Equity and Social Justice News
By Ian Haney López, Anat Shenker-Osorio, and Tamara Draut
Cristina Huezo is a Director at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). As a part of our Member Spotlight Series, Cristina spoke to NCG's Communications Manager, Kayla Ballard about being a Bay Area Native, Run TMC, the CZI Community Fund, and why she is on a mission to create pathways to the American Dream.
This month finds us with our hearts heavy with the loss of lives through the mass shootings and the passing of a beloved writer, Toni Morrison. The expression of white supremacist violence and hate is overwhelming and we’re trying to find comfort with being in community. We’ve chosen some articles that provide a mix of things to reflect upon regarding immigration, labor, interconnectedness, personal history, and cultural narratives.
Census and redistricting – two sides of the same coin. Both take place every ten years and both are integral to determining how each Californian is represented at the federal, state, and local levels. In California, our groundbreaking independent redistricting process offers everyday Californians the opportunity to participate in and shape a fundamental part of our democracy.
As we reflect on Independence Day for the United States, we’re grappling with how history, culture, and the arts are written about and by whom. We’re questioning how terms are used in different ways, where we come from, and the unexpected ways in which we are connected.
When we announced a few years ago that NCG would be taking up racial equity as a central part of our work we received praise, and we also encountered some skepticism. Many cautioned us that everyone seemed to be “getting into equity” and that we’d better be sure we had something distinct to add. We have taken that to heart.
Last month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a new proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed-status” families from living in public, Section 8, or other subsidized housing. NCG is deeply concerned about the destructive effects this rule will have on families across Northern California.
It certainly does feel like summer in the Bay Area these days. These articles reflect some hot topics in the social justice field. Let’s learn from these untold stories that provide a mirror and window connecting the past to current-day realities.
The announcement came as we were pulling into our halfway point: “We’ll be stopping for about 15 minutes. We’ll also be distributing t-shirts, feel free to use this time to change.” Yes, I thought! I had been eyeing the black t-shirts with ‘Solidarity By Any Means Necessary’ in big block letters since we had gathered in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles and gotten on the bus in the wee hours of the morning.
Amidst the daily stream of challenging news and events, this month’s list of social justice articles will provide glimpses of change, hope, and understanding. We also have a bonus article/trailer about a docuseries to spark dialogue and action.