A Weekend of Love and Democracy:
From Valentine's Day to President's Day
This weekend, we find ourselves sandwiched between two significant but seemingly unrelated holidays: Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. On the surface, one is about love, the other about leadership. One is wrapped in red roses and chocolate, the other in patriotism and history. But as we stand in 2025, navigating an unbelievably tough moment of deep divisions and urgent calls for justice, I’m choosing to see the “opportunity” this weekend to reflect on how these two themes—love and leadership—must be intertwined if we are to build a future worthy of us all.
Love of Community and Justice: The True Spirit of Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is often framed around romantic love, and it’s not a holiday that I give much energy to, but what if we reimagine it as a day to celebrate love in its most expansive form—the love of community and the love of justice? The poet Nikki Giovanni once said, “We love because it’s the only true adventure.” This adventure—the pursuit of a world where all of us belong, where our communities thrive, and where justice is the foundation of our relationships—demands more than sentimentality; it requires action.
Cornel West famously stated, “Justice is what love looks like in public.” If we take this definition to heart, then the work of building just policies, equitable communities, and stronger social bonds is an act of love. Love isn’t just a feeling—it’s a force, a commitment, a relentless pursuit of the common good. At The CaseMade, an organization I founded five years ago, we talk of it as energy work, and we are relentless in our pursuit of sharing it.
If we let this type of love guide us, what do we see? We see a society where housing is a right, not a privilege. We see healthcare not as a commodity or a financial strategy but as a fundamental necessity. We see wages that allow people to thrive, not merely survive. We see schools that are equitably funded, safe, and nurturing. We see communities that are free from environmental harm, where clean air and water are guaranteed for every person. This is the kind of love our policies should reflect—the kind of love that protects, uplifts, and sustains us all.
But here’s the hard truth: If we are to win these fights in this environment and in this moment, we need better casemaking than ever before. The struggle for fair housing policies, for healthcare access, for a just economy—these battles are ongoing, and too often, we’re fighting with one hand tied behind our backs when we don’t use the strongest casemaking we can. Love calls us to persist and to equip ourselves with the skills of talking people back into their power and making the case for a future that means all of us get a shot at success - no exceptions!
Policy as an Act of Love
If we take the idea of love seriously—not just as a feeling, but as a practice—then our policy decisions must be shaped by that love. This means:
Investing in Affordable Housing: Love of community means ensuring that no one is unhoused or forced into substandard living conditions. Policies that expand affordable housing, prevent displacement, address unsheltered homelessness, and support fair housing and homeownership for people who have traditionally been locked out of housing opportunities.
Fair Wages and Economic Justice: Love means ensuring that people can afford to care for their families. Raising the minimum wage, strengthening labor protections, and ensuring equitable economic opportunities are acts of love in action.
Healthcare for All: A society that loves its people ensures they can see a doctor, afford medication, and receive quality care, regardless of income. The fight for universal healthcare is a fight rooted in love.
Education as a Pathway to Justice: Love demands that we equip our children with the tools to succeed. Fully funding public schools, eliminating student debt burdens, and ensuring every child has access to high-quality education is part of our collective responsibility.
Environmental Justice: We cannot claim to love our communities if we allow them to be poisoned. Love requires us to fight for clean air, clean water, and climate policies that protect the most vulnerable among us.
Child Development: Love means make sure that our children are future-ready and prepared for the economy that is coming - not leaving them to hope for something better down the road
When we look at policy through the lens of love, it transforms our priorities - or at least it should!
My experience has been that it’s amazing how getting your priorities right changes how you show up in the community. It forces us to move beyond partisan divides and into a space where we ask: What does love demand of us? What kind of world are we building for future generations?
The Other Bookend: President’s Day and the Struggle for Democracy
Ok, now this one is going to be a bit harder for me. Just as we’ve finished reflecting on love, we hit the other bookend of this weekend—President’s Day. Now, I’ll be honest: This isn’t a holiday I usually celebrate either. The idea of honoring a roster of presidents—many of whom upheld systems of oppression, ignored the voices of the marginalized, and maintained the status quo—has never felt particularly inspiring.
But this year, I’m holding President’s Day differently. Because if we are truly to get past the moment we are in, we’ve got to believe in the “idea” of democracy and fight for it, even when our experience of it has not been awe-inspiring. As an African-American woman, our democracy has never fully lived up to the promise of what it could be but for the sake of my children, and their children, I need to fight for what it “could” be. And so, I am.
Listen, we don’t have to agree with every president, nor should we overlook the failures of the presidency as an institution. But democracy itself—the right to govern ourselves, the right to dissent, the right to demand better—must be protected and uplifted. This year, just two months into a new presidential administration, we’ve seen what happens when presidential administrations bulldoze over people, organizations, and communities rather than building bridges of understanding. We’ve seen the weaponization of power to silence, punish, and exclude rather than to listen, collaborate, and uplift. And that’s a problem. And it’s “our” problem to solve together.
It’s not easy, but if love is our guide, then we must apply it to this still young, underdeveloped democracy as well. Because the idea (and the ideal) of democracy is about our ability to govern ourselves. And as my colleague Amanda Bergson-Shilcock from the National Skills Coalition reminded me in a recent edition of Fierce CaseMaking, democracy is a verb, not a noun.
To make decisions that we all get to shape our future… To wade into the collective consciousness of our people and to engage in active decision-making about our future. It’s about creating a society where every person’s voice matters. And right now, that vision is under attack. Voter suppression laws, attacks on marginalized communities, the dismantling of critical social programs, even just the tone of so much of the policy decisions of this administration to date is disheartening—these are threats not just to policy but to the very idea of a democracy itself.
Blanket Love Over President’s Day
So how do we respond? We blanket this presidential holiday with love. Not a love that is blind or naïve, or supportive of what is happening. But a love for our communities (and everyone in them) that is fierce and unwavering. A love that fights for the right to vote. A love that demands accountability from those in power. A love that refuses to accept policies that harm our most vulnerable.
I’m sorry, but I reject the idea that leadership is about dominance and control. Instead, I believe that true leadership and truly courageous leadership are about love for community, people first, and service-rich. The best leaders—the ones we should honor—are those who build, who listen, who unite rather than divide.
So, this President’s Day, let’s reclaim it. Let’s make it about the power of the people and the places where we live. Let’s remind ourselves that democracy is not a spectator sport—it’s something we have to work for, every single day.
Love as Our North Star
As we move through this weekend, let love be our guide. The kind of love that Nikki Giovanni speaks of—bold, adventurous, deeply rooted in community. The kind of love Cornel West defines—justice, showing up in the policies we fight for and the leaders we demand. The kind that I feel every time I look into the eyes of my teenage sons - both trying to become adults in this incredibly difficult moment.
If we let this love shape our actions, our politics, and our vision for the future, then perhaps, just perhaps, we can build a society where every person is valued, every voice is heard, and every community thrives.
Let’s make this weekend count. No matter what else you’ve got on your “to-do” list, let love be at the top of it.
Happy Valentine’s Day. And, yes—this year, Happy President’s Day too.
Because love, real love, demands that we show up for them both.