Radical solidarity

What are your thoughts on receiving the MALDEF award?

When I graduated in 1991, I wouldn’t have predicted that over 30 years later I would be teaching at UCLA and receiving an award like this. I have learned the importance of taking people with you — teachers, colleagues, and friends — and always keeping doors open. There are so many opportunities to make beautiful connections. [The Victor Humberto Narro Scholarship at VCU] provides support to undocumented students or students enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, creating pathways for advocacy in and on behalf of immigrant communities.

How can the rights of asylum seekers be protected during these long periods of political negotiation?

Migrant families have become the target of political debate and are subject to polarization. However, we have to keep their protections in focus. They have civil rights protection and work protections even if they make it into the United States undocumented. For a family to leave a country, they leave because of fear of political prosecution, war, and economically cannot provide for themselves. So we have to put aside the politics, put aside the ideology, and afford them their rights whether they are employed or just trying to survive. They are human beings.

What philosophies are you teaching as a UCLA law professor?

Many of my students are first-generation and/or undocumented. I [aim to be] open-minded ­— they want to do good work. Having been through a lot of injustices, they come with that anger and that passion, but I tell them to channel it in a way that allows them to fight hard for their cause, never at the expense of someone else. I was a first-generation student myself; I fought the same sentiments. Even though the law is adversarial by nature, you should always address the issue, not the individual. Nothing good comes out of anger; we must come to a space of dialogue.

Tell us about your book The Activist Spirit: Toward a Radical Solidarity.

I used to be a very burnt-out person working 70 to 80 hours a week. So about 15 years ago, I shifted. I wanted to live a good life, not die young because I worked myself to the ground. I started picking up spiritual practices, mindfulness, and meditation, modeled after the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. Focusing on empathy, equality, and compassion helped to make the work more sustainable. I wrote The Activist Spirit using these lessons and my experience with them. What is a bad day, really, if you are living your purpose? That is what I tell the people I work with — you cannot control the outcomes; just do your best.