On All Fronts

(piano plays) (people laugh) - [Latifah] Mom, do you make your own chili pigs?

- When COVID broke out, obviously a lot of people were, "Oh, it's just the flu, whatever the case."

And it wasn't until, let's see, with the administration and everything, that it was this whole new "China virus".

Okay, how are we gonna handle this?

All the videos of the elderly Asian people getting attacked.

Yeah, and I remember when the women in Georgia were killed.

This has gone too far.

I was "is my mom safe"?

She's been our protector for so long.

And how do you protect that?

So, that was tough for me.

- [Peni] I was here with my uncle's family.

- [David] Do you go or me?

- [Latifah] They're both different stories.

- [Peni] You go.

- [David] Well, why don't you just meet me down to courthouse tomorrow, and we'll get married?

- No, that's not it.

And, and he said, I love to marry you someday.

Is fate bring us together.

I wasn't born and raised here in United States.

So I don't, I know so little about being African American.

One day she came home and I said, "Latifah what's wrong?"

"Nothing".

She was really sad.

And then finally she told me that one of her best friend who lived on the street she called Latifah, N word.

They were in the kindergarten.

I have no clue that time.

And I said, "what does that mean by that"?

- I found that as raising biracial children I need to be upfront.

Be seen, let these people know that I live here and that I'm raising my children.

(solemn music plays) - [Peni] I watch the video the first time That was it.

And that time I think it can be my son, you know.

It can be my son just because he's, he's black.

He's somewhere in the wrong place.

The wrong time.

When George Floyd called out, sorry, when he called out his mama, it was, it was really hurt.

- [David] I remember talking with my son, Tony says "I don't wanna live like this".

I talked to Latifah.

"I don't have any children yet but I don't want them to go through that".

(crowd chanting) - George Floyd, George Floyd, George Floyd!

(piano plays) - [Peni] They both out there, tried to make the world better.

There is hours that I don't know where my kids are.

At one time, I mentioned it.

Maybe I should go there with you guys.

And Tony said, "No, Ma, you get pushed".

- [David] I then heard from my son.

And, I just was scared for my son's life, because I have experienced this stuff for 50-plus years.

When you're going up against a lot of society issues, you don't come out the way you went in.

(piano plays) - [Tony] You know how I say, I look different in every picture?

Dad kinda looks different in every picture.

- [Latifah] Tony's three years younger than I am but we got along really well.

Anytime we weren't going to Ohio or Virginia we'd go to Indonesia.

- [Tony] Everybody knew our parents - [Latifah] Everyone loves our parents.

And I think it's kind of ironic because I think a lot of people see both of our parents as like the good minorities.

- [Tony] Look at Dad's face.

He always looks like that.

(laughs) (Latifah laughs) - [Tony] When's the last time you danced?

- [Latifah] Probably 2011, 2012.

- [Tony] Hmmmm.

- [Latifah] People know that we're mixed.

But picking out that we're black is a lot easier than picking out that we're Asian.

A lot of it for me comes with like fantasizing that I'm like a mixed woman.

Once people learn that we are Asian it'd be like really weird comments.

Like, "Oh, your mom eats bugs".

People used to think my mom was my nanny.

- [Tony] It had to be rough for mom.

- Oh, I'm sure it was.

- Yeah.

- I know for me, I always felt like we were being attacked at like all fronts.

Not only is mom Asian, but she's also a Muslim.

- Yeah.

- After 911, I know my mom Wasn't gonna like boast around that she was Muslim.

People don't know that many are, Indonesia has like the highest Muslim population in - - Southeast Asia?

- No, in the world.

- Wait really?

- Yeah.

(laughs) Dad told me that he was chased by some white man like when he was younger.

And he was coming out of this bike trail, and this guy like chased him and then started trying to find him with his car, and then try to run dad over with his car, while dad was on his bike.

- Why do they not tell us this?

- I don't know.

I didn't hear how any of these stories, until we were talking, but I was like, so it all comes out.

- Exactly.

Last summer, I remember the precincts being on fire and then the local businesses were on fire.

- [Latifah] That was when the white supremacists started to make their rounds.

I saw people coming in after curfew with like bats and stuff, wearing like steel toed boots and had like these hiking backpacks.

And you're like, this isn't good.

- Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

I don't know if I ever told you, but when everything started, I got like a gun pulled on me by some dude.

- What?

- Yeah.

Pulled out his gun, he's like, what the, what are you doing here?

I was like, holy cow, what is happening?

And I was like, "Hey man, I'm just going home".

It was yeah.

- That's scary.

No, you've never told me that.

- Yeah, yeah.

(laughing) - I'm assuming you've never told mom, dad either.

- No.

- Have you done anything about that?

Or, like tried to process it in any way?

- Yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

- So, that's something I (indistinct) (laughing) - I know in the last six to eight months I've taken a big step back.

You've taken a step back and tried to figure out how else we can continue the fight that's not necessarily out in the streets.

We've both gone through it where we've talked to our parents about like wanting to go to therapy or like having depression or anxiety.

I want to get to a point where that's an open conversation that can be had.

- The stories that you told me that mom and dad told you when I wasn't there, I've never heard anything like that.

I'm like, that's just them opening up.

(piano plays) (people chatting) (bowl clinks) (piano plays) - [Peni] Like Latifah said, we don't talk about mental issue or anxiety a lot.

Because when I was growing up, I don't remember ever talk about stuff like that in my family.

I'm glad right now you and your brother taking charge for that for yourself.

And, please do seeking help, whatever necessarily you need.

- [Latifah] And I think in the last couple years it's been better.

Like, I mean, you guys have come outside, to get me into my car.

They had announced that the police that had killed and shot Brianna Taylor, weren't going to be charged.

And that was a really rough day for me.

The last two years, it's almost like one thing after another.

Having that support system that's there to help.

So, like, I thank you both for that.

- You know, I'm always there for you guys.

- (protest leader speaking faintly) - Today, we're gonna do a march for Amir Locke who was a 22 year old that was killed by Minneapolis police just a couple days ago.

- No good cops in a racist system.

- [Crowd] No good cops in a racist system.

- [Crowd] Amir Locke!

- [Speaker] Gone to far!

- [Crowd] Amir Locke!

- [Speaker] Gone to far!

- [Crowd] Amir Locke!

(crowd chants) - We have the duty to fight for our freedom.

We have the duty to win.

We must love and support one another.

We have nothing to lose but our chains.

- I know that it's a marathon.

It's not going to be done anytime soon at all.

When things like this happen, it's important to step up for the families and show up for other people.

- Everyone that I've grown up with and love is kind of under fire or is at risk of being attacked or killed.

But, I'm someone who believes, if you can change one thing about someone, even if that's someone's yourself that's a change in the world and that's the world changing.

- [Crowd] The people, united, will never be defeated.

The people, united, will never be defeated.

The people United will never be defeated.

(piano plays)