I had the honor of being part of the Brave New Films field crew with the veterans to document their confrontation of Bill O’Reilly at Fox News yesterday, who claims there are no homeless veterans. Here’s my report for the day:

I put on my brown military thermals, my chocolate chip cammies, my black bandana and my black boots. I was off to represent for my father, my uncle, their army buddies and all the people in my life that I knew and didn’t know who had served this country and in some way, often the same way, got the shaft from it. Most of them are Black, like me. My home state, Texas, is practically one huge military base. It’s my patriotic duty, as the daughter of a Vietnam War combat medic, to pick up my weapon and fight for the cause. I grabbed my gear and went into friendly warrior mode to help these vets broadcast their story. And believe me — their stories are AMAZING.
There’s Harold — most people would not suspect him as homeless because he carries himself with such dignity and determination. He rides the train to sleep and keep warm between his job and school. He launders his clothing and is groomed. He is intelligent, lively and articulate. He is doing what any man is supposed to do — work and educate himself — yet he cannot find a home.

There’s James — a 77-year-old Korea vet with a cane and steel-gray Cherokee eyes who gets choked up and teary when he recalls the action he endured in combat. He’s 77 — how long has HE been fighting for respect, benefits and a home? Carol has found homes for over 80 veterans, but there are thousands more. They are still on the street because the VA is pathetic and probably just as hard to fight as the war that got them into this situation. They’re on the subway and under bridges because they’re tired of fighting.

We shared our stories, and Nestor encouraged me to wear my father’s colors. In the last few years of my father’s life, he fought with the VA and DoD against HR Concurrent Receipt. My father served 20 years, including Korea and Vietnam. He had two open heart bypass surgeries, prostate cancer, radiation burn from prostate cancer, diabetes, gout, lupus, congestive heart failure, hypertension, several angioplasties and an arteriectomy, and undiagnosed and severely undertreated PTSD. He was declared 100% disabled, but he had to CHOOSE between his retirement pension OR his disability pay. Though he served his country, saw action, saved lives and struggled at many times afterward to stay alive, he and all other veterans were not entitled to both their pay for serving AND their compensation for being disabled. I imagine it hard to wear those colors after suffering those indignities. But he’d put out the flag on Independence Day, and is buried at Fort Sam Houston. In his honor, I wear his uniform and camouflage.

I’ve already been thinking very intensely about what it means for ME to be an American in a country that has not always been fair to my kind. I studied the Vietnam War and American Literature with the distinguished Professor H. Bruce Franklin and for the first time, in 3D, experienced and understood my father’s experience. I sobbed in horror and sorrow when I fully comprehended why my father was so troubled, and how sad I was that I did not get it sooner. Years wasted because our country sends many poor men, especially men of color, to the frontlines of war. Then only to be spit out to waste away without so much as a home or help to address the psycho-spiritual damage war has caused. My catharsis of understanding was so powerful, I am sure that it also released my father of some of his burdens in the afterlife.

And I’d just spent Christmas break watching the ground-breaking and life-changing documentary series, “Eyes on the Prize,” about the Civil Rights Movement. I’d seen it as a child with my father. At age 14, it made me join the NAACP to keep fighting. It made me want to make more such documentaries. Seeing it again, it cleared my perspective of my place in the continuum of struggle. Many people in poverty join the military as a way out, not to worsen their circumstances. Veterans issues are another prism in the fight for Civil Rights and access to opportunity.

The Freedom of Speech they fought for entitles me to wield my camera and document the truth, from my worldview. But the News Corporation security detail insisted that we stay behind their property line. One guard was particularly fond of only saying, “Step back, Miss,” though there were several other cameramen and reporters. Not sure if I was being singled out for gender, color, or both. Perhaps all of the above, since sadly the directive was always given by the only Black male guard. Perhaps he hasn’t read any Frederick Douglass in his lifetime and been enlightened, but I nonetheless stood my ground.

“Thank you for your service… blah blah blah… I’m sorry, you have to have an appointment… yadda yadda…”
“Could you step back, MISS!”
“Yes, we’ll take the petitions… you can’t come… blah blah…”

They walk off without the petitions. They come back to get the petitions. No, nobody can come up and talk to Bill O’Reilly. Or his receptionist. Nonetheless, I am grateful that alongside us, MSNBC and The Daily News came out to cover and support their story. I just got off the phone with Carol. She’s getting lots of calls. It’s like Dan’s film “When I Came Home” all over again. Maybe this time, many many more vets will find a home because of the media attention.

Dan and I left exhilarated, and the vets departed hopeful. After watching Dan’s film and our report on the event, I believe that this is the beginning of another major movement in the fight for true democracy. If the political anti-war logic is not compelling enough, then we’ll force them to look at the aftermath of the vets when considering the total cost of war.

Walking back to the train station, hungry, I wondered what it’s like to live as a homeless veteran. At that moment I didn’t have to stretch too hard. I grabbed the small handful of loose change in my pocket that I pilfered from my roommate’s coin jar. I belong to another American underclass who have their own set of bureaucratic institutions to slay — full-time college students. My school’s administrative error delays my registration, which delays my financial aid, which leaves me temporarily insolvent. I counted the change and I counted my blessings. I do have a roof over my head, an education, and food at home. I have a family and support system that would never leave me homeless, no matter the state of the economy. Riches are not solely money, so no matter how challenging things may be for the moment, I will not forsake those who struggle with no absolutely no resources. Just like how I’ll pay back my roommate’s quarters and dimes when my relief comes, I’ll keep fighting to get what’s owed to my father and other vets.