Political commentator and activist Danielle Moodie is striking a deeply reflective tone in her latest Instagram posts, calling for a return to politics rooted in hope, solidarity, and shared purpose — rather than fear and reaction.
In a pair of posts on social media, Moodie — host of the Woke AF Daily podcast — urged her followers to resist the exhaustion of “voting against” oppression and instead reclaim the spirit of “fighting for” a better society.
“For the past few years it has felt like we have been forced to vote against oppression and cruelty instead of for the society we truly want and deserve,” she wrote.
Moodie praised both Vice President Kamala Harris and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, contrasting the structural limitations placed on Harris’s campaign with the grassroots energy around Mamdani’s movement.
“While I was inspired by Kamala Harris’s 107-day sprint,” Moodie continued, “unlike @zohrankmamdani, she took over someone else’s campaign and wasn’t given the breath or space to be who she wanted to be.”
‘The Power of the People’
In her post, Moodie framed Mamdani — a democratic socialist who became the first Muslim Mayor of New York on Tuesday — as emblematic of people-powered politics rather than traditional political heroism.
“The reason why the oppressors are scared of @zohrankmamdani,” she wrote, “is because he symbolizes the power of the people and what happens when we recognize who we are and what we want and band together to fight for it.”
Moodie stressed that Mamdani “isn’t a savior but a necessary spark.” Moodie made the post before Mamdani was declared the winner of the Mayoral race:
“When he wins, he will need all of us to continue working to create the kind of city and country we deserve. The work of the people doesn’t end on Election Day — it begins.”
A Second Post: Finding Hope in Hard Times
Moodie followed her political reflection with a more personal message anchored in the words of bell hooks, the late feminist scholar and author known for her writings on love, resistance, and radical hope.
“Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair,” the post quoted from hooks.
Her caption read simply: “A change is possible.”
The quote and its timing seemed intentional — a reminder that even amid polarization and burnout, hope remains a revolutionary act.
The Broader Context: A Call for Renewal
Moodie’s posts arrive at a pivotal moment in American politics. With the 2026 midterms on the horizon and the progressive movement recalibrating after a series of electoral setbacks, her message doubles as both a rallying cry and a reality check.
For years, voters — particularly women, LGBTQ+ communities, and people of color — have expressed exhaustion at being asked to show up primarily in opposition to authoritarianism or regression. Moodie’s posts flip that narrative on its head.
“The future is ours if we want it to be,” she concluded.
It’s a declaration that feels less like campaign rhetoric and more like a manifesto, one that echoes a growing chorus of voices calling for a politics of joy, imagination, and agency, not just survival.
Hope as Strategy
In many ways, Moodie’s words revive a thread of political thought that bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and Angela Davis have all championed — that hope is not naive, but necessary.
Her reminder that “the work doesn’t end on Election Day” lands as both encouragement and warning. Winning power is one thing; building a just society is another.
