Congratulations to Urban Peace Movement for another successful Town Up Tuesday! The second annual event was a beautiful day full of community, joy and music. To learn more about the event, check out Bay Area rapper and Town Up Tuesday performer D-Lo on KPIX, and follow Urban Peace Movement on Instagram for a round up of the event.

Through community building efforts like Town Up Tuesday and policy advocacy, Urban Peace Movement builds youth leadership in Oakland to transform the culture and social conditions that lead to mass incarceration and community violence. Earlier this year, youth advocates built a 10-point plan to end youth incarceration in Alameda County, and beyond. Show your support of these young people by signing on to their vision for a brighter future for all.

Early in 2023, the Zellerbach Family Foundation shared an update about their strategic vision, announcing that after years of research and reflection, they would replace their traditional evaluation plan with a learning agenda. The new framework is intended to surface lessons that sharpen their strategy and approach to supporting their grantee partners, identify themes across their work, and evolve their response to community needs and changing circumstances. More about Zellerbach’s strategic vision is available here, and more on the learning agenda is at the Zellerbach website.

While financial catastrophe may be averted for now, President Biden’s concessions to the right in the Debt Ceiling Deal around basic supports for communities most impacted by climate change, income inequality, and political disenfranchisement represent a huge step back for Black communities. According to Alicia Garza, founder and principal of the Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund, the specifics are “reminiscent of the Regan era…work requirements to receive basic assistance, cuts to education, cuts to the kind of safety net that makes America at least in theory, the land of the free and the home of the brave, and who suffers in these kinds of games are Black communities.” More from Jessica Washington at The Root.