MultiCulti Corner’s Sonia Smith-Kang: How to Talk Your Kids About Current Political Environment?

Walking up Broadway toward 5^th street to the start of the Women’s March Los Angeles, took me back in time to my college days in San Francisco where just about everyone was ready to boycott or march for a cause. It was just part of the social justice climate in the Bay Area. I marched for migrant farm worker rights one weekend and LGBTQ rights the next. It was during this time in college that I also began to explore my multiracial identity. As a biracial (Mexican and Black) woman, I wanted to join a club on campus and at the time my options were either the Black Student Union or the Latino Club. I joined both but neither felt quite right. I wanted a club for those who identified as multi: multicultural or multiracial but it didn’t exist so I got together with others who identified as I did and we had our own informal Multiracial Club. That’s how you do it. You see something that doesn’t work for you or others and together you work to make a change. Whether on a small scale, like starting a new club or on a larger scale, marching for equal rights, getting involved in social matters is important not just for yourself but for the people that come after. Having children has sealed that idea for me. What I do today can help affect the outcome of tomorrow.

We rounded the corner walking toward Pershing Square and I knew we were heading in the right direction because of the sea of pink pu**y hats and folks holding hand-made signs with slogans of every sort. As we got closer, my daughter grabbed my hand and I gave it a squeeze to let her know everything was going to be ok. She didn’t look worried; in fact she looked on in amazement. We all felt the energy of the crowd. It was the same feeling I had walking hand in hand in Watsonville at the migrant farm worker march walking with friends. I knew then like I knew at the Women’s March that this was where I needed to be.

Together with my family (and the hundreds of thousands others) we marched toward City Hall chanting and proudly raising our signs. We talked with our children about how we got to this point. Go back to Mexico! Go back to Africa! Go back to Korea! Go back to wherever you came from! These are just some of the heated comments following a tumultuous year of hateful rhetoric we heard following the presidential election and leading up to the Women’s March. These comments weren’t just coming from adults, they were being heard on playgrounds by children; my children. Emotions were raw and healing was needed so we joined the Women’s march to aid my children in regaining a sense of power and a feeling of unity. We felt walking with others and seeing folks that felt the same angst and wanting to bring about change was just what we needed to heal as a family, a multiracial family living in Los Angeles. With all of LA’s cultural enclaves, we have always felt like we were part of the diverse cultural fabric that made up the city. This was evident at the march where all ages, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation came together in a beautiful amalgamation marching in solidarity with those who oft time feel maligned.

Now on 9^th Street heading back to our car, we talked to kids, wanting to debrief on how they felt. One talked about feeling like a super hero marching and fighting for justice. The other wanted to know now what do we do? How do move on from here?

Here’s what we can do:

1. Lead by example: pay attention to your actions and the words coming out of your mouth. Your little ones are listening

2. Stay informed: take in information (weeding out fake news) and share bite-sized chunks with your kids. By not talking about the issues doesn’t mean you are protecting them and sheltering them from information. They are going to hear it somewhere so it should come from you.

3. Talk about it: even if your kids aren’t talking about it, bring it up. They may not be able to put into words how they are feeling or what they’ve heard.

4. Get involved: volunteer as a family, donate to a worthy cause, run for your local office

5. Meet others that don’t look like you: head out and explore your surroundings

6. Educate yourself on the issues

7. Get books on social justice

8. Step away from the computer and practice self-care and family care: you need to take care of yourself and your family in order to help others.

Advocating for your beliefs is important for yourself and for your children. They need to see that working together in a peaceful manner and getting involved can make a difference.

Sonia Smith-Kang is a social entrepreneur, founder and creative executive of Mixed Up Clothing, Inc. a multicultural children’s clothing line inspired by the textiles, cultures and people of the world, to develop friendships through fabrics.

She is co-founder of MultiCulti Corner and “Mixed Heritage Day” As a proud military brat (Third Culture Kid) of Mexican and Black descent, she was born in Puerto Rico then moved to Hawaii before making Los Angeles home with her Korean husband. Together they have 4 children they raise as mini global citizens speaking English, Spanish and Korean. 

She is vice president of Multiracial Americans of Southern California (MASC) and holds a BS in Nursing from the University of San Francisco.