It is no accident that these communities are among the poorest, most polluted and with a highest density of people of color in California.  We see it as we remember the 5th anniversary of Katrina, the starkest climate change related episode in the United States, where those with the least resources where left behind to sink or swim. At that time, California took a proactive step forward in making a clear commitment to uplift those communities.  It is also no accident that we are here—alive—in this particular moment, when our human family is sitting at a crossroads, re-imagining the ancestral paths that allowed us to inhabit the earth as long as we have.

The Climate Change Community Benefits Fund takes a step towards revitalizing local, green economies in those neighborhoods that have suffered from decades of disinvestment.  It makes the promise of California’s Global Warming Solution Act (AB 32) a reality by earmarking a minimum of 10% of the revenues generated from green house gas reduction mechanisms.  The communities that will qualify for this funding are those that suffer from the highest levels of pollution, poverty, and unemployment.

The money will be used to improve public health, reduce GHG and create high-quality green jobs, thereby tying in an ecological policy design that cools the planet, heals our communities and creates a viable path to environmental, socio-economic and political sustainability.  As we weave a new future and a new policy design, our next step is for the Governor to sign the bill, please take action today and contact him, telling him how important it is to pass this bill.  Also, vote No on Prop 23 in November.

I have come to realize through my work on the Soul of the City campaign that transformative change in Oakland requires creative strategies and solutions. We can’t just continue to shout our discontent at every turn and expect things to change. Instead, we must work together to build collective power that holds our representatives accountable. Our government’s primary responsibility should be to serve every one in the community but that role becomes skewed when only particular groups of people control the electorate.

In Oakland, there is a large civic engagement divide along lines of race and class. Currently, Oakland is comprised of 66% people of color, yet during local elections 55% of the electorate are NOT from low-income communities or communities of color. (1)  In turn, power, influence, and resources are largely concentrated in predominately white wealthy spaces such as the Oakland hills while areas with predominately low-income, people of color such as East and West Oakland are literally and figuratively peripheral.

Sandra Cisneros , one of my favorite literary writers once wrote, “People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they often forget those of us who live too much on earth. They don’t look down at all except to be content to live on hills.” (2) Without civically engaging historically marginalized voters in Oakland the “people who live on hills,” will continually dominate our political landscape and make pivotal decisions for the entire community.

If we are truly committed to transforming Oakland into a safe and socially just city for EVERYONE, from the hills to the lowlands, it is imperative that ALL residents are included in the civic engagement process. While voting and door knocking hasn’t traditionally been as sexy as attending a protest, they are essential to creating a strong power base of change that can open new pathways of opportunity. Please Take A Stand for Oakland and Pledge to be Civically Engaged this election season. It is only by doing the footwork that we can find collective strength to change our city! Lets get empowered and make civic engagement the new sexy!

[1] Alameda County Registrar of Voters, www.acgov.org.

[2] Sandra Cisneros, The House On Mango Street (Vintage Contemporaries, 1991), 86.

Valero and Tesoro oil companies have put millions into the Dirty Energy Proposition because of their vested interest in protecting their right to pollute in California. Their pollution disproportionately impacts folks of color. Populations residing within 2.5 miles of Valero and Tesoro’s toxic facilities in Los Angeles and the Bay Area were 63 percent African American, Latino and Asian/Pacific Islander.

To add insult to injury, Valero and Tesoro have repeatedly violated pollution laws in California by releasing chemicals into the air. The study reports that this January, “Valero disclosed that it had 29 outstanding Violation Notices from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.” Over 44 violation notices within a three year window have been settled between Tesoro and the Bay Area Quality Management District.

“Clean air and a healthy environment is not a luxury, but a right,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “Prop 23 stands for willfully violating these rights. It stands for dirty air and is being promoted through unclean tactics. Over the past decade, we have made too much progress to take such an enormous step backwards.”

To learn more about the Toxic Twin’s impact in Southern California, read the full report. Then, get involved in Communities United to Stop the Dirty Energy Prop- all Californians who believe that people and the planet must come before profits are needed for our efforts!

With this in mind, I rewind back and forth in in history to reflect on what it takes to heal from racism. The biggest question we should ask ourselves in this historical reflection is what has changed and what hasn’t changed? With this analysis we will be able to interact with one another in a conscious and intentional way.

First, I think about August 28th, 1955, when the world was given a true image of our racial biases and racist system.  Emmett Till was brutally murdered, beaten and hung for talking to a white woman in the Jim Crow south in Money, MS. Some would call this horrific incident the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement even though today, many young people, would not even recognize Emmett’s name.

In 1955, my father (African American) and my mother (white) would have been risking their lives to be in a romantic relationship.  It was still illegal at that time for blacks and whites to marry.  On top of the laws, violent racial tension was rampant in this country.

At least on the surface, a lot has changed. Two years ago the nation was proud to announce the victory ofa person of color in the Oval Office. This historical event motivated countless individuals and families to be proud of the strength of resistance and keep moving forward for progress.

As a multiracial woman I often think of the many different ways we relate to one another. But I have to wonder if even in 2010, even with a multiracial man as our President, if the color of our skin still dictates our character.  We still live in a society obsessed with racial divides and cultural differences.

For example, the racial divide is apparent in the current debate over immigrant rights. Again, we see laws being proposed that make racial profiling an acceptable measure of justice. On the other side, immigrants and their allies are speaking out against these racist approaches to law-making. This is no different then the push for civil rights in this country in the 1950s and 60s.

So how do we start to heal from the past and stay resilient in the present? Luckily in the Bay Area we have centers for healing from race and racism in our society. The East Bay Meditation Center hosts racial healing dialogue groups on a monthly basis. I plan to attend their next racial healing dialogue and will share what I learn with the Ella’s Voice community. This is a monthly conversation dedicated to dialogue around race. Visit their website to learn more about these dialogues on racial healing and for finding a safe and supportive space to discuss issues of race.

But, that’s not the biggest concern for me.  The rally where King made his most famous speech was named the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  Today we have millions of people out of work. The gap between the rich and poor is growing.  Joblessness still disproportionally impacts people of color.  Each month thousands more lose their homes.  And not because of taxes, but due to the power and decisions of the banks our taxes bailed out. This is what truly concerns me and fuels my commitment to change.

Dr. King’s dream was about what we could do together. In 1963, he told thousands of freedom fighters, “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.” And the anniversary of the rally is a fitting time to reflect on all we have achieved in our communities for people of color, women, LGBTQ communities and working folks.  For each of these achievements, there have been people in motion; that is why they are called movements.  People-powered action, driven by faith and the belief that we can make things better together. That is how change happens.

With that in mind, on the anniversary of the March on Washington, I am not going to get sidetracked from the work just because the Tea Party will be assembling.  I am going to honor the pledge that Dr. King asked the nation to make- to not walk alone and always march ahead.

“How, then, did we get here? How did the richest country on Earth end up watching children cry for food in putrid encampments on the evening news? How did reporters reach crowds of the desperate in places where police, troops and emergency responders had not yet been–three days after the storm?” — Time magazine

The author and family overlooking the valley of Yosemite National Park on one of the many weekend getaways.

National Park Service oversees almost 400 designated properties, including 58 with “national park” status.

Growing up in the heart of Los Angeles, near the notorious Rampart Division of the LA Police Department, I had my first national park experience in high school when my parents decided to take the kids on a camping trip to Yosemite National Park. While the beauty of the landscape was a shock coming from an urban jungle, I’m fortunate to now feel “at home” whenever we go back for a visit—either there or any other natural protected area—which is many weekends throughout the year.

We’re fortunate that leaders back in the day had the foresight to preserve such areas so that we can continue to enjoy them today. I hope we can continue this legacy by having the courage to push for real innovative solutions to address issues like climate change, even if it means less profit for a select few.

For a long time, I wrestled with the question of what am I supposed to do when I want social change to happen ASAP. I’ve asked that question forever and even sometimes wake up in a cold sweat trying to figure it out. This happened quite often during that time when we had a reckless president, highly involved in an seemingly endless war, and an endless roll out of destructive policies and ideology that did so much more harm than good.  In fact, I would get discouraged thinking that change wasn’t possible, never realizing the power of my voice and more importantly my vote.

Luckily, I had an A-HA moment. Though I was politically active and engaged prior to joining the Ella Baker Center, I can honestly say I was more focused on the problems rather than the solutions. Looking back, all I did was complain, therefore, devaluing myself and my vote in the process. It was when I got to the Ella Baker Center that I learned the power every one of us has once we get involved in our community, attend city council meetings, and ultimately vote. This became especially clear when I was able to present solutions and not just stand with the problems. By shifting my focus from the problems to a vision of the solutions, I finally saw my worth firsthand.

Justice for anyone requires all of our participation. Understanding the system in which our society functions allows you to realize exactly what needs to happen in order to build the lasting change we want to see.

Being citizens of our great cities is not just a right, but requires a certain level of responsibility. We don’t participate enough. If we are to make informed and sound decisions about issues that affect our communities, we must be aware and engaged. It’s important to encourage civic participation, promote understanding of civic issues as well as the political process, and support the development of sound public policy to help create positive change.

Having made a drastic departure from the pessimistic and paralyzed younger version of myself, I am now a politically active machine.  I believe in the need for us to take responsibility for our votes and our political process so strongly that I have pledged to spend at least 10 hours in the next two months, helping to get out the vote to my fellow Oaklanders. Will you join me? If we want to see the change we seek become a reality than we must participate and that can happen right now.

So how come so little seems to be happening to aid the people of Pakistan? When I compare the way that our country stepped up around the victims of Katrina or even the earthquake in Haiti, to the response to this huge flood disaster, something seems amiss.

I dare say that something could be connected to the surge in racist scapegoating of Muslim communities. 97% of Pakistan’s population are Muslim and Islam is officially recognized as the national religion. Meanwhile, some in the media and the public have created an anti-Muslim circus surrounding the debate for an Islamic Community Center in Manhattan near (not on, by the way) the site of the World Trade Towers. Similarly the media had a heyday last week when a study showed that 1/5 of Americans believe that President Obama is a Muslim.

Could the boiling up of anti-Muslim sentiment be at the root of the slow and insufficient response to the crisis in Pakistan? I can’t help wonder if the same right-wing pundits and media outlets so willing to stir the flames of the Obama-is-Muslim and Mosque-on-Ground-Zero fires are just conveniently stonewalling public awareness of the Pakistani flood.

So let’s not let anti-Muslim, racist sentiments prevent the people of Pakistan from getting our moral and financial support. Tonight, at dinner, make sure whomever is near you knows that Pakistan is facing an extreme crisis causing environmental and physical devastation to the 6th most populous country on the planet. And make a commitment today to donate to the relief efforts, speak up for the freedom of Islamic Americans to build a community center in New York (or anywhere else for that matter), and make sure the right-wing movements and media no longer get to dominate the conversation with their Islamophobia.