Resistance of the heart

A gratitude message

1/16/26

Dear zAmya Community, 

One of my favorite all time works of art is a Bread and Puppet poster that is a drawing of roses and the words “RESISTANCE OF THE HEART AGAINST BUSINESS AS USUAL". This has been a guiding principle for me as I’ve made choices about how to live my life, how to do organizational leadership, how to be.

It’s not the first time I’ve been asking myself “How do I want to spend my time right now? Is this the moment we should stop all planned activities and hit the street? Is it now? Is it now?”

I keep showing up to my work at zAmya because we are fortunate to be in the work that is already movement-building, already care-centered and already resisting business as usual. At the same time, I and other zAmyites are joining collective actions that are defending our communities against the illegal kidnappings and violence of ICE at the direction of our federal government. 

We are also joining in the celebration of the incredible organizing that’s happening in Minnesota, the groundwork for which has been built over decades. We’re getting really good at this. We’re figuring out what’s possible when every single person gets on board. When ICE gets the F out, we’ll have more tools to help us in our fight for housing justice and all the other things we want.

I’m sorry we’re here via the loss of someone’s mama, Renee Nicole Good. We honor her memory along with George Floyd and the many others, whose unnecessary deaths have catalyzed massive action. 

As I’m writing this message, there is information spreading about an Anti-Muslim march from Downtown Minneapolis to Cedar-Riverside on Saturday. There are also calls (from CAIR Minnesota and the West Bank Business Association among others) to not go to Cedar-Riverside on Saturday. Instead, they suggest joining in actions elsewhere in the Twin Cities so as not to escalate and amplify violence. This is a hard act of resistance. To not show up right where people and places we love are under threat. However, we trust the leadership calling for this action and strategizing how we keep us safe in this instance, so we are spreading the word.  

Gratitude to all the organizers, defenders, observers, singers, strategizers, drivers, grocery buyers, whistle-blowers, writers, poets, sign makers, marshalls, traffic-directors, and good neighbors. Grateful to be in resistance of the heart with you.

With love and care from all of us at zAmya, 

Maren Ward 
Executive Artistic Director 
zAmya Theater Project