A Luta Continua: Listening to Miriam Makeba after the US Presidential Election

I woke up on November 6 thinking about the words “la lucha” or “the struggle” in Spanish. A song with the refrain “The Struggle Continues!” lurked in my memory. An internet search brought up Miriam Makeba or Mama Africa’s “A Luta Continua,” which her daughter Bongi Makeba wrote about Mozambique’s struggle for independence from Portugal.

I spent the past day or so watching videos of Miriam Makeba. Her insistence that her music is not political–that she is telling the truth–resonates with me. The apartheid government of her native South Africa banned her music and barred her reentry into the country. She lived in exile for more than three decades, with unwavering faith that she would some day return to South Africa. After Nelson Mandela took power, her wish came true.

I see the Green New Deal and Biden’s climate plan as paths forward for the US. The next four years will probably see such progressive plans ignored or rolled back, and existing federal government programs dismantled, even basic services such as Medicare and public education. The swings between left and right in the US and other countries–the UK, France and Germany, to name a few–reminds me of how I used to stand in the middle of a seesaw as a kid, place one foot on either side of the hinge, and try to balance. Newer seesaws have springs rather than hinges. If you’ve never been on a seesaw with a hinge, the swings are faster and wider.

As the US is trying to find a balance, I wonder if those of us on the left can be more open about what we truly want. I signed a petition to support Bernie Sanders’ efforts in the Senate to halt the sale of certain weapons to Isreal. There are so many pressing issues: war, healthcare, climate change, education, housing, employment, basic income….How can we build a future recognizing the interconnectedness of life, of lives, of things?

In my neighborhood in Shau Kei Wan, there are old men and women who collect cardboard on large carts to recycle for money. A few of them have bent backs. Perhaps their work has left a mark on their bodies. I offered a few metal cans in a plastic bag to an old lady who was collecting cardboard earlier today. I tried to speak to her. She looked at the bag and took it from me without a word. I wondered if she didn’t have the energy to speak or didn’t see the need to.

After the 2020 election, I wanted to speak to more people in other parts of the country. We do share a president, whatever our differences. I had done a few readings/performances in the Bay Area with musician Chris Peck and poets Tongo Eisenmartin and Josiah Luis Alderete. Chris floated the idea of a tour. While I would have liked to go on a trip in a van, I needed to focus on work and efforts to reunite with my kids–I was estranged from them.

I believe in the power of the arts and entertainment in dialogue. I wonder about the stories of women and working class folks who voted for Trump in 2016. What do they think in 2024? Who voted for Trump again? Who changed their minds? Why? Sherman Alexie talks about identifying with cowboys when he watched westerns as a kid. A friend of mine tells me her partner changed his mind about the War on Terror after a Sweet Honey in the Rock concert.

My mom would’ve voted for George W. Bush if she were a citizen. When I asked her about the Trump-Harris race, she thought the images she was seeing in the news were from past elections. The day after the election, she pointed to Elon Musk pumping his fist in the air. She seemed surprised at the intensity of his gesture. We were in a restaurant, too far from the TV to catch the audio. I explained to her he got what he wanted–Trump won.

My mom’s physical and mental health is improving. Visiting her three times a week helps. She seems to like going out to restaurants and getting takeout. I try to make sure she gets some exercise walking to restaurants or around the nursing home on rainy days. She told me the other day about a little boy named Clever and his dialogue with a girl. I asked her if she was talking about a TV show. She said yes.