Updates
Call To Action, Re-Fund Transit, Make Banks Pay!
For the past five years, working people in the Bay Area have faced brutal cuts to vital services. Bus riders have been hit especially hard, some losing more than 15% of their transit service. This means longer waits, higher costs, and missed appointments.Banks Must Pay
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Banks that wrecked our economy continue to overcharge our public agencies—the Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC), for one— millions of dollars on bad loan deals.
What You Can Do
On Feb. 20th through 24th, join bus riders, ACCE, Urban Habitat, and our allies in the Transportation Justice Working Group, as well as the 6 Wins For Social Equity, for a Week of Actions, to demand that banks renegotiate interest-rate swap agreements.
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Give to RP&E on Support Your Media Day - Feb. 15th
On February 15, 2012, Race, Poverty & the Environment (RP&E) will be participating in Support Your Media Day. From 8 am ET - 11:59 pm PT, Independent media outlets from around the country will come together to raise funds to support coverage of issues vital to the 99% during this election year, making it possible for these organizations to continue to tell the stories that matter for the 99%.
Your donation to RP&E will help us claim our share of more than $10,000 in cash awards, matching grants and other prizes.
We believe you're passionate about equal access for all to housing, transportation, jobs, and a healthy environment. We think that the articles in this journal can help you be a more effective advocate for change in your work and inform you about how others working for justice are carrying out theirs. We hope you think so too. RP&E has long advocated policy prescriptions backed by movement building for systemic change. We hope you see the value of this kind of journalism.
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Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute Information Sessions
Urban Habitat's Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute Information Sessions
Join us to learn about the nomination process for our 2012 cohort! Come hear how the BCLI has empowered and supported the next generation of advocate commissioners working for and representing the needs of low-income communities and communities of color, and learn about the nomination, interview, and selection process. Alumni will be on hand to answer your questions and share their experiences.
Oakland
February 16, 2012
1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
The California Endowment
1111 Broadway, 7th Floor
Richmond
February 29, 2012
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Easter Hill United Methodist Church
3911 Cutting Boulevard
Berkeley
March 23, 2012
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Greenlining Institute
1918 University Avenue, 2nd Floor
San Francisco
March 30, 2012
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Eric Quesada Center for Culture & Politics
518 Valencia Street
RSVP to Riana Shaw Robinson at riana[@]urbanhabitat.org
House Bill Could End 30 Years of Dedicated Federal Funds for Mass Transit
ACTION ALERT! From Transit Riders for Public Transportation (TRPT)
Stop the assault on the public sector,
protect environmental justice and civil rights
in transportation funding.
SAY NO to H.R. 7 — TAKE ACTION NOW!
House Republican Committees voted last week to eviscerate transit in the federal transportation bill by eliminating the 20% share of dedicated funding for public transit and giving 100% of federal funds to roads and highways. This bill also targets our grassroots communities of color who make up the backbone of transit ridership across the country.
CALL your Congressional Representative and the Speaker of the House and tell them to vote NO on H.R. 7 (the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act) Contact Your Congressional Representative: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Contact Speaker Boehner: Phone: (202) 225-0600 Fax: (202) 225-5117
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THE NEW METROPOLIS: Building a Sustainable and Healthy Bay Area in the Age of Global Warming
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The City of El Cerrito Environmental Quality Committee Presents: The New Metropolis, Building a Sustainable and Healthy Bay Area in the Age of Global Warming
Saturday, February 4, 2012,10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Program starts at Rialto Cinemas Cerrito
10070 San Pablo Avenue. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
Come to a FREE SHOWING of this documentary about America’s "first suburbs and join in the community dialog. It will bring together policy makers and community members to discuss strategies for urban and suburban revitalization and environmental sustainability in the Bay Area.
The New Metropolis illustrates how many of America’s original suburbs are now facing crisis: a dwindling tax base, population and business loss, decaying infrastructure, increased demographic tensions and middle class !ight. Hear from award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice, local political leaders and other guest speakers in a discussion about local responses to the topics raised in the film.
Torrice will show segments from her recent PBS series, The New Metropolis, as well as premiere a new segment about the Bay Area, including a clip on Urban Habitat and Pleasanton.
Following the screening join the community discussion at Nong Thon restaurant at 10086 San Pablo Avenue.
Please RSVP to 510-215-4350 or green@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
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Petition: Support Free Public Transportation for Youth
Help us Win Free Transit for Youth in San Francisco Now: Click here and Sign the Petition!
Thanks,
Bob & Lindsay
Petition: Support Free Public Transportation for Youth
Young people are having a harder and harder time getting around San Francisco—getting to school, after school programs, jobs, volunteer activities, museums and parks. Major cuts to the yellow school bus program have forced school-age children to find their own way of getting to school—and a youth Fast Pass costs more than twice what it did two years ago. Young people who cannot afford the rising cost of transportation risk getting a $100 fine if they ride the bus without paying the fare.
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Urban Habitat 3.0
Urban
Habitat staff, board members, allies, and over 2000 equity advocates
from across the country gathered recently at the Equity Summit 2011
convened by PolicyLink in Detroit. There, we saw firsthand the
consequences of decades of displacement and disinvestment on such a
proud city. We heard from an array of advocates and analysts about the
challenges facing Detroit and numerous other regions across the country.
We delved into the current economic crisis and saw how people of
color—the fastest growing segment of U.S. population—are taking the
hardest hits.
We came away better informed and energized to take
on the daunting task of moving our nation toward a more fair
distribution of resources and decision-making power, and into a more
equitable growth agenda. (See RP&E 18-2) We are looking forward to
sharing those discussions and advancing that agenda at the Social Equity
Caucus' annual State of the Region Conference in the Bay Area in April
2012.
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Introduction: Autumn Awakening
From Civil Rights to Economic Justice
The Autumn Awakening underway across the United States is an inspiring moment of hope after decades of overt social, political, and economic reaction. The arrival of the Occupy movement was heralded by the student-worker-citizen occupation of the Wisconsin state capitol last winter. But just a few months ago, a sign bearing the words, “If Egypt can do it so can we” signaled a plaintive cry more than a compelling mandate. The formulation, “We are the 99%” articulates a new, broad-based democratic politics focused on economic justice. While the slogan is by its nature inclusive, the emerging movement is still coming to terms with the fact that the majority of the 99% are women and people of color. (See On Occupy) In this issue, we take a look at how the changing demographic complexion of the United States is shifting the political calculus in many arenas—electoral, economic, and in the new movement called Occupy.
Driven by displacement and gentrification (Bullard) and in search of jobs, housing, and education, African Americans, once confined to the South and the urban core, are on the move (Sullivan, Kromm). Some see the departure of African Americans from the cities as a threat to the community’s political power, while others see new opportunities for people of color to build a historic new coalition.
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REDI Partners Celebrate, Mobilize
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, was a day to celebrate. REDI community partners gathered at Grace Lutheran Church in Richmond to celebrate the group’s accomplishments of the more than five-year General Plan campaign. Representatives from REDI partners included, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO), Faith Works, and Urban Habitat.
Community members from each group shared stories around their personal and group’s participation toward a vision for a better and more equitable Richmond. The partners were excited to reiterate their success in getting the Planning Commission to incorporate a majority REDI’s recommendations regarding jobs, transit, housing, safety, and community health in the final draft of the General Plan. This event was also a call to action to mobilize members to attend upcoming city council meetings and the impending general plan vote expected within the next few weeks.
After the General Plan is passed, REDI members will remain vigilant heading into the Housing Element analysis and implementation phases of the General Plan.
Free Muni Youth Pass Campaign
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