It has been a month since the passing of Bea Tam Dong. Bea had an indescribable inner light that radiated from her presence. She lived a life of hope and optimism for the betterment of people, and her life leaves an unforgettable legacy of a revolutionary spirit.
At Oakland High School in 1968, Bea was part of the Asian Bloc building Black-Asian solidarity. Her group came to UC Berkeley campus to give physical support to the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) Ethnic Studies strike in 1969. Bea was on the negotiating committee for the Asian American studies budget at UC Berkeley as a freshman recruit.
By the end of Bea’s freshman year, she was married and gave birth to her son. She dropped out of college to raise her son. After experiencing isolation raising her child, she helped establish a daycare cooperative. She was divorced in 1973…