Opinion

Malcolm and Martin Got Nothin’ on Momma: Reflections on Resistance

Published

8 years ago

December 3, 2017

By Diamond Raymond

As we near the one-year since President Trump was inaugurated, I reflect on what resistance means to me. This year marked the first time I’ve marched for justice—a lifelong dream that seemed out of reach due to my intense struggle with anxiety. But the urgency of the moment, and memories of my mother, steadied my feet.

Like so many of us, the story begins at home, with my mother. As a child, I can remember listening to “King: From Atlanta to the Mountaintop” on the radio every Black History Month. It was a radio program that chronicled the civil rights movement in America and featured an amalgam of narration, music, poetry and speeches. We listened to it every year at the behest of my mother, so by the time I was sixteen I could almost quote and sing every part just like one of my favorite songs.

I loved most when the narrator began talking about Malcolm and Martin. In his silky deep voice, he referred to two men–who were as iconic as Superman and Batman in my house–by their first names like they were all old friends. As he described each man leading the masses in their time, over the record “Shotgun”, my eyes would glaze and retreat from reality, my feet – always too big for someone my age- tapping to the beat, and my heart and soul promenading down the streets right next to Malcom, and then right next to Martin.

My grandfather and great uncle marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and it always felt like the greatest sin to me that I had been born too late to join them. As a little girl I yearned to be a warrior for justice, yet sadly as I grew older, my anxiety outpaced my passion and any attempts to stomp the streets with my peers were often crushed by my overwhelming fear and crippling anxiety. Needless to say, when I called my mother and told her my job was funding me to attend the March for Black Women in Washington D.C she was shocked, and proud. The little girl rocking to “King: From Atlanta to the Mountaintop” had finally grown into her feet.

As much as my childhood dreams of marching like Martin and Malcolm fueled my desire to attend the March, it was thoughts of my mother’s everyday courage that made all the difference. I remember her telling my teachers her expectations of how I was to be treated. Being one of two Black girls at my school she knew the dangers of my intelligence and passion being overlooked. Any and all attempts to hold me back, pass me along, or otherwise treat me any differently than my peers were promptly nipped in the butt!

I recalled every time a landlord, bill collector, or overworked government employee would talk down to her and tell her what she HAD to do and my mother would smile her Eartha Kit-like feline smile and tell them what she was going to do. I’ve never met a person my mother couldn’t put in their place.

I’ve spent much of my life marveling at the woman who had her first child as a teenager, in the heart of LA on 107^th and Denker. A teenager who then went on to work with Maxine Waters to establish a program for teen parents in the LA Unified School District. A girl who became a woman who ran a comprehensive Black History Month Program at my school because they only every discussed MLK and Rosa Parks. A woman who is also a single mother of three girls.

Martin and Malcolm led and inspired many, many people but my mother changed the world for me and my sisters. And that’s why I attended my very first march in the name of my mother, Leslie Hampton, and every Black mama out there who has fought to the bone to change the world for their children by surviving and fighting like hell to thrive every day. I marched for the aunties who shared in caring for our tears while they shed their own. I marched for every daughter like me that knows their mother has always deserved better. I pushed through the pain of a tightening anxious chest because that moment was about holding up all of us.

As I look ahead to three more years of this administration, I suspect that my first march will not be my last. Like every Black woman I know I’m tired of hearing reports of my sisters’ deaths. I’m tired of watching those we love be ripped out of this world by Black and white bullets. I grow weary at the increasing time it takes to #SayHerName. The news of the decimation to title IX happened to hit me on a day when the smile of a little Black girl who looked like she could be mine sent tears for Charleena Lyles streaming down my face once again. I’m outraged at the ongoing attacks on Black women’s access to abortion, contraception, and prenatal care, even as Black women’s maternal death rates are ignored.

The push of my mother’s example and the pull of injustice brought me into the streets for the very first time. I video-called my mother during the March and watched as her smiled widened and eyes teared at me and those around my chanting “No peace, no justice!” and “Black Women Matter!” Like I do, she knows we still have an incredibly long way to go, but she also knows, and has taught me that there is nothing in the world like the power of a Black woman.

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Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Lori Wilson — Advocate for Equity, the Environment, and More

Her rise has also included several historic firsts: she is the only Black woman ever appointed to lead the influential Assembly Transportation Committee, and the first freshman legislator elected Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. She has also been a vocal advocate for vulnerable communities, becoming the first California legislator to publicly discuss being the parent of a transgender child — an act of visibility that has helped advanced representation at a time when political tensions related to social issues and culture have intensified.

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City). File photo.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) joined the California Legislature in 2022 after making history as Solano County’s first Black female mayor, bringing with her a track record of fiscal discipline, community investment, and inclusive leadership.

She represents the state’s 11th Assembly District, which spans Solano County and portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties.

California Black Media spoke with Wilson about her successes and disappointments this year and her outlook for 2026.

What stands out as your most important achievement this year?

Getting SB 237 passed in the Assembly. I had the opportunity to co-lead a diverse workgroup of colleagues, spanning a wide range of ideological perspectives on environmental issues.

How did your leadership contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians this year?

The Black Caucus concentrated on the Road to Repair package and prioritized passing a crucial bill that remained incomplete during my time as chair, which establishes a process for identifying descendants of enslaved people for benefit eligibility.

What frustrated you the most this year?

The lack of progress made on getting Prop 4 funds allocated to socially disadvantaged farmers. This delay has real consequences. These farmers have been waiting for essential support that was promised. Watching the process stall, despite the clear need and clear intent of the voters, has been deeply frustrating and reinforces how much work remains to make our systems more responsive and equitable.

What inspired you the most this year?

The resilience of Californians persists despite the unprecedented attacks from the federal government. Watching people stay engaged, hopeful, and determined reminded me why this work matters and why we must continue to protect the rights of every community in our state.

What is one lesson you learned this year that will inform your decision-making next year?

As a legislator, I have the authority to demand answers to my questions — and accept nothing less. That clarity has strengthened my approach to oversight and accountability.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians are facing currently?

Affordability and access to quality educational opportunities.

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

Advance my legislative agenda despite a complex budget environment. The needs across our communities are real, and even in a tight fiscal year, I’m committed to moving forward policies that strengthen safety, expand opportunity, and improve quality of life for the people I represent.

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Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, Champion of Reparations, Housing and Workers’ Rights

In 2025, McKinnor pushed forward legislation on renters’ protections, re-entry programs, reparations legislation, and efforts to support Inglewood Unified School District. She spoke with California Black Media about the past year and her work. Here are her responses.

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood). File photo.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) represents

California’s 61st Assembly District.

As a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC),

McKinnor was elected in 2022. She chairs the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation and leads the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee. McKinnor also served as a civic engagement director, managed political campaigns, and worked as chief of staff for former Assemblymembers Steven Bradford and Autumn Burke.

Looking back on 2025, what do you see as your biggest win?

Assembly Bill (AB) 628. If rent is $3,000, people should at least have a stove and a refrigerator. It’s ridiculous that people were renting without basic appliances.

I’m also proud that I was able to secure $8.4 million in the state budget for people coming home from incarceration. That includes the Homecoming Project, the menopause program for incarcerated women, and the Justice Leaders Program.

How did your leadership help make life better for Black Californians this year?

After the Eaton Fire, I pushed to get the same kind of support for affected areas that wealthier regions get after disasters.

I also did a lot of work building political power— establishing the Black Legacy PAC and California for All of Us PAC so we could support Black candidates and educate voters. We also called voters to make sure they understood Prop 50.

People need to understand this: there are only 12 Black legislators in the Capitol. Folks act like we can just walk in and pass reparations, but that’s not how it works.

What frustrated you most this year?

The governor did not have the political will to sign these bills: AB 57 and AB 62. They both passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly and the Senate. We did the work. The only person who didn’t have the political will to sign them was the governor.

The public needs to ask the governor why he didn’t sign the bills. We can’t keep letting people off the hook. He has to answer.

I also introduced AB 51 — the bill to eliminate interest payments on Inglewood Unified School District’s long-standing state loan — held in the Appropriations Committee. That was frustrating,

What inspired you most in 2025?

The civil rights trip to Alabama was life changing. We visited the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We took members of the Black, Latino, Jewish, and API caucuses with us. It changed all of us.

People aren’t always against us — they just don’t know our history.

What’s one lesson from 2025 that will shape how you approach decisions next year?

The legislative trip to Norway taught me that collaboration matters. Government, labor, and industry sit down together there. They don’t make villains. Everybody doesn’t get everything they want, but they solve problems.

What’s the biggest challenge facing Black Californians in one word?

Inequity. It shows up in housing, wealth, stress – all these things.

What’s the number one goal you want to accomplish in 2026?

Bringing back AB 57 and AB 62, and securing money for the Inglewood Unified loan interest forgiveness.

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Advice

BOOK REVIEW: Let Me Be Real With You

At first look, this book might seem like just any other self-help offering. It’s inspirational for casual reader and business reader, both, just like most books in this genre. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll spot what makes “Let Me Be Real With You” stand out.

Published

2 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Book cover of Let Me Be Real With You and author Arshay Cooper. Courtesy of HarperOne.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Arshay Cooper, Copyright: c.2025, Publisher: HarperOne, SRP: $26.00, Page Count: 40 Pages

The hole you’re in is a deep one.

You can see the clouds above, and they look like a storm; you sense the wind, and it’s cold. It’s dark down there, and lonesome, too. You feel like you were born there — but how do you get out of the deep hole you’re in? You read the new book “Let Me Be Real With You” by Arshay Cooper. You find a hand-up and bring someone with you.

In the months after his first book was published, Cooper received a lot of requests to speak to youth about his life growing up on the West Side of Chicago, his struggles, and his many accomplishments. He was poor, bullied, and belittled, but he knew that if he could escape those things, he would succeed. He focused on doing what was best, and right. He looked for mentors and strove to understand when opportunities presented themselves.

Still, his early life left him with trauma. Here, he shows how it’s overcome-able.

We must always have hope, Cooper says, but hope is “merely the catalyst for action. The hope we receive must transform into the hope we give.”

Learn to tell your own story, as honestly as you know it. Be open to suggestions, and don’t dismiss them without great thought. Know that masculinity doesn’t equal stoicism; we are hard-wired to need other people, and sharing “pain and relatability can dissipate shame and foster empathy in powerful ways.”

Remember that trauma is intergenerational, and it can be passed down from parent to child. Let your mentors see your potential. Get therapy, if you need it; there’s no shame in it, and it will help, if you learn to trust it. Enjoy the outdoors when you can. Learn self-control. Give back to your community. Respect your financial wellness. Embrace your intelligence. Pick your friends and relationships wisely. “Do it afraid.”

And finally, remember that “You were born to soar to great heights and rule the sky.”

You just needed someone to tell you that.

With a willingness to discuss the struggles he tackled in the past, Cooper writes with a solidly honest voice that’s exceptionally believable, and not one bit dramatic. You won’t find unnecessarily embellished stories or tall tales here, either; Cooper instead uses his real experiences to help readers understand that there are few things that are truly insurmountable. He then explains how one’s past can shape one’s future, and how today’s actions can change the future of the world.

“Let Me Be Real With You” is full of motivation, and instruction that’s do-able for adults and teens. If you need that, or if you’ve vowed to do better this coming year, it might help make you whole.