This morning, I’m noticing that “tear” and “tear” are spelled exactly the same. I cried tears (salty liquid secreted from eye glands) in 2008 as I watched the Obama family enter the stage after victory. This morning I cried tears (salty liquid secreted from these same eye glands) as I woke at 4:30 to face the reality that I had tried to smother with my pillow at midnight, ‘oh, just let me have a few hours of sleep’ – defeat. In both momentous occasions, my tears carried emotions tied to possibility – joyful and fearful possibility.

But why must we have these tears?

I am an immigrant. I am a Muslim. I am a woman. Each piece of my identity has been picked apart, threatened, alienated, and attacked during these incredibly long several months that have led up to this election. Each piece of me now needs to heal. Just as each marginalized piece of our country needs to heal.

As people across the country prepare to go to the polls, we take a look at voter suppression, felony disenfranchisement, and voter ID laws. 

Disenfranchised by misinformation: Many Americans are allowed to vote but don't know it, by Victoria Law via Truthout

This is a story about an AFSC project to build social cohesion among Palestinian communities to discuss how best to reach a just and lasting peace.

A Palestinian dress flees from its large wooden box, where it was kept for safekeeping for years, and flies over the sky of Gaza to return to its original owner in Jaffa.

An elderly grandfather wakes up one morning and sees his orange groves in Haifa in full bloom.

Since we last featured the #NoDAPL occupation in What We’re Reading, thousands more have traveled to North Dakota to join the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in the struggle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. On Thursday, heavily armed law enforcement attacked the encampment with armored trucks, sound cannons, and bulldozers, arresting over 140 people.

Here’s what we’re reading to learn more:

An interview with the director of the Good Neighbor Project of the AFSC Michigan Criminal Justice Program. 

Can you tell us about your work at AFSC?

From getting clean water to keeping a business open, the blockade is all about "finding ways to survive.”

Two weeks ago I was in Gaza to meet with AFSC’s staff and partners. I’ve been visiting Gaza at least a couple of times each year for most of the last nine years. During that time, I’ve watched the Gaza blockade evolve. 

This week, AFSC announced that it has endorsed the policy platform put forward by the Movement for Black Lives. This powerful platform puts forward a bold vision for racial, economic, and social justice. It is essential reading for anyone interested in these issues, and can be downloaded in booklet form.