Ella Baker Center Blog

In honor of Father’s Day, we had a conversation with some of the dads of Ella Baker Center, to share their thoughts on what it means to be a dad working for social justice.

How has being a father informed your work for social justice?

Kris Lev-Twombly, Director of Programs: It puts more skin in the game. You have to think about what you’d want for your child, and you speak from experience. I’m doing this work because I want there to be a better world for my son and my family.

Zachary Norris, Outgoing Campaign Director of Books not Bars: That’s right. It makes the questions we ask more nuanced, more personal. It makes real some of the questions which were more abstract.

Jakada Imani, Executive Director: Yes, less academic. It’s anchored my understanding of what’s necessary, in real practical terms: what I want for my kids is what I want for everybody. It has expanded my heart so that I understand deeper what we’re trying to do in the world and what we’re trying to provide. The process of my partner being pregnant and having a baby changed how people relate to me. Having a baby has created new connections, letting me see my community in a different way.

Kris: Being a father is something fundamental that people share, something that binds people together. Beyond differences in experience and values, people are connected by this bond of fatherhood.

Zachary: There are good people that we disagree with but we still have that shared connection.

How has being a dad changed your life and how you think about the world?

Kris: It has certainly changed the question of “what I’m going to do with my life”: it’s now “what am I going to do with my family’s life.” It makes it easier to be focused, to make better decisions.

Zachary: Getting home from work is different, as it creates a different level of incentive to go home.

Jakada: It makes me realize that our society isn’t organized around what’s helpful for our families and our kids. I realize that the people that we entrust our children to are not being respected. Our teachers are constantly being undermined and laid off. You’d think we’d put most of our resources toward taking care of our kids, but we don’t. I’m also more aware of what’s at stake in our work. When we’re fighting for resources to be in schools and not in prisons, that makes sense. When we’re talking about asthma and how 1 in 3 kids in West Oakland have it, I understand that. I’ve got four girls, so at least one of them is likely to have it. It makes it real.

How has your relationship with your own dad affected your work?

Kris: From both my father and my stepfather, I get resourcefulness and creativity. But more important, both taught me to put faith in the goodness of people.

Jakada: I didn’t grow up with my bio dad. I think how that impacted me as a father means that I’m there for my kids, that I work hard to be there for my family. I’m not the bio-dad of one of my kids, but I’m still there for her. My step dad choosing to be my parent made me stand up to be her dad. In our work, it makes me realize that I can choose responsibility, even when it’s not my mess or my fault. We didn’t make the juvenile justice system a mess or heat up the planet, but we can still take responsibility for it. We can choose to make it into something that can flourish.

Zachary: I take my sense of humor and determination from my dad. My house was at risk of foreclosure, and even when I wanted go give up, he said “hell, no, you better bet back out there and figure something out.” That’s something I want to bring to my daughter: a balanced sense of humor with determination to see things get better, even if you don’t win every time.

Anything you’d like to share with other dads?

Jakada: To the greatest extent that you can, take time to be with children, and be present with them. Cherish the time that you’re with them, and give them the best you have.

Zachary: Everyone who’s a father in this time has an obligation to teach compassion and generosity. If we look out for each other as humans and we learn to share, then there’s enough to go around and we’ll be OK.

Kris: You teach toddlers how to share and not hit, and as they get older, you teach them how to be generous, how to cooperate, and how to care for others. Teach love, not fear.