Crime survivors in the Bay Area denounced Proposition 36 at the opening of Oakland’s newest Trauma Recovery Center. Californians for Safety and Justice, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), and other leading community organizations held a press conference to warn voters about Prop 36’s false promises about safety and treatment, and point to proven solutions.

‘Your investments need to go into things like this… this is the way we increase safety in our communities — when people are able to get access to housing, support their children, and get support on the day-to-day to deal with their active trauma,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. Hollins spoke with Roselyn Romero of The Oaklandside about this issue. For more on the press conference, check out these articles from Public News Service, and KQED. Learn more about the impacts of Prop 36 in this San Francisco Chronicle piece: Prop 36 would steer more people into drug treatment — while cutting key funding for those programs. Also check out how Sydney Fang, policy director of progressive organization AAPI FORCE, believes AAPI voters were being manipulated in Will Prop 36’s tough-on-crime approach really improve safety for AAPI community?
View this post on Instagram
Earlier this week, Million Voters Project (MVP) held a virtual rally to celebrate their historic effort to pass Proposition 5 and defeat Proposition 36. More than 500 canvassers, mainly people of color and youth, joined to celebrate their momentous effort of reaching over 250,000 voters for the largest statewide Get out the Vote program in California. Find more details in this Cal Matters piece.
ICYMI: Kevin Cosney, the Associate Director and Co-Founder of the California Black Power Network, joined The Everyday Injustice Podcast to discuss the MVP’s efforts to get out the vote for the November 5 election, their efforts to mobilize for Prop 5, and their attempt to stop Prop 36. Check it out here.
“Rather than passing harmful policies that destroy our communities, we must pass laws like rent control and ensure that workers make a living wage,” Alicia Olivarez, Fresno resident and associate director of Power California, wrote about how Fresno residents are feeling crushed by low wages and not enough affordable housing in this exclusive for the Fresno Bee, and why the issue is so personal for her.
Black women seek public leadership who care about the issues they care about, wrote Malika Redmond, CEO and co-founder of Women Engaged, a grantee of the Groundswell Fund, in this Op-Ed for Daily KOS. Redmond believes Black women’s voices and leadership are pivotal to the progression of democracy. Black women know that the most pressing issues in the nation hit Black communities and families with vengeance and harm reduction is a must. Read the full piece here.
Some of California’s most competitive congressional races are in districts with significant Latino populations. According to Andrea Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, Latino voters are an increasingly influential and diverse bloc that draws power from multiple sources. Therefore, winning could come down to who appeals to the most Latino residents. Battleground California is the only independent expenditure effort aimed at winning – or maintaining – six competitive congressional races that will securely position the Democrats to take back the House from two years of Republican control. Read more here: LA Times
Can massive election turnout save democracy? Alexsis Rodgers, political director of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund, which are part of the Black Power Voters Alliance, spoke with YES! about the alliance’s critical get-out-the-vote (GOTV) effort on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali.
View this post on Instagram
ICYMI: CONGRATULATIONS to the 2024-25 Black to the Future Public Policy Institute Fellows! This year’s talented fellows features nine visionary teams of 30+ changemakers representing Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and South Carolina. They bring together a wealth of experience and knowledge in the areas of democracy and voting rights; the economy and economic security; families, public health and healthcare; structural barriers; and the criminal-legal system. Get to know this cohort here.