Passing the Torch

Date: December 1, 2016

By: Christopher Nikhil Bowen

Growing up as an adopted person of color in the whitest state in the Union forced me to be open and honest about skin tone in America from an early age.

When I was 8 my white mother encouraged me to attend a new summer camp created for kids who were adopted like me.  The camp was (annoyingly, in my opinion) called “Camp 4 Me”. I rejected the proposal immediately because in my estimation, I already had friends and didn’t need any more.  My mother disappointedly accepted my opinion but added, “You know Chris, I think it would be good for you to meet other kids who have similar life experiences.”

The next year after much poking and prodding, I attended Camp 4 Me after garnering concessions like if I didn’t like the camp, I would never have to go again. I could not have been any more wrong, the camp changed my life very much for the better!

Deep in the heart of Vermont’s breathtaking green mountains, our camp for overwhelmingly black/brown adopted children was hosted for free by a well-to-do ski academy. At first, all of the Camp Counselors were instructors at the academy.  Some of the students at the academy volunteered as Junior Counselors (JCs) to assist the counselors and obtained community service credit in the process. It was a beautiful sight to see people from all walks of life coming together, creating a unique and vibrant family. The adopted community were guests at the academy, but we made it our home.

As the years progressed, campers began to age out of the camper program (which ended at 13) but wished to remain a part of Camp For Me.  Senior leadership stepped in and decided that aged out campers could continue on at the camp as “Leaders in Training” (LITs).  This extended the age of participation to age 15.  Two years later, we encountered our first real issue.  The Leaders in Training (LIT’s) wanted to move up and become Junior Counselors (JC) and ultimately hold the position of Camp Counselor.  This was something that had never happened before.

The camp had grown rapidly in popularity, but the adopted community wanted to keep the intimacy (and cost) of the camp reasonable for the campers families and underwriters, so we had to limit the camper capacity.  This, in turn created a finite number of Counselor and Junior Counselor positions available.  Many of the all-white staff of ski instructor Counselors and academy student Junior Counselors had to come to terms with the fact that the kids they’d watched grow up were now prepared to take the camp on themselves.  It was a difficult realization for them, and for us as campers.  Many of the Counselors were mentors and role models, but they knew the mission of the camp was to foster a sense of belonging for the adopted community, and they slowly and graciously withdrew. Filling their positions were adopted people of color. I was one of the first camper-turned-counselor members. It was one of the proudest moments of my life, even to this day.

Camp For Me was so special not because kids were forced to sit around a circle and discuss how difficult it was to be adopted and/or be brown in a state that was 96.9% white.  No, it was a magical place because those conversations would come up organically after a dodgeball game, on the way to lunch, or at a dance class.  We all had the chance to share our stories; to laugh, cry, and commiserate with one another. It was that safe space that fostered so much of our personal growth and to be comfortable with being different.  It was also important that campers saw that one day, they too could become a Camp Counselor, and maybe even the director one day.

I see the Democratic Party LGBT movement in Los Angeles similarly.  It took a large coalition to achieve advancements for our community, and there is no doubt in my mind we would not be where we are without the help from our allies.  However, I believe in the importance of ensuring that LGBT people, particularly LGBT people of color have unobstructed pathways (and even focused outreach) to membership and even leadership positions within the Clubs in our Party, and the Democratic Party of California proper. With the inauguration of President-elect Trump right around the corner, I believe more than ever before that our grand coalition of misfits will need a safe space to express themselves. LGBT people, people of color, strong womyn, people with disabilities, young people; we all need a political place to call home. That being said, LGBT specific organizations like the Stonewall Democratic Club should be making every effort to see their own included in the club and elevated to the highest posts.

We (gays and lesbians) can still smell the ink drying from the decisions to grant marriage equality in California and around the nation. This is all very new to us (we’re talking less than 5 years old).  But, I believe we are at a crossroads where we must we willing and able to see LGBT people, particularly LGBT people of color, ascend to the highest positions in our organizations for the sake of our future generations of leaders and for true equality. It is a fragile balance, and we must treat the potential transfer of power between allies and self-identified LGBT people with extreme care. Together, we can grow the equality movement in Los Angeles, California, and the country by empowering our own LGBT brothers and sisters within our own organizations and clubs.

Remember, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by well over a million voters nationwide, nearly half of our country didn’t vote at all! It’s time to engage our disenfranchised community and turn them on to the truth. Then, they will turn out for pro-equality candidates and issues in 2017 and beyond. It starts with getting them in the door.

Lonely Loretta No More

By: Christopher Nikhil Bowen

Date: September 22, 2016

Like an island Loretta Sanchez stands alone, Democratic Party delegates stream by her to cast their ballots for the U.S. Senate race but none approach.  The same people who praised and supported her for years now act like she’s a political leper. Loud disparaging whispers seem to engulf the winter air throughout the San Jose Convention Center, and a sense of heaviness and impossibility sets in. Loretta Sanchez is clearly not the chosen one, but how did we get here?  Let’s start from the beginning…

The 20 year Congresswoman and Democrat from Orange County is the daughter of two Mexican immigrant parents and sister to 6 siblings.  Her parents are solely Spanish-speaking and work blue collar jobs, but Sanchez will go to become the epitome of the American dream.

Coming from a Spanish only speaking household, Sanchez had to learn English as a second language in school.  As a teen, she served ice cream and joined the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).  She went on to earn her Bachelor’s in 1982 and her Master’s in 1984 (in Orange Country and Washington D.C. respectively).  A bright young star was emerging. She had to overcome so much from such a young age, but that was only the beginning for her. 

In 1996 she won a seemingly impossible Congressional election against arch conservative Bob Dornan deep in the heart of Orange County.  In 2002 her younger sister Linda Sanchez joined her, making them the first pair of sisters to serve simultaneously in Congress.

During her time in the House Loretta Sanchez was never afraid to stand alone.  On October 24, 2001, barely a month after the attacks on the World Trade Center, outrage ran sky high in America and people were demanding answers and action. This is how the Patriot Act was conceived. Sanchez was one of 15% of the House members (66 members total) to reject this dangerous program designed to spy on American citizens without a warrant.

In October 2002 nearly 60% of the country supported military action against Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Her Orange County district supported war at a much higher clip.  When the vote came to the floor, Sanchez was one of the 30% of House members (133 members total) who bravely rejected the bill authorizing the George W. Bush administration to utilize unilateral military action in Iraq.  This may be the most important vote taken in the House from a foreign policy perspective in the past 20 years at least.  Sanchez was again on the right side of history.
Taking a look at her foreign policy choices over the years, it’s clear that she’s very levelheaded under extreme societal and political pressure. Unlike her runoff opponent, Sanchez has been tested, and she’s passed with flying colors again and again.  

On social issues Sanchez has always been a strong ally of disenfranchised groups including women, ethnic minorities, and the LGBT community.

Sanchez has been outspoken in her support of Women’s Rights, and has served on the Congressional Women’s Caucus throughout her entire Congressional career. Sanchez was a co-sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and has consistently supported a woman’s right to choose, and to be treated equally in the military.

In 1999 she voted against banning LGBT parents from adopting children in D.C.  This was a time when voting with the LGBT community was political poison in the country, California, and especially in Orange County. Again, Loretta Sanchez didn’t care what the public opinion polls were saying, she voted for what was right.

Loretta Sanchez isn’t swayed by the winds of public opinion, by the strong-arming of an authoritarian President, or the resentment of misogynists and bigots.  The best part is we don’t have to simply take her word for it; her 20 year political career proves her commitment to social justice!

Most importantly, she knows first-hand what it’s like to have no money, to have no privilege, and no hand up in life.  She earned everything she’s ever had.  It’s that type of grit, hard work, and determination that California needs.

How many U.S. Senators really know the sinking feeling of poverty, like you’ll never get out, never escape?  Maybe they read about it while attending their ivory tower university or saw it from afar on a life exploration trip.  It’s different to live disadvantage over the course of a lifetime rather than experience it briefly.

When Loretta Sanchez says she’s going to fight for low and middle income families of California she isn’t thinking of them as a set of statistics that she was briefed on for 10 minutes by a gaggle of staffers.  These people are her family, close friends, her neighbors.  This is truly a woman of the people of California!

Flash forward now, back to the Convention Center in San Jose where we began…

Captivated by Loretta’s seeming solitude yet somehow surrounded by thousands of people at the same time, it looks like she’s never been more alone.  It feels almost dreamlike now, in the distance I hear a cadre of young ‘volunteers’ chanting “Kamala, Kamala.”

I feel myself leaning in Loretta’s direction, like a gravitational pull has taken hold. We all know what it’s like to feel abandoned and alone, and it’s a pretty terrible feeling. I want to reach out. 

Suddenly I decide I’m going to walk up to Loretta. We were surrounded by a large circle of people, (a mix of press, delegates, and campaign staff from both sides) it felt like we paused for a moment in time and all the noise faded away in the distance — trying to sound upbeat and strong I hug her and say “Thank you for all you’ve done for our people, I’m with you!” She smiles broadly and laughs, her response, “No, I’m with you!”

While the coronation of Kamala Harris may feel like it’s nearly complete, if Loretta Sanchez taught me nothing else, it’s that public opinion should never be the basis of your decision. If all of us who have been quiet on this race stand up and say we’re in for Loretta, we might not feel so alone. I’m voting for Loretta Sanchez because she’s a fighter and she’s one of us. Please consider voting for her too.