NOTE: It has been quite a month already! I went on my first national gathering since the beginning of COVID. Then I was out with COVID (with pretty mild conditions). This week I turn 46 (!!). I’ve been sitting on this blog for sometime and glad I finally made time and space to finish. The photo I shared is of the Encampment for Citizenship, a summer youth leadership program, in 1992 that transformed my outlook in life. I was 16 years old. It was part of my long arc and journey into the movement.

Practicing self care and community care (not selfish care): A Long Arc

I was on a few panels with other organizers last month for Asian American and Pacific Islander Month for a chapter I wrote in this new anthology called “Contemporary Asian American: Building Movements for Liberation.” There were great questions that ranged from how to do organizing and movement building to what solidarity and internationalism look like in these times. 

My reflections on practicing self and community care (not selfish care) became a big topic. It is no surprise that this is top of mind. Times are intense and folks are going through it! Capitalism, racism, economic instability, COVID, to name a few, have caused major isolation and fragmentation in our movements and more broadly in society. AND the scale of these crises are waaaaay larger than any of our single collectives or organizations can effectively address. 

These intergenerational exchanges affirmed what is at stake for me. From Collin (who turns 8 this year) and the young people entering the movement to workers who are rising up and the OGs, I want collective liberation for all of us. But I also know this is part of a longer arc. HOW we sustain ourselves and each other for the long run in these times has been a key question for me. 

This is what I wrote…