Time weaves between past and future. This weekend the last century played with the possibilities of our future. Nearly one thousand people gathered in Detroit to honor the life and legacy of philosopher-activist Grace Lee Boggs. Many others joined in through live streaming and social media.

On Friday the celebration began at the St. Regis Hotel as family and friends gathered for food, music and storytelling. The energy created there showed us something of the kind of loving communities we can become.

The source of that energy flowed from the deep connections we hold to the best hopes of the last century. Gathered together were people who had worked for justice in the 1950’s, standing up against the challenges of McCarthyism. They were next to labor organizers and union members, who fought for the dignity of work. There were people who had grown up in the Shrine of the Black Madonna, The Republic of New Africa, Detroit Revolutionary Union Movement, and The National Organization for an American Revolution, organizations that propelled the idea of Black leadership for a more human country. They talked with activists from Detroit Summer, Detroit Asian Youth, and Black Lives Matter, sharing stories of SNCC and the Weather Underground. Allied Media conference goers, church members, preachers, professors, artists and nurses, engaged each other about creating more open, caring communities. Poetry and music punctuated the evening.

The future floated in, emerging through the conversation, the laughter, and sometimes the tears of connection and shared imagination. People talked of what they had learned from Grace Lee Boggs’s century of activism. They shared stories of Grace and Jimmy as parents, friends and agitators. In the process, we felt how our future could be.

It is possible for us to create inclusive, loving, critical, thoughtful and joyful places. It doesn’t happen often. It doesn’t last long. But for a moment, we are reminded of what we are capable of becoming together.

On Saturday more than 700 hundred people gathered at the IBEW Hall to honor Grace one last time. She was remembered as a gentle parent, a sharp critic, an original intellect, and a tireless organizer. She challenged people to read, think, and ask probing questions. She was generous with ideas, rigorous in her pursuits, and listened deeply to the dreams of young people.

Grace Lee, who brought Grace, Jimmy and their view of revolution to thousands through her film American Revolutionary wrote on her return to Los Angeles: "Just back from Detroit where along with hundreds of others, I celebrated the life of and legacy of Grace Lee Boggs. This was the first time in 15 years that I was in Detroit and did not get to talk to Grace in person, but what a beautiful gathering of people whose lives have been profoundly affected by her. From Danny Glover to Bill Ayres and Bernadine Dorn, to the children of James Boggs, Grace's relatives, Detroit Summer alumni, numerous scholars, activists, musicians, children and educators at the The James and Grace Lee Boggs School, Grace's caregivers over the last year and the comrades closest to her in Detroit -- Grace lives on in all of our work. Thanks to everyone at the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership for planning such a wonderful event and Adrienne Maree Brown for the Kleenex when I most needed it!"

Grace closed her letters with the phrase, “In love and struggle.” Jimmy often closed his with a different line, “For the future.” They leave us now with one last assignment: In love and struggle, for the future, Grace and Jimmy.