Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times by Loeb Paul Rogat

Author:Loeb, Paul Rogat [Loeb, Paul Rogat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2010-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

SEASONS OF A CITIZEN

The life of Atlanta activist Sonya Vetra Tinsley exemplifies the balancing act—attending to both work and family, private and public concerns—that many of us try to perform at different moments in our lives. Her community music project, Serious Fun, had a powerful impact, accomplishing pretty much everything she’d hoped for it. But after three years, Sonya decided it was time to move on. Having performed her own songs in clubs and at political benefits, she decided to risk making her musical career her priority, trying to combine social involvement and artistic passion, “like the musicians I’ve always most admired.” She still “went through lots of soulsearching and guilt about backing away from direct organizing. But if I didn’t give it a try at some point, I’d always wonder.”

Sonya liked the idea that “people like myself may end up listening to my music, but also ten-year-old girls who are just beginning to think about how they fit into the world, so I can help teach them how to keep going when the odds look worse than ridiculous.” Working with musicians she’d met through Serious Fun, Sonya began performing around Atlanta. She got some promising reviews, and with the help of an experienced producer, cut a CD of wise, funny songs about life, politics, and love, with a voice that fell between Whitney Houston and Sheryl Crow. Although she received some major-league bites (including being signed by the manager of Hootie and the Blowfish), a recording contract never came through. Gradually, she started thinking about more personal dreams. She’d gotten married a couple years before and was helping raise a now-teenage stepson. But she decided that she wanted a child of her own.

For the next few years, Sonya focused on her daughter, Sophia Joi, as well as her regular day job, while continuing to work with some local projects, like hosting house parties and canvassing Atlanta neighborhoods for Obama. “I felt bad that I couldn’t be as involved at this stage of my life as I had been earlier. But sometimes all you can do is get by day to day, and suddenly two years have gone by.”

“The biggest lesson,” Sonya said, “was realizing that all this other work I want to do will still be there, but there’s really only one opportunity to be Sophia Joi’s mom when she’s a year or two years old, and to help her become an engaged, compassionate, and joyful person.” Motherhood also grounded Sonya, “making it much more personal to help create a certain kind of world for her, and not leaving that for someone else to do.”

Being a parent, Sonya said, “has made me realize we’re in this for the long haul. We’ll have seasons where we’re more actively involved in organizations and public life, and seasons where we focus more internally, on home and hearth. Each moment shapes the other. When I can’t attend a meeting because I have to pick Sophia Joi up, or worry about whether she has

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