a little personal update

and honoring MLK Day

It’s been a while, and as you read this, I’m about to go watch the Bob Dylan movie with my mom; we thought it would be good to be together “on this strange and mournful day.” I wanted to share a little bit about my studies, a little bit about my small contribution to justice work, and a little bit about a lovely personal development, albeit driven by some of what’s wrong in the world right now. In future months you’ll get a little more about equity in the workplace and organizing in local spaces! But for now, these are just some updates on my life. In the next newsletter and going forward, there will be much more practical wisdom and “what I’m learning!”

Honoring Dr. King

I hope that if your schedule allows, you’ll carve out a little time today to reflect on the legacy you want to invest in during this season. Dr. King preached about “the drum major instinct” and reminded us that doing good and doing justice in humble ways is actually the noblest path. But he didn’t tell us just to be nice or do our job well. He did call us to stand against injustice. So today is a day to think about our particular role in contributing to that.

I was watching the 1619 Project tv show on Hulu last night, and Nikole Hannah-Jones interviewed elders who as young adults joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi in the 1960s, knowing their homes and offices would likely be burned down or bombed, and who endured literal torture in prison. They said they risked their safety partly because when you’re young you think you’re invincible and partly so we would get to fight different fights than they had to. And they all said they were not surprised that the struggle continues. They were who Dr. King was talking about when he talked about fighting the drum major instinct. What made them exceptional wasn’t their jobs or their titles or their level of authority; it was their willingness to reflect on where they could be useful and how much they were willing to risk. It’s giving me a lot to reflect on these days.

Photo by Darold Pinnock on Unsplash

What I’ve been studying, what I’ll be studying, and what’s next in my studies

You may be on this substack because of my books (Liberating Love had its own newsletter for a while, and some folks found their way here because of the Ancestors Summit that Katy Valentine and I co-hosted after Rebels, Despots, and Saints came out), or because of my anti-oppression/DEI (diversity/equity/inclusion) work — and we’ve done some pretty innovative and inspiring work! But you know that in the fall of 2023 I began a PhD program in social welfare, and the newsletter has shifted to a bit more of a pro-democracy/DIY justice resource with a lot of historic connections baked in. And some of that has to do with what I’m studying, and some of it has to do with decades of anti-racism work feeling relevant to this moment.

My first year in the PhD program was really tough — getting acclimated to the academic world, learning a whole new field and method of research, and figuring out what to hold on to and what to let go of in order to do well at this particular type of work.

That said, I’ve gotten to play a little bit more this year! I got to write a play about a recall election for my Critical Ethnography course, and I also learned how to do the actual data analysis of major donors to recall elections in Data Analysis for Public Policy Challenges. My Advanced Policy Analysis course was taught by a professor who actually created some of the best federal programs I know of in terms of affordable housing, such as the expansion of access to housing for homeless and low-income veterans in the 2010s. This semester I’m taking a course on network analysis (who’s connected to whom and how that influences behavior), a course on qualitative research (basically getting better at interviewing people and doing so in ways that protect the people being interviewed), and a course on the Histories of Capitalism which you will definitely hear more about!

I also have an incredible advisor and get to work at a research lab focused on the intersection of digital space and various justice issues. I recently got to pull together a team of folks from the lab who, like me, are interested in exploring why the Right has so effectively leveraged social media to create a sense of belonging among disaffected people in order to move them to action, and how that compares to how the Left uses the same tools. Stay tuned.

In June I’ll take my preliminary exam, and then if that goes smoothly, I’ll start work on my dissertation proposal. WHEW! What a journey!

Justice Work part one

I’m excited about a couple of upcoming speaking engagements. One is with a church in New York and the other is at a university in Columbus, Ohio. I’m really delighted that in both places I’ll get to talk a little bit about what it means to connect with and learn from our ancestors as we engage in the work of justice.

Rebels, Despots, and Saints (the ancestors who free us and the ancestors we need to free) is my most recent book, and it’s my love letter to Oakland organizers and activists, and my letter of encouragement to my people in spiritual communities seeking a path to even greater boldness regarding the work of justice. But truth be told, I assumed that Transforming Communities, which came out eight years ago, would be the book people would turn to now. It’s about different paths people in local communities have taken to create healing and justice right where they live, with the people around them. It was useful to folks feeling like they couldn’t make a difference in the face of the federal government eight years ago, and it offers some of that same support today.

So it brings me joy to learn that RDS is actually useful to folks who want to create justice right where they are, and who know they’ll need strong foundations in order to do the work for the long haul. I’m looking forward to more conversations like the ones coming up.

Justice Work part two

The reason I went back to grad school after so many years was because when I was doing the book tour for Transforming Communities, I kept saying “the reason we’re in this political hellscape is largely because an organization called the Heritage Foundation cast this vision 50 years ago and remained focused on it, starting from the grassroots all the way to the Presidency. But the good news is, we’re at the beginning of the next fifty years.” (Eight years ago no one had heard of the Heritage Foundation. Go figure.)

I guess I said it so many times I found myself thinking, “who’s holding the fifty-year vision for us?” The good news is, a lot of amazing organizers were thinking the same thing, so there are several great initiatives emerging. But in my little corner of the world, I felt called to start a multi-faith religious left think tank. And I went back to school to find the other spiritually rooted young, visionary policy wonks who might like to help me get it off the ground.

One of my professors really caught fire about this vision and connected me with a colleague of his who lives at that exact intersection, who has promised to help me find the people who would want to fund that vision. And he asked me to pretend I’m launching it this summer, and draw up a budget based on a vision and strategic plan by April. So next month, be prepared for me to ask you to help me out by filling out a survey. I could use your wisdom for this next step!

Personal stuff

A handful of people know that my partner Nabil and I are getting married in August. I’m certainly excited because he makes my life both more solid and more fun, and I am also delighted that I’ve known so much love in my life that had nothing to do with romantic love. I don’t plan on that changing; I need my people as well as my person!

Just after the election, progressive lawyers began suggesting that anyone who part of a group on the incoming administration’s list of targets should get their paperwork moved forward as quickly as possible (immigration paperwork, name change, next of kin status, marriage). And so we went ahead and took care of the legal paperwork, just to be on the safe side.

photo from filling out the legal paperwork — the entire family was forced to wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters mostly because Nabil knew how much my mother would complain about it.

We did the paperwork knowing that there are others at far greater risk. In fact, we could not get an appointment with a justice of the peace until February because the court had so many weddings suddenly cropped up. And I did it with a little sadness—August is us choosing each other. This felt like external forces and political malice driving the boat.

BUT we were able to time it so my mother was visiting, and that meant Nabil’s mother and my mother were the witnesses, and his aunt and cousin were able to attend also. And one of my besties was more than willing to provide the ceremony as a pastor licensed to perform legal weddings in the state of CA, adding just enough politics and enough laughter to remind us we were all in this together. And that evening, about twenty friends gathered at my favorite outdoor but heated and ADA accessible and transit accessible spots in Oakland for dinner.

One of my friends said, “I know this timing wasn’t your plan, but thank you. We need some joy, especially in this season.”

So before I sign off, I want to remind you to seek out joy, actively, intentionally, and with a commitment to expressing gratitude when you encounter it. The saying “joy is a form of resistance” is not an abstraction. In a time of fear, joy can remind us of what freedom feels like, and it can encourage us to keep up the work. For me, that’s my boo, my family, my classmates, my movement siblings, Nabil’s cat Mani, and you.

Thanks for contributing to my joy.

Sandhya

Mani sends you lots of love. Although usually he is sending it from under the bed. Which is pretty relatable these days. <3