Reflections on 2024 and Resolutions for 2025

a recurring column from ECPCA’s President & CEO, Shimica Gaskins

December 23, 2024

Recently, I’ve been thinking about those who have come before us and the perseverance they had. It’s led me to ask myself: how am I being a good ancestor? To me, it’s a question not necessarily about outcomes, but about the effort I put in. We’re not here today because our ancestors achieved the perfect world they dreamed about, but because they did devote their toil and treasure into making things better, knowing that one day we would take up the mantle and honor their legacy by doing the same.

As we approach the New Year, we’re facing the difficult reality that our work to ensure every child is valued and free is going to get tougher. While that’s the sober truth, I’ve been reflecting on how best to gear up for these fights and figuring out how to sustain myself through them.

With the election behind us, we’re facing a national political landscape that promises to be marked by divisive policies and the perpetuation of racism, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression. Elected leaders made promises that they’re going to try to fulfill—most relevant to our work among them, doubling down on tax cuts for the wealthiest while conversely slashing the scope and scale of what the government can do to improve the lives of the rest of us.

We hear talk about “government efficiency” and reducing our overall spending. We’re meant to believe that everything is on the table for cuts, but we know that moneyed interests are gearing up to protect themselves. Defense contractors have armies of lobbyists. Big corporations will deploy massive influence campaigns. Yet, we know that the vulnerable will remain just that. The high cost of living already puts untold families at risk. Potential reductions to SNAP threatens kids having food in their bellies. Medicaid could see cuts jeopardizing healthcare coverage, and the better outcomes that come with it, for tens of millions of children.

So in the coming year, we’ll be asking our Congressional delegation to stand firm for kids and families. We’ll be demanding our leaders in Sacramento knit a tighter safety net so children don’t fall through holes left in national policy. And we’ll continue to maintain our coalition and lock arms with our brothers and sisters in the fight for liberation, knowing we can only win when we work collectively.