"Lived in the South, but fought for the North"

This is for my ancestors. Not all of them, because I am assuming there are people in my line who I would rather not address, who would fade into obscurity and that would be fine. We all have some of those I am sure. Ancestors were people, so many characters, so many right and wrong actions taken, so many truths and complexities. This is for my ancestors. They say the veil between the worlds gets thinner this time of year. I have no idea if it does, but just in case, I want to honor those in my line who did way more good than bad, who were kind, compassionate, caring, thoughtful, and bold! I want to honor the ones on my mothers side, who I titled this piece for, they lived in the South but fought for the North in times when whites could so easily accept the violently racist status quo. And I will keep their memory alive, because when people do what is right when most others around them are doing wrong, this is what we uphold, the actions of the ones who choose to honor the lives of the oppressed, who seek to lift them up. I want to honor the ones on my father's side. The Irish, the Eastern European, the ones who came to Ellis Island and found some kind of existence away from their familiar mother lands. I honor those in my line who carried more love in their hearts than bitterness or malice. And I say all this tonight knowing we are dealing with many of the same kinds of pain and injustice our ancestors knew very well. It is up to us now, up to the living to make this world better with our actions, not just our words. Bless it be, now and bless it be for our future.