I’ve been writing about parenting and politics for several years now since Collin was 2. Sometimes people still ask me when am I going to write about the “political” stuff. If folks haven’t figured it out yet, ALL of this is political. Parenting is as mass as it can get and its pretty freaking transformative!

These have been devastating times with tens of thousands lives lost in Gaza and across the world. I often look to our elders, the OGs, for guidance about parenting, politics and how they raised their little ones back in the day.

They lived through the US war against Vietnam and prospects of global revolution to Reaganomics, neoliberalism and now rising fascism… I can’t imagine what it’s like right now for our little ones growing up in these times with Trump(ism), COVID, the murder of George Floyd, Sinophobia and global war/genocide, to name a few.

But fascism is not only on the rise, it has taken over the Republican Party and multiple branches of power in the United States. The far right’s multi-decade plan is coming to fruition. It’s all very intense.

I remember one conversation with a movement elder and OG. I asked an all too generic question, “How did you balance everything?” All the movement work, going to all the meetings, rallies and marches with all the other stuff like birthday parties, play dates, homework time, the “day to day and normal” things. 

I vividly remember this elder saying, “You do it ALL.” 

I didn’t fully understand what that meant but I took away that we need to show our kiddos that being “political” is also being fully human. It is being loving, joyful and purposeful. AND it is about doing it ALL the “normal” and “political” things because they are one in the same. I will never forget that and live by this…

Palestine Solidarity & Defeating Trump

After election of Donald Trump in 2016 and the murder of George Floyd in 2020, I noticed it was causing Collin a lot of fear, anger and anxiety. It’s hard on a 6 year old!! So I intentionally toned down or avoided politics. Even when he had BIG political questions, I would keep things short and said I would tell him more when he was older.

One day, after Oct 7th, Collin tells me that his classmates were worried about World War 3 and getting “bombed.” I immediately thought to myself, “Who do they think is going to bomb us?” I worried about what they were hearing or learning in school. We (finally) talked about what’s happening in Palestine. I was still processing so much and it was hard to talk about without choking up.

We watched an episode of nightly news, which was okay… but yeah its owned by NBC and funded by the Waltons. Democracy Now! is a bit too intense for children as I learned through the years so NBC nightly news has been very helpful on most issues.

We paused for questions since he could tell the story wasn’t quite complete. We also watched some clips on TikTok which were really concise and helpful. There is some really good content!

We talked about A LOT…. WW2, anti-semitism, Zionism, the occupation of Gaza to Hamas’s attack on Oct 7th, Israel response of collective punishment and most importantly the tens and thousands killed, especially the children… and the questions kept coming non-stop. It was a lot!

At our first march together, I got really emotional reading the names of the children who have already been killed in Palestine. Since then, I’ve been more present and aware, checking in on how he’s holding up and giving him space to vent and ask questions. 

Most of the time, it is out of the blue…

“Baba why can’t they just give back the land?! It doesn’t make sense.”

“Why is Biden letting this happen!? He is turning into Trump!” 

“We need to tell Biden to do better!”

Last December, we attended a fundraiser for Cornel West, who is running for President. Collin was one of the few kids so we didn’t last too long but we stayed for Dr. West’s speech. It was inspiring and refreshing to hear his vision.

As we got back into the car, in a very serious tone, Collin asked me, “Baba, so let me get this straight… we have one presidential candidate that wants a civil war (Trump) and one that wants World War 3 (Biden).” (Note – I added that Trump also wants World War 3…)

“We should still support Biden, and get him to do better, right?” 

I asked, “Why?”

He didn’t want to say it but eventually said he didn’t think Cornell West could defeat Trump… He’s not wrong. Trump is seeking retribution. He will not only embolden white nationalists, he would also capture state power. This is what I’ve been grappling with too but for some reason all this coming from Collin, hit me so much harder and deeper.

As Collin gets older, I’ve been thinking more in decades. I feel the stakes are higher. I feel more and more grounded and accountable. I’m constantly learning from Collin. As I’ve written before, Collin has saved me and helped me become more fully human. How am I showing up in this moment and for the sake of what?

These times are so heartbreaking, inspiring, and sobering at the same time. This moment has expanded and deepened the hearts and consciousness of so many. Mass movements have made historic shifts on Palestine in the US and across the globe AND we need to keep growing our power, people power, governing power, ALL kinds of power.

How do we continue to be in solidarity with Palestine (and the other struggles around the globe) AND defeat Trump at the same time? These things are not in contradiction but rather one struggle, many fronts, as our OG’s often remind us.

Reclaiming MLK Jr. & Bringing it Home

Last week, Collin performed at the Paramount with his classmates and hundreds of other OUSD students at the Living Jazz MLK Tribute. They practiced for over a month. They sang a Stevie Wonder and MLK song. We were SO proud of him!!

Now that Collin is older (he’s 9 now), I told him I will share more “truths” with him. We listened to some of MLK’s speeches and watched parts of the Eyes on the Prize on the Birmingham Campaign. I hadn’t watched it in years. It was moving to watch together and narrate what was happening. He was shocked and enraged by how people, especially the kids were treated and arrested.

Afterwards, while he was playing with his legos, he said, “You know baba, if MLK didn’t oppose the war, I (and my Vietnamese side of the family) might not be around.” It’s sad but also so true.

To close out the weekend, we attended the APTPs MLK Jr March. When we got there, Collin said it felt like a Palestine march, which makes sense. If MLK was here today, he too would be marching on the streets with us. His radical legacy embodied one struggle, many fronts. That really brought it home for me.

2024 and Beyond: One Struggle, Many Fronts

We started out our year with our annual family retreat. Nothing fancy. This year, we ordered dim sum, watch our 2023 slideshow, talked about our reflections and what we are looking forward to in 2024. For all of us (but mostly Collin), Mango, our 11 month old puppy, was the top highlight of 2023!

In 2024, there are many fronts to our struggle. There are definitely enough roles and rotations to go around…

To me, defeating Trump is critical. It is less about supporting Biden and more about stemming the tide of fascism and creating the best terrain for our actual existence, our organizing to build the kind of power we need for the world that we all deserve.

If folks are not down with defeating Trump, I get it. Folks should consider defending pro-ceasefire candidates. There are also local and state campaigns and elections, democracy defense, preparing for an insurrection or other shenanigans from the right AND opposing the genocide in Palestine and globally, the list goes on. WE NEED IT ALL!

To be clear, we don’t all have to do the same thing, we don’t even have to totally agree BUT we should all do something to build our collective power… And, in doing so, we should NOT cannibalize each other like we often do so well. 

The system of capitalism does a fantastic job keeping us in a reactive mode and disconnected from each other’s purpose… Let’s lean in and embrace each other even if we are going in slightly different directions. Its not going to be easy but let’s practice extending grace and compassion to each other because ultimately we are on the same path, the same long arc. Let’s practice a diversity of tactics and direct our shade at the system NOT each other!

We need to show our little ones (and ourselves) that it is truly “one struggle, many fronts“. Linda Burnham, a movement elder and OG I love and respect said it best on the Lady Don’t Take No Podcast with my long time friend and comrade, Alicia Garza:

“Unfortunately, we have to do both things… the (progressive to left side of the spectrum) has to orient to both the present moment and the long term strategy. It has to figure out what are the values that unite the left, what are the politics that can unite the broadest swath of the left possible, has to come to some common understand our degree of leverage and power we do and don’t have…. But that piece of work, at the moment, is in service of playing a role in building this broader alliance.

I don’t know how things will unfold in 2024 but trust that I will stay grounded in my own health and purpose and the many “truths” I get from Collin almost every day. I will draw from inspiration and wisdom from the ancestors, our elders, all the folks on the frontlines of struggle! Most importantly, I will keep practicing being fully human. I will lean in, listen and feel more deeply into my purpose to find a path through and a path forward towards the long arc of justice and liberation.