S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. On today's show , we're talking about this year's theme for Black History Month African Americans and Labor. It's to highlight the vital role black people have played in the American workforce. I'm Jade Hyndman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired and engaged. Where the fight for better wages and working conditions began.
S2: America has thrived off free labor , and that has come at the expense of black and brown bodies.
S1: So we'll discuss where today's labor movement is going and the roles , strategy and clarity of mind play in that. That's ahead on Midday Edition. From the labor of enslaved black people to propelling labor movements forward for fair wages , equity and better working conditions , black people have played a vital role in the workforce. All workers in America have benefited greatly from that. I'm joined now by a great panel of guests to talk more about that , and how worker justice and racial justice go hand in hand onto. Anthony Merritt is assistant professor of africana studies at San Diego State University. Professor Merritt , welcome.
S3: Thank you. Glad to be here.
S1: So glad to have you here. Also , Brisa Johnson , director of the San Diego Black Workers Center. Hi , Brisa. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you so much for having us.
S1: Glad to have you. And so , Tommy Ziegler , executive director of the UCSD Labor Center. Hi , Tommy. Hello.
S2: Hello.
S4: Thank you for having me on.
S1: Glad to have you as well. So let's start with this theme African Americans and Labor. Professor Merritt.
S3: It's always been a struggle , but it's a very , extremely important part of American history to know what the the trials and tribulations that African-Americans went through from the period of post enslavement to the present.
S1:
S4: Not essentially , but actually. And so the systems that we engage in now are critical to the success of black folks. And we're , you know , the fact that we we still haven't corrected for the wrongs that this country was founded upon and to really kind of bring , uh , the light of the importance and value that the African American workforce or work labor has brought to this country.
S1: And Brisa ? Yeah.
S2: I mean , um. I agree with both individuals here today. I think , though , the other point of this is the truth is , America doesn't really care to rectify what is happening because it's part of their model. America has thrived off free labor. It has been successful because of free labor. And that has come at the expense of black and brown bodies. And we're seeing this resistance now and this movement to push back against systems as opposed to putting Band-Aids on bullet wounds. And I think for a long time we've been working at this in silos. And what we're seeing now is a larger organizing movement of collective resistance that gets to the root of some of the issues going back to slavery and going back to systemic racism. Um , and I think that's why now it's more of a topic of discussion is because if history has shown us anything , is that we don't pay attention to history , which is why it continues to repeat itself. And I think people are deprogramming their minds and getting out of the trusting the systems that have taught them in the K through 12 , in healthcare and transportation and government. And they're starting to ask more questions , which is leading to the conversations we're having now.
S1: And Professor Merritt , we see where the movement is currently. Can you talk a bit about the role African-Americans played in the labor movement in the 20th century ? Yeah.
S3: In the early 20th century , uh , as blacks were going through their what was called the first great black migration. In the early 1900s , moving in large numbers from the south to the north and experiencing the northern urban north , the immigrant population coming in from Europe. They were pawns in a labor struggle during World War One , as their labor was exploited through being barred from membership in unions and making them exclusively our European American. And part of that dynamic was , was to socialize European immigrants , to accept something called whiteness and white privilege that went along with that. And so , um , black Americans migrating from the south to the north saw that in terms of their labor , they were used at the very lowest rungs of the World War One labor movement. The profits that were being made from that and , um , they were also were used as strikebreakers , scabs by the thousands from the meat industries to all other the all of the other war industries. Whenever big money wanted to exploit the , uh , the labor market. Um , they were number one make sure that blacks were excluded from unions. And number two , that gave them a more , uh , malleable , uh , labor force that they could hire when the white workers went on strike and they could give them lower wages. And that's been part of the the battle going back and forth over the decades. Uh , that Michael Speaker mentioned earlier.
S1:
S4: So , you know , I feel like there's there's also something to be said about the formation of new unions by black folks in the early , early 20th century. I mean , we saw , you know , the brotherhood of the Sleeping car Porters , um , as folks know , founded by a Philip Randolph who worked , you know , hand in hand with , um , doctor Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Right. And that was in what , mid 1920s. And it was like the first predominantly black labor union to receive a charter from the AFL. And we know that , you know , the the history of labor unions is not perfect. It has a very storied history , just like the , the , the , the history of our nation. But it's , you know , to to not recognize the , the folks that were , that were organizing across ethnic lines , racial lines , um , like the , the CIO. So the AFL was the American Federation of Labor , and they were more you know , that was the kind of the Samuel Gompers like exclusion. Exclusion. You know , they were , you know , all about white supremacy and , you know , building power , making sure to maintain what they have. Um , whereas you had the Congress of Industrial Organizations , the CIO , the other part of that AFL-CIO , which was an honest union , where , you know , they were organizing everybody and really believed that power was built by every worker coming together to exercise their voice , their power , their power productivity , their power to move and really engaged and created larger social movements. Right. So we're talking about black folks fighting for economic justice because we know there's no economic. There's no racial justice without economic justice , because of the history of this country founded on enslaved labor. And so , you know , you see the the labor movement linking arms with the civil rights movement , you know , bringing these two seemingly , you know , different issues together in the struggle , you know , because you really think about it. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s paralleled labor struggles of that time. And , you know , and many of the labor leaders really supported desegregation and equal rights. You know , like we saw in the march , the march on Washington in the 60s , right. It wasn't just the March on Washington. You know , you know , I am a man , uh , for for rights. Right ? It was the for rights and jobs. So I think we have a tendency to forget that's part of Doctor King's legacy. You know , he died , you know , fighting alongside the sanitation workers in Memphis. You know , black workers were killed because of the of the inhumane conditions that they were subjected to that their white counterparts were not subjected to. Right. And so these are , you know , black folks have traditionally like when we see these , these these social movements have been the foundation of many of these social movements.
S1: Oh , absolutely. And I think and it really also speaks to what you were saying , Professor Merritt , about , you know , how how the exclusion of black people in labor unions ultimately was to the detriment of everyone in the workforce.
S3: There was a Civil Rights Act of 1866 that was passed. That was the first time in American history that blacks as a group received actual rights. As for for labor contract. Then later , about a year and a half later , the 14th amendment was passed , which gave them citizenship , but it was supposed to be an enlargement and a guarantee and an amendment that everything in the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was protected by the 14th Amendment. They left out the labor contract part. I thought that was very instructive. So Blackstone had to go through a period of time where they had to struggle to create the ability to get labor contracts. So if we can just jump forward to the other end of the book end and look at , say , as was mentioned by the other speaker , the work of Philip Randolph , he challenged the then president in 1941 , FDR , Franklin Delano Roosevelt , to pass Executive Order 802 , in which Randolph said , you know , look , I'm taking by this black union that we have the brotherhood of sleeping car porters and maids and going to use them to spread the word through the black press that if certain things are not given to black workers who are now citizens of the United States , we're going to put that through the black papers and spread it across the nation through the sleeping car porters and maids , and let people know that this FDR , whose vote as president , we swung the vote in his favor , is not doing anything for it. So Executive Order 882 wasn't great , but it was a somewhat of a progression and that FDR was forced to give blacks employment in those companies that received federal funding , whether they could be private companies , as long as they were receiving federal funding , they were supposed to give blacks. I guess you would call this the affirmative action for employment. It showed two black folks that they have political power , that they cannot just simply wait for someone to do something for them , but they can use their union brotherhoods , brotherhood of sleeping carpenters and maids to pressure a president to give them some semblance of access to higher training. And so this led to workers making the second great black migration from the South , this time to California and the northwest to participate in the the naval industry , the aircraft industry , and some of the things that go on in Reno , Nevada , the airstrips there. So there has been it's been. It's always been a push and pull relationship between blacks and labor , blacks and politicians for the control of their over their labor.
S1: And it's something , you know , that every generation has had to build on , build on and continue to do so.
S2: There's two sides of this coin. There are folks currently in the labor movement who value deeply the human rights , the equitable rights of all working families , especially black workers and black voices. There is a movement of black worker justice that is happening not only within black worker centers across the nation , but there's also a movement of black union leaders who are calling out labor and are holding labor accountable and calling out and calling in and holding labor accountable and talking about the inequities and the disparities amongst labor. And so that movement is happening on one side of this. On the other side of it. There are still unions and labor leaders who have not embraced black worker power and black worker justice , because they know that that economic equity and that economic justice is rooted in the liberation of black individuals , of of black power. And that still , because of systemic racism and things that have been instilled in them over generations , is still something that they fear , and therefore they feel like they still need to control it. And so where people find themselves on that side of the coin can sometimes be harmful because you don't feel like you have real solidarity in these movements and at times feel the performative allyship that comes out of labor where they'll call on us for Black History Month. And they want us to be a part of their panels , and they want to give us awards and then ignore us the rest of the 11 months out of the year. But then on the other side , back to the , you know , to the progressive coin of this is you have black worker centers like San Diego who are sitting at these tables filled with white men and saying , but what about black workers ? But there's a disparity here , but there's injustice here. And holding the line to employers that are still continuously taking advantage of workers. I think where we see the most positive shift and and what most hopeful and what some may even call radical , as I would call revolutionary , is no longer approaching this issue as a moral issue. We can't convince people to care about people. You either do or you don't. You either see the injustice that black workers are facing and you're willing to say something or you're not. But we're no longer going to sit at the table and try to convince you that this is wrong. The conversations that are happening now is you can still think this , but we're going to push for policy and we're going to push for employee handbooks and , and have a legal arm behind us that says this is wrong , and we're going to hold you accountable and impact your economics as much as possible , because at the end of the day , what we've learned from history and what we've learned historically , even from the civil rights movement and the labor justice movement , is that when we unpack your economics , you move. And that is our goal in this resistance movement , is to focus on organizing workers to no longer have the moral conversation , but to move to accountability conversations and knowing what that looks like in real time for each city and landscape.
S1: Coming up , the root of labour movements and our ability to thrive.
S4: Black workers aren't just workers , right ? It's not just about the contract , but it's about all the issues impacting us and our communities that have a huge impact on the quality of life.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition I'm Jade Hindman. Black labor history is the central theme of Black History Month this year. This hour , we're discussing the vast contributions of black workers and labor activism. I'm speaking with Anthony Anthony Merritt , assistant professor of africana studies at San Diego State University. Also , Brisa Johnson , director of the San Diego Black Worker Center , and Tommy Ziegler , executive director of the UCSD Labour centre.
S4: Um , the exclusionary practices of the the old school old boys club of the AFL , the American Federation of Labor , um , were basically the same as the Ku Klux Klan , essentially , you know , upholding white supremacy , wanting to exclude black workers from having economic equity. You know , anti-Blackness within the labor within the labor movement is historic. But also at the other end of that spectrum , we see the organizing of , um , black workers , one of the first black founded labor unions , the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters , um , you know , fought against that , recognized that uniting folks was the way to really build power , um , in a system that was meant to , um , perpetuate oppressive practices. Right ? Oppressive labor practices. So , I mean , we still see it today , but there have been movements within the labour movement itself. You know , aside from having , you know , giant large organizations , um , there are organizations founded within the groups called constituency groups. So there's the a Philip Randolph Institute , you know , which was named after a Philip Randolph which worked , you know , to address , make sure that the issues of the the black community were not being ignored by the labour movement. Right. Because it it's not just about bread and butter. If you're worried about , you know , being murdered on the streets , then , you know , maybe your contract is not going to be your first priority , but really recognising that as workers , black workers aren't just workers , right ? It's not just about the contract , but it's about all the issues impacting us and our communities that have have a huge impact on the quality of life. Right. And , and in working with these unions , because as a , as their vehicle to implement sustainable positive change. Right.
S1: Right. Well , Professor Merritt , do you have anything to add to that ? Yes.
S3: I think one of I'd just like to delve back into one of the challenges that black workers had in that mid-20th century period of time that impacted them as they were trying to find a place and find a place of of agency was the associations , for better or for worse , that they had with such organizations as the CP , USA , Communist Party of the USA , some Marxist organizations , some of which were well-meaning. Um , one of them , for instance , a couple of them came to the defense of the Scottsboro Boys , the nine black men who were falsely accused of raping two white women in Scottsboro , Mississippi. But my point in raising that up is that was used against them , you know , by used against black workers. Um , they , you know , coming out of the 40s and 50s. There was this whole movement , of course , the whole Red scare movement. And so that was one of the things that kind of pushed to a certain extent , black unionism and black agency into a corner said , oh , you're you're a communist , you're a Marxist , you're a socialist. All of this. So they had to wrestle with that. Their association with the NAACP and other more moderate or conservative black groups to find groups to work with without being worked over , you know , without being without their their interest being sublimated. So I think now in today's time , we have new groups who have really are recognizing their agency , recognizing their power , recognizing their voice , and recognizing that whoever they choose to work with or not to work with , they can't be dependent upon them , they have to be dependent on their own volition.
S1: I want to pick up on something you were talking about. And that is how black workers were vilified. Yes. Yes. Can we talk about some of the ways that's happening today.
S2: When it comes to vilifying black workers ? What we see largely today touches on that anti-Blackness. And I think what I. You know , anti-Blackness is a newer term that has been adopted by the movement. And what I love about it is it starts to really address the microaggressions and discrimination that people are facing on the job. Because when we say systemic racism or racists , people say , well , I don't I don't hate black people. Right. They associate that with the , the , the white hoods and the , the actual verbal disdain for black people. And they don't realize that in denying economic equity is also part of systemic racism and aligns with racist values. And so. Coining this anti-Blackness terms allows people to have more of agency to reflect and identify where their bias shows and where we see this largely in villainized black workers is in discrimination practices , especially within hiring. What we saw in 2024 alone was that over 60% of black black workers faced discrimination within the hiring practice and 43% higher than any folks from the AAPI community and folks from the Latinx community. So although we're seeing discrimination hitting people of color , we're still seeing it largely impacting black people more so than anyone. We also see them in simple violations like minimum wage violations throughout the state of California. Here in San Diego specifically , we have a huge outstanding balance of wage theft where workers are literally black workers are being denied their wages that they've already worked. And most of the times it is employers who are purposely denying their wages. And then , of course , you have a few workers who just don't know the proper minimum wage laws in California. But in San Diego , only 4% of minimum of wage theft claims have actually been paid in full. 96% of the other cases are unknown. And so that is how we're also seeing black workers be taken advantage of. And and then we see that economic disparity impact their housing , their food source , their transportation. And then what we will do in regards to villainized , black workers and black people is then start to say , well , you're not working hard enough and start to say , well , you need to find a job that you know is closer to your neighborhood if you have transportation issues , not realizing that they're not they're not the jobs. And the economic growth and development is not happening in predominantly black neighborhoods , right. So all these things then have an effect , and we will blame the black worker , and we will never blame the systems in place and the barriers in place that have been strategic in keeping them displaced and keeping them a few steps behind from the starting line.
S1: You know , discrimination among black workers. It's happening in the hiring process.
S2: Um , I think largely more recently is we're also seeing them rationalize it through Dei. Um , we talk about diversity , equity and inclusion. And we don't realize that diversity , equity , inclusion was never designed to just let people of color in. It was designed to let those who are already more than qualified for the position to get a chance to be seen. And I think they used by now to purposely make it seem like these people are getting a pass in some way , and not realizing that you have personally been holding them back , and we're just removing the arm that has already been punishing them and just giving them a chance to come to the front door. We're we're just taking that barrier away. And I think that's how they've rationalized it , is thinking that in helping black workers , they are doing some sort of service , some savior complex of , well , I'll give you this opportunity , I'll give you this chance. As if they haven't put in the work , whether it be through trade school , whether it be through education , whether it be through life experience , whether it be through , uh , programs and trainings and leadership seminars and degrees , whatever it is that have actually already bought them their seat at the table , and you just refuse to to let them in the door and die is just removing that. But they've used that to discredit the qualifications and the intelligence that black workers bring to the table.
S1: And much of that is propaganda , right ? I mean , they know full well what what diversity , equity and inclusion is. But let's let's redefine what that is. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. And I think this is why , you know , folks like Professor Merritt are so crucial to this work and why the history goes hand in hand. Because like I said earlier , one thing that we learned from history is that we don't. And a lot of the answers that we're looking for have already been laid out. You know , we talk about boycotts and we talk about protests , but what we forget. Unless you are studying the history , is that those were tactics to a much larger campaign , and we have to start being more strategic in the tactics that we're using , that they are in alignment with a broader goal and a and a broader campaign of worker justice , of economic justice , of black worker justice. And that were not just protesting and boycotting to to to take a stand , but that we're doing it with the intentions of moving the agenda and reaching a goal that breaks those systems and allows for more truth and thus justice , to intervene.
S1: Coming up , we continue our conversation with the roles clarity of mind and strategy. Play in activism.
S3: See how the abuse of power can be used as a launching point for activism , for being organized.
S1: Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. On the show today , we are discussing this year's Black History Month theme , African-Americans and labor. I'm joined by Anthony Anthony Merritt , assistant professor of africana studies at San Diego State University. Also , Brisa Johnson , director of the San Diego Black Worker Center. And so tell me , Rasha Ziegler , executive director of the UCSD Labor Center. Now , I'd like to talk more about the current state of American politics , since we are talking about di um , and what are your predictions on where we go from here ? Um , professor , I'll start with you.
S3: That is a very interesting question. Um , I'm going to take what may sound like the high road on this. I think when a situation that we have now and that we have for the next four years is a litmus test for people's political consciousness. Prior administrations have done what they've done or not done under the veneer of helping people , of being good and so on and so forth. This is as black and white as it can get. Okay. And if we do not see this , okay. And we do not see the system for , uh , what it is and how it can be exploited. Okay. We are missing a chance to really galvanize ourselves for the actions that our co-presenters are talking about. So when I say we're taking the high road on this doesn't mean accept it. It means to learn from it. Okay. To really see that this this system as it is structured is not a black people friendly system. It never has. It is not now , and it's not likely to be in the near future. Okay. So see how it is functioning. See how the abuse of power okay can be used as a launching point for for activism , for being organized. What can we do ? Okay. What will we not put up with. What have we. What have we learned from the past that we can bring into the present ? So this is a time that is visited upon us. And if we don't learn from it and take , take heed. It's going to continue.
S1:
S3: I hope that , you know , people who have a clear vision can say , don't you see what's going on ? Okay. Or you can pull the wool over people's eyes , but just for so long. What we have now is the wool has been thrown back. Now look at this. This is the what one entity can do who has a a bunch of psychopaths that will do and say what that person's agenda is , because they all want power. They all want to sit at the seat of power. And one of the things that Di has that irritates them is that , um , black women and black men are speaking up clearly , intelligently , and they know the laws. They know the policies. They know. When certain people have exceeded their authority and they're , as they say , you know , not going to take it anymore. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. I mean , the clarity and the vocabulary to push for it are essential. I understand you've actually had to cancel a talk since. Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1: This was a change in administration. Exactly.
S3: Exactly. I was asked to do a talk on black labor at a naval center in Point Loma. But I was asked by the black employees there to talk , and there was conversation was going great. Everything was perfectly lined up. Then all of a sudden I get a call and says , well , everything's on hold. And because of the present administration and command has said this , and command has said that , and this was a black woman , a civilian , but she was under pressure to get this squashed. And I you know , I know this wasn't her fault. This was orders that she had to follow. But , um , because , um , me coming from where I'm at , you know , in Africana studies department , I wasn't going to come in and soft shoe it , okay. And so I think that that had a lot to do with it being squashed.
S1:
S4: I think we're going to be seeing a lot more of it under this administration. And given , um , the executive orders that have been coming down and basically that the roadmap for his administration is essentially project 2025. So Brisa brought up a really great point in that , you know , we're seeing , you know , folks like this movement of awakening happening and that folks are beginning to , like , see what's going on , are trying to shift and , you know , reimagine the system or at least fix the system. Um , but , you know , we're seeing this overreaction Reaction now. And I think we see this reaction , I think originally to the , the election of , um , Obama. This is people reacting in a way where they feel threatened that , you know , quote unquote , competence. Right. We need to put competent people in office instead of relying on Dei , versus really understanding that Dei is just a is a tool to help to remove some of the barriers that were , you know , created in the first place for , you know , black people to achieve. Right. What happened to Doctor Merritt ? We are going to see continuously. But I also think at the same time we are going to see a response. Um , you know , I think Doctor Merritt is correct , like this is an opportunity for folks to come around. I've been an organizer for 20 years , and one of the things that we say in organizing is some of the best , like catalysts for organizing , are a bad boss. I think it's the same situation that we're in , some of the best. This is going to be one of the best catalysts for organizing is the the basically the unilateral , the unilateral , um , kind of reckoning that , you know , Trump is having with our country , um , people aren't going to buy into it. And this is the he's going to create a situation that's going to bring folks that haven't worked together to really create a social movement that we haven't seen before.
S1: Well , and to Tommy's point , allyship is something , um , that will be important to pushing that movement forward , but it can also be really performative. So what does allyship look like versus this performative allyship ? Brisa. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Uh , there's an activist from the South who once said , uh , I don't need an ally. I need an accomplice. And , uh , I think allyship really looks like truth telling. A deep level of truth telling. Because we have been programmed to think that there's a right and a left , and we've been programmed to think that there's people who are for the community and people who are for corporate organizations. And the reality of the times that we are in is the left wing and the right wing are on the exact same bird. James Baldwin said , you know , we can agree to disagree as long as your disagreement doesn't cause me harm. Doesn't doesn't disregard me as a human being. And we need to be okay with those sacrifices. We need to be okay with letting folks know that I cannot continue this friendship with you. I cannot continue to work in this space. I cannot continue to engage in this cohort and this in this relationship. If you believe these things and if you support these things , whether it be who's currently in office or the next , because the truth is , although who's currently in office is problematic. He is a tool of white supremacy , and white supremacy is rooted in the systems , and the only thing that is going to to defeat organized power is organized people. And we have to realize that as allies , it is your job to take these conversations and these discourse study , learn the history , and then get into the community and listen. Listen to those that have been experiencing this longer , who have the firsthand experience of discrimination , of racism , of anti-blackness , of police brutality , of border brutality , of wage theft , of whatever the issue is , and then make the sacrifice.
S1: And with that , I feel like we can't have this conversation about labor movements and organizing without talking about the power of rest and rest as resistance and self-care. What are your closing thoughts on that ? Um , so , Tommy , I'll start with you.
S4: Rest is so important. Self-care is so important. And and not self-care. I feel like , as most people think about it , you know , like getting the massages. I mean , that stuff is is important. But taking space to reflect , taking time to breathe for healing is important. And , you know , we we can learn from Audre Lorde , um , that essentially , I'm summing up her quote that , you know , that self-care isn't isn't a luxury. It is. It is an act of defiance. It's a political act. It's an act of resistance. And when we don't rest and take care of ourselves , we burn out. And we are not able to continue to , to take , uh , to , to participate in , in the movement.
S1: And , Professor Merritt.
S3: I think burnout is the bane of our times. We when we're conscious of what's going on wherever it is , whether it's a classroom , whether it's the workplace , uh , whether it's at the meetings and so forth. Where we become driven , we become almost , for lack of a nicer word , sometimes a little obsessed. Okay. Um , and then we have to stop and say , well , wait a minute. I'm becoming a little less effective because I'm pushing myself so hard. I've got to , as you know , taking taking a rest is so instrumental to your well-being. Uh , every day or most every day. You know , we have , uh , batteries , like a car that need to be recharged. We have to get our feet on the earth. There's a translation in the in the book. Um , the the Art of War. And it's a more direct way of saying of not being , um , owned by things. And that that is that you take the view that you're not going to be affected by the world. Okay ? You are in the world. And we used to say we are in the world , but not of the world. I say , I am in the world , but I'm not going to be affected by it as much as possible because there are the there are these things that just tear you down psychologically , physically , uh , your relationships suffer , uh , your time with your grandchildren and children suffer because we become really attached to this work that it needs to be done. It needs to be done. But we're not the only ones that can do it.
S1: And , Britta , I'll give you the final word here on rest and resistance. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Um , this work is extremely overwhelming. The news is overwhelming. And for those who have empathy for humanity , it can be heartbreaking. It can numb you , and it can make you very depressed. And so for me , as someone who's been in the social justice world for 14 years now , I have found that creating those moments of joy and really being present in them is so crucial to balance. I mean , I could read the news all day , and I will. Because I. I feel a duty to being aware and in the know of what's happening. But I also know that after I'm done with the news , I need to take a few hours and just take my kid to the park , and I need to watch him run around , and I need to put my phone away , and I need to put my feet in grass , and I need to have my son , my , my skin in the sun. And so I think it's really important to find those moments of joy , whether it's dinner with a friend , whether it's , uh , hanging out with your parents , whether it's going to a movie , whether it's going for a walk on the beach , something that that makes you happy. Maybe it's journaling. Maybe it's reading , maybe it's , you know , taking a long bath. Maybe it's hanging out and and cracking jokes with your friends. And and for me , it's it's my kids. And just really being in their world and and experiencing life through their thought process and their eyes That just kind of grounds me and gives me that balance. And lastly , finding your lane and alignment is also going to align with your rest. There is tons to do in this work , but everybody has a very specific role , and you need to get really clear and aligned with your purpose in the social justice , in the political work. Because if you start jumping here and there and over there and over there , you're going to burn out really quickly. So if you're an artist and you paint , then paint your politics. If you're a singer and you write , then write and sing your politics. If you're a teacher , a professor , then teach that politics. If you're a mother and you , you center your world around motherhood , then you need to be talking to your kids about it and educating your kids on it. Sometimes the movement doesn't always look like I got to be at the front lines , and I got to go to this protest , and I got to go to this community event , and I got to join this webinar and this zoom. Sometimes it's just being political within your space , within which with with what's within your reach. And that eliminates a lot of the stress and the overwhelming feeling that we have to do something because we all have a role in this work. And you got to get really clear on the role that you play and everything else will will provide and fall into place.
S1: That is a good word right there , you know ? And part of rest for me too , is because I know it's something that , um , those who came before me could not do. It was a part of humanity that was denied for them. And so for me , rest is a way to honor not only myself , but those who came before me , my ancestors.
S2: And also we deserve it. We deserve it. Life is so hard even if you take politics and racism out. Life is happening to everyone and all of us are having a human experience. And as black people who have to constantly deal with racism while going to dinner , while driving , while getting proper health care , while trying to go to school in all aspects of life , we have to deal with this disparities in this hate. It is so crucial for people of color , oppressed people , and for black people to sit and give themselves joy and give themselves rest and give themselves liberation and find it where you can and just marinate in it because we deserve it.
S1: I've been speaking with Anthony Merritt , an assistant professor of africana studies at San Diego State University. I want to thank you so much.
S3: Thank you. It's a pleasure being here.
S1: Glad to have you here , professor. Also , Brisa Johnson , director of the San Diego Black Worker Center. Brisa. Thank you so much.
S2: Truly honored. Thank you.
S1: And so tell me , Rasch Ziegler , executive director of the UCSD Labor Center. So tell me. Thank you so very much.
S4: Thank you. It was my pleasure.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
