent example of someone doing “quiet advocacy”

Check it out!

A rainbow over a grassy expanse with trees in front and to each side that are mostly bare. Leaves are starting to come out on some of them. The light is shining on storm clouds beginning to clear right under the arch of the rainbow.

Hi,

I’ve been staring at a blank computer screen on and off for over a week, trying to come up with something for this month’s newsletter.

I want to offer you something wise, helpful, insightful, and thought-provoking.

I want you to feel challenged AND supported.

I want you to know that while the work of fostering belonging can be difficult - it mostly involves looking deeply at our own beliefs and practices, as those are the only things we control - it is also profoundly inspiring and infinitely worth it.

And, this month has been a struggle.

There are things going on in the world that are scary, overwhelming, and antithetical to everything I believe and strive towards on a daily basis.

I’m doing intentional self-discovery and growth work that is helpful, transformative, welcome, and exhausting.

The pollen situation in Connecticut has been untenable.

I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t feel wise, helpful, insightful, or thought-provoking these days.

And that’s Ok.

I’ve still gotten to bear witness to coaching clients doing amazing, self-reflective, transformational work. (My FAVORITE thing is seeing folks’ eyes widen as I reflect back a nugget of wisdom that just came out of their own mouths that they didn’t even hear. Folks have been doing that a lot lately).

I’ve still gotten to partner with two colleagues to create new workshops for new audiences.

And…I’ve been leaning into rest and restoration.

The image above is from the marsh near my house on a recent evening. It was gorgeous and sunny when I pulled out of my driveway. A storm blew in within a half hour and left this full, double rainbow lingering in its wake for more than 10 minutes. (This photo only captured one arch). I stood in that field to witness and soak in the whole thing.

The sun. The rain. The rainbow.

The times we feel wise. The times we feel less certain. The times we lean into community, remembering liberation is definitionally a group project.

They are all of a whole.

Together, friends.

Learning Resource

Image alt text: Julio Torres sits to the left of the frame amid a black background. Torre wears a plain, white, short-sleeved T-shirt and has his left hand outstretched like he’s telling a good story. He has light red makeup across his nose and on his cheeks. His short hair has black and blonde horizontal stripes. In the lower left, white text reads: HBO Original, Color Theories, by Julio Torres, Official Trailer. In the lower right text reads: Watch on YouTube.

Color Theories, Julio Torres’ latest HBO special, is captivating. It’s a little hard to describe because Torres’ style and perspective is so unique. It’s funny. It’s thoughtful. And the end caught me off-guard in the best possible way. I learned something and enjoyed every minute of it.

It’s on HBO, which I know isn’t available to everyone. I wish systems were different so access could be wider. Enjoy if you can and then reach out to chat about it if you want!

Coaching Slots Open

Looking for a space to slow down and hear yourself think? To process the questions you aren’t even really sure how to put into words? To talk through your vision for where you want your path and your organization’s path to lead? To be heard, validated, and supported?

That’s what happens in coaching.

And, with me, those conversations are rooted in the values of liberation. That doesn’t mean every conversation is “about” equity, belonging, and justice. It means that those values inform our conversations about the daily decisions we make in our work - dealing with conflicts in our organization, running programs, engaging with the community, trying to find “work/life balance”.

If this sounds interesting to you, sign up for a free session with me.

Yes, at the end I’ll tell you about slots for paid packages I have available this summer/fall. It won’t be a hard sell and I won’t be weird and annoying about it. That’s not who I am and it’s not in alignment with liberation values. 😉 

Taking Care of Our Feet

A bookstore aisle of four horizontal shelves with multicolored spines. The Queer Bible faces out on the second shelf while Hood Feminism and Faux Feminism face out on the third shelf. They are the only book faces we see.

Four horizontal bookstore shelves with multicolored spines. The Queer Bible faces out on the second shelf. Hood Feminism and Faux Feminism face out on the third shelf. They are the only book faces we see.

There are many ways to live your values.

Extroverted, loud, physically and visually present ways to resist and be an activist are often seen as the only "real" and "valuable" ways to participate in the movement.

Those tools and qualities are great and needed! And they aren't the only real and valuable ways to have an impact.

At the bookstore last weekend, an unknown, unseen, unheard someone curated the shelves so that key works written by and for traditionally marginalized communities and perspectives jump out at the folks perusing the aisles.

What a fantastic example of an act of a behind-the-scenes, "small" act of liberation that creates ripples, questions, and inspiration!

Yes, of course I did a little curating of my own in another section of the bookstore. 😉

Keep your eyes open this week, not only for ways that others are swimming against the tide, but for "small" ways you can create ripples, questions, and inspiration in the name of liberation.

I'd love to hear them!

Feedback on a recent workshop:

We are sincerely grateful for all your efforts, time, knowledge, brilliance, warmth, and caring that you shared with the group. You helped folks look at and understand the complexities of race and whiteness…You did it all with an openness, honesty, a warmth, an availability, and a directness that are all wonderful traits for a facilitator. And you have amazing platform skills, can demand attention and you hold the space that allows for questions, contemplation and hard-core facts!!

Cynthia Martin, Trainer, CT Mental Health and Addiction Services, Office of Multicultural Health Equity

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