Creative Non-Conformity: Our Way Forward

Tonight, I watched Eddie S. Glaude Jr. speak at the University at Albany for their Black History Month celebration. He spoke with the kind of urgency that made it clear: we cannot afford to conform. Not now. Not when history is being rewritten in real-time. Not when people in power are working to erase the very communities that have fought to make this country live up to its promises.

This moment demands more than resistance—it requires imagination. It requires us to break from the scripts we’ve been given about what justice looks like, what change is supposed to be, and how we are expected to fight for it.

Because let’s be honest—too much of what we call progress is just adaptation to the status quo.

Inclusion Into What?

Ruha Benjamin challenges us to ask, “What are we being included in?” It’s a question that forces us to step back and recognize a hard truth: we cannot mistake inclusion for liberation.

Too often, we celebrate access without questioning the space itself. We push for a seat at the table but accept the conditions of a table that was never meant for us. We celebrate representation without asking whether the system we are now visible in has actually changed—or continues to cause us harm and makes us complicit in the harm to our own community.

Creative non-conformity means refusing to accept this as enough. It means rejecting the idea that we should be satisfied just because we’re allowed to be present—as long as we don’t make anyone uncomfortable.

Because presence without power is containment.

The Hoax of Universal Belief

Dr. King is often quoted as if he was beloved in his time, as if his vision of justice was universally accepted. But the truth is, he was one of the most hated men in America. The FBI labeled him dangerous. Many who now celebrate his words once stood against everything he fought for.

And yet, his words are now paraded as proof that we all share his values—as if knowing his speeches means we are living out his dream. It’s a hoax. We are told that since we quote him, we must embody his beliefs.

But it does not work that way. Knowing the words does not mean living the values. Just because his legacy is honored now does not mean his fight is over. Celebration is not the same as action; it's performance.

What Does This Moment Demand?

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. made it clear: we cannot simply resist—we have to reimagine. We cannot rely on old models of change because the systems we are fighting have evolved. The resistance to justice is more sophisticated. The barriers are less obvious but just as powerful.

Creative non-conformity means refusing to play the role expected of us. It means speaking when we are told to be silent. Challenging when we are told to accept. It means recognizing that history will not validate us in the moment—but that does not mean we are wrong.

Because every person who has ever demanded real change was seen as disruptive. Every movement that has ever reshaped the world was met with hostility.

The question is not whether we will be accepted. The question is whether we will accept the world as it is—or insist on something more.

This moment is ours to shape. Let’s not waste it.