Resistance

As the 2024 U.S. Elections results appear, I am anchored by a song from Activist Songbook. Based on interviews with Hmong American artist and activist Kao Kue, and inspired by the work of Carol Zou, “Survival is Resistance” honors how the cultural practices of some immigrant and refugee families carry life and resistance through generations.

The country washed my family’s blood from its hands and teeth.
The country tried to wash their brains clean of culture and belief.
But my grandparents knew who they were was never wrong
and before they passed on, they passed on who they were in song.

While I offer “Survival is Resistance” as a 5-minute musical gift, this contribution provides more than a song. It’s a reminder of the power we each hold to engender a liberated future. When we come together to embrace the spirit of resistance against systemic oppression, we evolve pain into purpose.

When a country
tries to crush us,
deny our existence,
music is survival,
and our survival is...
Resistance is the crater of the bomb we turn into a pond to fish in,
Resistance: the old clothes and songs our broken hearts are stitched in,
Resistance: when we see our new home in the distance,
because our survival is resistance.

Listening to Indigenous writer Jordynn Paz speak at a Literary Alternative to Election Night Coverage presented by Town Hall Seattle and Hinton Publishing, I am reminded that our ancestors often faced hardships greater than those we confront today. As the grandson of refugees, I hold “Survival Is Resistance” as a touchstone during moments when struggles for social justice and human rights intensify.

My family came here,
a land where clean earth and water
are bought and sold together
from the backs of people’s homes
to the front edge of forever,
where the cost of land is so high
that most families live below,
so food and money run dry
and prisons overflow
with whole rivers of people
whose only crime is being here
when there’s no other place to go.

As a composer and educator, this touchstone reminds me of ways songs inspire listeners to stand up for their dignity. I hope “Survival Is Resistance” serves as a call to action—a way to build a future where everyone can thrive.

We’re gonna make this place
somewhere a land where clean earth and water
backflip and run hand in hand together
from the backs of people’s homes
to the front edge of forever,
and the steady stream of prisoners will dry up,
and the streams will fill with water that’s as free
as our daughters, sons, and dreams,
and my children will know who they are is never wrong
and before I pass on, I’ll pass on who we are in song.

Working with those interviewed, writer Aaron Jafferis and I continue Activist Songbook to create a musical instructional to counteract hate and energize movements. With impending federally-sanctioned violence, I turn to “Survival is Resistance” as a source of strength, reminding myself that the possibilities for liberation are rooted in seeds from the past.

Thanks for listening. For future offerings, subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Peace, Byron