Gratutitous Gratitude #3: People Who Make The World a Better Place

We live in a world of paradox. Some days, the beauty of the world wins; other days it's the twisted injustice.  Never is this binary so obvious as on Thanksgiving, when even the extreme excess of some does not come close to balancing the needs of many.

So, today I'm grateful for the people who work every day to keep the beauty fighting against the injustice in the hope that, one of these days, we will all have a group of people to call family, a roof over our heads to call home, and a meal to call Thanksgiving dinner.

1- Geoffrey Canada- For making a model that makes huge changes by engaging communities. A true visionary.
2- Jill Scott. For making some of the only listenable music on the radio right now. Also for being hot.
3. The people at FreshFarms. Food injustice is class warfare, and they are teaching babies all over the Md-DC area how to bite the non-nutritious hand that feeds them.
4. The people who keep the bathrooms clean in public bathrooms--not exactly fighting injustice, but it's a tough job and I really, really appreciate it.  Ditto for the people who pick vegetables, harvest coffee, and manufacture the shit we thoughtlessly consume, despite the incredible injustice of it all.
5. Everyone at Racialicious- for breaking it down so righteously every day of the year.
6. The teachers at Thurgood Marshall Academy, Two Rivers Public Charter School, and Benjamin Banneker Senior High School, who help bring out the brilliance of DC youth with support, high expectations, and opportunities for greatness.
7. The occupiers, in their own little way. Largely overprivileged? Seems like it. Kind of misguided? Sure. But keeping questions about greed-driven inequality in the mouths of otherwise-insipid newscasters is a plus in my book.
8. Everyone at the Woodson Wellness Clinic. I cannot WAIT to be employed there!
9. Michael Eric Dyson. Marry me now!
10. The team at Democracy Now! for providing reasonable, thoughtful, progressive news.
11. Glut Food Co-op, for keeping food cheap and funky since 1969

And items unrelated to social justice that I am grateful for:
1. Pro-tec, for creating a patellar band that has got me back up and running after a bout with runner's knee.  I'm dedicating my 15k to you!
2. Whoever created the Triple Squash soup at Whole Foods. That is the best $3.59 I have ever spent.
3. My cat, Oliver Tambo. 
4. The fact that I learned how to make links on this thing (and really showed that skill off during this post!)
5. My kidneys, knees, and continences--a year spent working at a hospital has taught be to grateful for those puppies!
6. The Style Network for playing Sex & the City marathons every Saturday.
7. My mom, for teaching me to say thank you all year round and not just on Thanksgiving.

Tune back in tomorrow for Chef Kefi's Black Friday Gift Giving Guide.  Happy Thanksgiving!