We met with Mary Aguilera at one of the places where she feels most at home: North Avondale Montessori School, where she works with children ages 3 to 6. From the moment you meet Mary, you notice peaceful energy about her; under that exterior, there is a deep-running commitment to social justice that meshes perfectly with her work in education.

A few years ago, Mary joined the organization Repairers of the Breach, a group headed by Rev. William Barber. The organization argues that the moral issues of today are how our society treats the poor, women, L.G.B.T.Q folks, children, workers, immigrants, communities of color, and the sick. Mary’s journey with the associated Poor People’s Campaign has brought more than political involvement to her life, and it was a joy to learn more about her work, building grassroots movements, and making leadership your own.

Interview by Laura Leavitt. Photography by Moriah Kenton.

Have you lived in Cincinnati your whole life?

I moved to Cincinnati from New Hampshire in 2000; it was an interesting time to come here. I feel very blessed that my kids were raised here, and they are very happy that they were, too. Everyone should live somewhere new, at least once, to experience it.

Can you tell us how you found out about the Poor People’s Campaign and how you got involved?

It was actually at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 when Rev. William Barber spoke, and it came with a little bit of controversy, because he said, “I’m not going to change what I say to fit your narrative.” By the end of the speech, I knew in every fiber of my being that he was someone who had many of the answers to things I have struggled with.

I kind of mulled it over and did some research on him and his organization called Repairers of the Breach, and so I reached out and said, “Whatever you’re doing, I need to be a part of it.” They responded, and it just began. Probably once or twice a month, I corresponded and had conversations with his national organizer. It was called Moral Monday back then. I let them know that I’ve never done this kind of work before – “I’ve done a lot of volunteering, and I’ve always been involved in my children’s organizations, but I’ve never done social justice organizing. I don’t know if I’m the right person, because I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Rev. Erica Williams responded: “That’s the whole point. We need regular, ordinary, everyday people. You don’t need a title; you just need to bring your heart.” So I did.

I went to Columbus once a month, where there was a woman, Rev. Susan Smith, and she gave training regarding the Moral Monday movement. I just started to build relationships and show up anywhere and everywhere I could. This is how my life has been; everything has just fallen in my lap. It’s been an amazing manifestation of surrendering and saying, “This is what I have to do.”

About a year later, in the summer of 2017, I had decided to go back to school, and they announced a revival of the Poor People’s Campaign from 1968. Little did I know that for a few years, they had been going around the country and taking a pulse and figuring out where we are as a nation 50 years later. They realized we are worse off in so many ways than we were 50 years ago, and we said, “We can’t commemorate this. We have to revive the Campaign.” They decided to do it in a way that couldn’t be killed off; they hoped 15 states would come on board, and I think nationally there were 30. People in each of those states stepped forward and said, “We’ll take this on and build a grassroots movement from the bottom up.” And it was very exciting; it’s been literally just a whirlwind.

What were some of the things that most resonated with you in these movements?

For me, it was the justice tribes – bringing people from all walks of life together to build this fusion movement. That is how I was raised: You treat everyone as if they were you – that is what spoke to me. It’s not one particular issue; it’s whatever is hurting someone. They have a saying: “Someone is hurting my brother or sister, and we won’t be silent anymore.” That’s the gist of it.

Tell me about going back to get your degree.

I’ve always wanted to, but something has always prevented me, one way or another. My children have grown, and I was in a new chapter. I had been toying with it for a little while after my kids were out of the house, and it all just started coming together.

The goal is what leads me. I don’t consider myself a leader – we’re all leaders when we choose to do something.

If I’m going to do this work, I am the kind of person who needs to know what I’m doing, and I knew this was going to be it for the rest of my life. I just knew it. I really wanted to help build capacity for this new way of being, so I needed to know about leadership and learn how to bring people from all different walks of life together. That was my goal. I realized organizational leadership was really about becoming your authentic self – reflection about yourself and your own perspective, and how you can connect all these different leadership styles. It’s a very comprehensive look at leadership and followership.

What are some of the qualities that a group needs when they are starting a grassroots movement?

The goal is what leads me. I don’t consider myself a leader – we’re all leaders when we choose to do something. I think it's a mentality of always keeping the goal in mind, and always reflecting back on “Why are we doing this?” and agreeing on principles.

The term I wish I had known was “beloved community.” “I Have a Dream” was important, but it was the manifestation of a beloved community. When we come together as a grassroots movement, we must keep the mentality of a beloved community at the center, always. We are constantly trying to make sure we leave space for those who are impacted the most; it’s a whole new way of organizing. We are open and honest with people when they join. We say, “If you need to take a break, we’re here; if you need transportation and childcare, we’re here.” It’s hard for people to ask for help sometimes, but it is about building a culture of what you want the world to look like. If you do that, the community organically comes.

What has the local chapter been up to?

We’ve been able to do everything the national campaign has asked; we did the 40 days of action where we launched the campaign, and we have done some hearings. Now we are getting ready for the national MORE tour – Mobilize, Organize, Register, and Educate – and they are going to 22 states. They will be here in April – in Dayton, because it’s central, and they really have so many different issues that are central to so many other communities around. This is about putting all these issues out front so other people can’t ignore them anymore.

The key is that it’s empowering from the local all the way up. People have read about the civil rights movement; they’ve studied it, but they haven’t been part of it. There were six weeks of the launch of the Campaign, and the last week was in D.C. We had people who came from all over the country, and we walked out of the dorm to head to the Washington Monument, and we started singing. We sang everywhere we went – on the streets, on the metro, and on the escalator. We’d all been singing the same songs, in all the states – I have goosebumps just thinking about it. That’s the culture, that no matter where you go, everyone knows that song, or knows the issue. It’s horrendous when all these horrible things are going on, but when you are with other people that really feel the way you feel, you think, “Okay, maybe we can actually do something.”

What keeps you going when working in this difficult and sometimes complex social justice world?

When I’m around all these incredible people. Rev. Barber and Yara Allen, the theomusicologist for the Campaign – those folks are like people I’ve known all my life. I’ve been thinking about self-care lately, and I think when you do things from your heart, it is so much easier.

I think love is the essential human value.

There are tough times, though; we made a trip to El Paso only to come back and have the shooting happen in Dayton. It was a really hard time for me, and I reached out to Yara, and we were all feeling it really bad. I was just in a funk, but staying in contact and staying connected is what you do; you keep talking to each other, and eventually, you come out of it. Rev. Barber often says this isn’t the worst time people have been through, and we have a duty to our ancestors and the people who came before us to keep going. You may wake up, but if you stay in bed, what’s the point?

Another way I stay grounded is through my work in education. The children have taught me so much about this. They teach me so much about how to be authentic and trust myself, and to connect with people on a different level. They keep you present, and actually, they are what grounds me. Over the summer, it’s a little harder sometimes! After the summer, I feel like, “Oh, I’m back with the kids! They’ll keep me grounded.”

What is at the heart of your work?

I think love is the essential human value. Bringing back human values to everything we do, and letting that lead us in the direction we want to go so we can build a new way of being… I’m only here because these incredible people stepped forward first, and it’s going to take all of us to get it done.

Tell us about an influential woman in your life.

My mom. She passed in 2016, and everything she taught us was to treat others with compassion and empathy. I believe she put so much love into us that it has created like a forcefield so that we always know that there is love in someone. She treated everyone with such dignity and grace. She was a devout Catholic, and though I am not religious, there was a spirituality that was so powerful… It allowed me to take all the best pieces of it – having faith that everything is the way it is supposed to be.

She was an incredible woman. She was a nurse who worked at Phillips Exeter Academy, and she always had kids at the house, random people sleeping everywhere, an open door policy. I think that is what allows me to do the work I’m doing now – that mentality of an open heart and never judging. There’s always a reason why someone acts the way they act.

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‘Regular, ordinary, everyday people’: Mary Aguilera of the Poor People’s Campaign