Dear Friends,
We are just over halfway through our 45 cities on the Revolutionary Bus Tour. Scroll on to see all the highlights from this past week!
On the road, we invite our audiences and special guests to reflect on a powerful question: When did an act of love change everything? The stories we hear are astounding. Our stories are the heartbeat of the movement we are building— Revolutionary Love is the call of our times.
Now we get to ask YOU to share YOUR story.
We are thrilled to announce our new platform for sharing stories online! You can now submit your own Revolutionary Love story and listen to others. We’re building the largest collection of love stories ever told—virtually and in person at our storytelling booth (pictured below)—and we want yours to be a part of it. Listen to other stories and submit yours here.
I hope to see you on the road. Next up on our Midwest leg: 10/8- Notre Dame, 10/9 – Chicago, 10/10- Grand Rapids, 10/11 – Ann Arbor, 10/12 – Detroit, and 10/12 Battle Creek.
Bring all your people to the event — your friends and family, classmates and neighbors, people who are your allies, and those you see as your opponents. Invite them all into a space where we can open our hearts to our deepest humanity.
Let’s continue building this movement together —
See you soon!
With love and gratitude,
Valarie & The Revolutionary Love Project Team
- 10/2 – A Church, Mosque, and Synagogue in Omaha: Our Omaha stop took place at the Tri-Faith Center, a unique space where a mosque, a synagogue, and a church co-exist on the same campus. Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis joined us, opening our hearts to a life-giving view of Christianity that centers love above all.
- 10/5 – George Floyd Memorial Square in Minneapolis (Part 1): Local activists led us on a pilgrimage walk, inviting us to leave an offering. Our tour musicians, Sonny Singh and Qais Essar, performed a beautiful rendition of Chardi Kala – even in darkness, ever rising sprits.
- 10/5 – Our Pilgrimage to George Floyd Memorial Square in Minneapolis (Part 2): As we walked the streets, we witnessed how the community reclaimed the space where George Floyd was killed as a place of love, solidarity, and courage. We sat with George’s aunt, Angela Harrelson, as she shared the courage and strength that keep her going
- 10/5 – An Electrifying Evening at Plymouth Church in Minneapolis: We dedicated this event to the collective struggle for Black liberation, joined by Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown, Rev. Dr. Dewayne Davis, and Chris Steadman. Together, we explored how the wisdom of our ancestors guides us through dark times.
- 10/6: Remembering the Massacre at the Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin: At the site of the largest massacre of Sikhs in U.S. history, we gathered with community leaders, family members, and survivors, honoring each life lost 12 years ago. It was painful and powerful.
- 10/7: Shared Grieving in Indianapolis on October 7th: As we mourned all we have lost this past year, we connected struggles for liberation across time and space.
- 10/8 – Empowering Young Women Leaders at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend: At this all-women’s college, we spoke about overcoming the inner critic and tapping into the deep wisdom within us. Professors Molly Gower and Megan Zwart shared powerful stories of finding community in difficult times.
- 10/9 – A Luminous Night with Visionaries at Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago: Music filled the chapel and echoed off the stained glass in this sacred space at the University of Chicago. My beloved friends Rev. Otis Moss III, Ai-Jen Poo, and Dr. Richard Schwartz spoke about the power of voting, using love as our compass, and embracing all parts of ourselves for inner and outer transformation.
- 10/10 – An Intergenerational Visit in Grand Rapids: Our stop at Grand Valley State University brought together children, students, parents, faith leaders, and elders. DL McKinney, director of the LGBTQ Center at Grand Valley State University, shared their moving story of grief and ancestral healing.
- 10/11 – Under Stars at Ann Arbor Public Library: A full house gathered with us as we sang stories of our ancestors. Dr. Nirinjan Kaur Khalsa and I shared the story of our sisterhood and the journey to create Sage Warrior.
- 10/12 – Inside of Grace Lee Boggs’ Home in Detroit (Part 1): We packed into Grace’s home, surrounded by her books and morning light, to honor her legacy. It was a powerful, sacred experience that reminded us how ancestral solidarity can energize our movements now.
- 10/12 – Grace Lee Boggs’ Legacy, our visit in Detroit (Part 2): Grace Lee Boggs believed that we must transform ourselves in order to transform the world — that we must become pioneers of a new way of being human. That’s the movement we are building at The Revolutionary Love Project.
- 10/12 – A Full Circle Moment in Battle Creek: We gathered with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, our core partner on this tour, who helped make all of this possible. Arelis Diaz of Kellogg joined us to share why they see Revolutionary Love as essential for racial healing.
