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My Mom, the 9-Year-Old Radical

She experienced the tumultuous ’60s with a blend of innocence and ‘stand up for what’s right’ conviction

Jada Gomez
Momentum
4 min readFeb 16, 2021

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Elementary class photo of the author’s mother, Cecelia Lacayo.
Photos courtesy of author

My mom is a natural storyteller. It only helps her storytelling that she grew up when American history was a living, breathing movie even Steven Spielberg couldn’t dream up.

The history I learned through textbooks and documentaries, my mom witnessed firsthand on a small boxy television. In black and white, she saw Lee Harvey Oswald get shot while being escorted to jail. In color, she watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. These massive moments in history happened before she was even in high school.

My mom, Cecelia Lacayo, is now a 64-year-old MSNBC fan who cares intensely about the United States. She believes that we each have a voice that can bring about significant change and that it starts with our right to vote. It makes sense: To cast their ballots, her parents had to stand with unimaginable dignity in the face of snarling dogs, firehoses, and racist taunts. She took in all of the messages, images, and integral movements for change and formed her own character and resolve.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has always told me to stand up for the right thing, even it means you have to stand alone. That’s exactly what she did in fourth…

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Momentum
Momentum

Published in Momentum

Momentum is a blog that captures and reflects the moment we find ourselves in, one where rampant anti-Black racism is leading to violence, trauma, protest, reflection, sorrow, and more. Momentum doesn’t look away when the news cycle shifts.

Jada Gomez
Jada Gomez

Written by Jada Gomez

Senior Platform Editor at Medium. Girl with the long last name from the Empire State. NYU Alum. Runner. Puppy Mommy. Smiler.

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