What Safety Really Means
“…Safety is not the absence of fear but the presence of community care.”
When discussing safety in America or Wisconsin, the conversation almost always defaults to policing, surveillance, or punishment. Safety is too often framed as something provided to us by authority, instead of something we co-create with and for each other. We have what it takes to be safe within our communities.
But I know a different truth. Safety is not about more policing. Safety is about more care.
As a Black woman leader in Wisconsin, I carry this reality daily. My safety, and the safety of my staff, community, and people, cannot be reduced to a slogan or a soundbite. It’s about whether we can live fully, without fear of being erased, silenced, or harmed for who we are.
At All In Wisconsin, Safety is one of our four core pillars—alongside Freedom, Justice, and Joy—because we know you cannot build lasting change without it.
Here’s what safety looks like to us:
Safety is rooted in relationships. It’s knowing your neighbors have your back. It’s showing up for each other when systems fail.
Safety is proactive, not reactive. Our resilience communities create plans before crises hit, building structures that don’t rely on broken institutions to protect us.
Safety is expansive. It includes physical safety, yes, but also emotional, cultural, and economic safety. Can we show up as our whole selves? Can we rest? Can we dream?
Safety is shared. None of us are safe until every child, elder, worker, and neighbor is safe.
As I have said before, safety is not the absence of fear but the presence of community care. It is the ability to gather on porches, in parks, and in strategy sessions without wondering if harm is waiting at the door. That’s the Wisconsin we’re building. One where safety isn’t handed down from the top, but grown from the ground up. One where we stop confusing punishment with protection. One where our people are safe because we keep each other safe.
So I invite you to reflect with me: What would safety look like if it were defined by us, not by fear, but by love?
Because when safety is absolute, everything else—freedom, justice, and joy—can finally bloom.
