"Go out and tell the story, make it echo far and wide. Make them hear you. Make them hear you."

This is how the inspiring song, "Make Them Hear You," from the hit Broadway musical "Ragtime" quietly takes form.

A production laden with racial struggles throughout the early 1900s, Ragtime is not a far cry from the contests of our current times. Art does not only imitate life, art gives a release to help us understand life and how to cope with life. And, in times of societal fragility such as today, art becomes far more interactive than perhaps it was ever intended. Instead of simply enjoying the artistic merit of a show, we are being given instructions, drawing from historically accurate events, of how to not return to the injustices our ancestors and loved ones so tragically endured.

It's no question that we are in a transition period. We are in a time when a man utilizing hateful rhetoric to gain popular support could end up leading our country, ignorance fosters increasingly impaired race relations, and brutality of any kind is no longer shocking news. So how do we ensure that this transitory time ends up in our favor? How do we move forward when so many of our family members, friends, and fellow Americans are in constant fear of general well-being?

We educate. We advocate. We love. We make ourselves heard.

Tell the stories of previous political and social struggles, and learn how to move forward by looking at the past. And, if you feel strongly about anything, do not be afraid to raise your voice. Please fight for what you believe in and for what's right. Please fight for those who aren't given a voice. If you have privilege of any kind, use it to the advantage of the oppressed. Don't let justice be denied to anyone.

Go out and tell the story of our past and where we desperately need to go in the future -- "teach every child to raise his voice."

Make them hear you.