All posts by Tamara

Last month our grant recipient, People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) along with the Urban Habitat and the DataCenter released a compelling new report, Next Stop: Justice/Próxima Parada: Justicia which analyzes San Francisco’s public transit system, offering a vision for transit policy that puts race and the environment at the center. The report includes 10 case studies of transit lines throughout Southeast San Francisco and survey data from over 700 transit riders which show:

• Low-income communities and communities of color cannot afford Muni’s rising fares.
• San Francisco spends $9.5 million per year to implement its “Proof of Payment” fare enforcement program and recovers only $1 million in lost fares.
• Public transit can move the local economy.
• Reducing transit fares can help San Francisco reach its climate objectives by increasing ridership.
• Bus riders in the core communities of color in SF are impacted by long waits and overcrowded buses.

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We would like to recognize and congratulate our grant recipient, Oakland Rising for its voter engagement and mobilization efforts over the past year which culminated in big wins for Oakland, the larger Bay Area community, and California. Oakland Rising is a multilingual, multiracial collaborative building on Oakland’s rich history to advance smart, community-first solutions for a thriving city. Oakland Risings voter engagement victories this year included:

• Reaching 25,252 low-income, immigrant, and voters of color living in Oakland’s flatlands during their fall campaign alone
• Identifying 19,544 Oaklanders who support progressive tax policies to bring back public funding for schools and programs also during their fall campaign
• Providing 80 jobs for low-income, under-employed, or previously incarcerated residents through their paid “Daily Team” canvassing position
• Mobilizing 375 community volunteers to do precinct walks and GOTV
• Passing Proposition 30 as part of California Calls to safeguard funding for public schools by raising taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Californians
• Defeating Proposition 32 to ensure that big money interests will NOT silence the voices of workers and Unions in our political system

We salute Oakland Rising for its many achievements in 2012 and look forward to a new year of work ahead in the effort to bring about a more just, sustainable, and prosperous Oakland for all!

Photo courtesy of Oakland Rising

Our grant recipient, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law yesterday released a preliminary report of its findings from Election Protection 2012 to Congress urging them to take action to fix the persistent problems in our election system that make it difficult for many Americans to vote. The long lines endured by many voters this year were a problem, amongst several others that demonstrated the inadequacies of the election system. As the Lawyers’ Committee points out: “If we truly want an election infrastructure that lives up to the ideals of our democracy then we need to fix a lot of things.” Here are their suggestions: (more…)

The Black Male Achievement (BMA) Fellowship is a new fellowship program established by Open Society Foundations and Echoing Green dedicated to improving the life outcomes of black men and boys in the U.S. It is the first fellowship program of its kind that targets social entrepreneurs who are starting up new and innovative organizations in the field of black male achievement. The application for the 2013 BMA Fellowship will be available online from December 4th 2012-January 7th 2013.
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The Palm Beach Post revealed this week that former Florida GOP leaders intentionally designed restrictive voter laws to limit votes from Democrats and people of color. Florida voters, as we saw in this year’s election endured long voting lines and other confusion as a result of reduced voting hours, voter purges, and voter registration restrictions pushed by Republican leaders. In this article, former GOP chairman, former Gov. Charlie Crist, and others revealed that prevention of voter fraud was not the underlying motivation behind voting restrictions; a GOP win was.
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We would like to congratulate our grant recipient Youth Radio for being awarded this week with the White House’s National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award! This prestigious award is the nation’s highest honor and was given by First Lady Michelle Obama to only 12 community-based arts and humanities organizations across the country. First Lady Michelle Obama stated: “The 2012 awardees demonstrate the power that comes from young people realizing their creative promise. These outstanding organizations from across the country inspire our youth to explore the world of possibility that awaits them, and they are gaining critical skills that translate into every other aspect of their lives.”

Youth Radio’s work has made a significant impact in the lives of many young people over the past two decades by improving academic scores and graduation rates, enhancing life skills, helping youth express themselves creatively, and develop positive relationships with peers and adults. Kudos to Youth Radio for their outstanding achievement as they make Oakland proud!

Photo: Youth Radio Producer Nishat Kurwa and Student Shyra Gums with First Lady Michelle Obama.

A new survey conducted by the Penn Schoen Berland National Post-Election poll reveals that the majority of Americans would like to see national standards for how people vote, including what hours polls are open, who is eligible to vote, and the type of ballot used. MacArthur Foundation President Robert Gallucci makes the point: “On the heels of an election that required some Americans to endure a long line to cast their vote and others to face confusing new requirements, the message from this poll is clear. Our democracy and our electorate deserve better rules and procedures for efficiently administering federal elections.” (more…)

Another victory against voter suppression was won last week in Ohio and Wisconsin as voting rights groups, including our grant partners, The Lawyers’ Committee and ColorofChange.org pushed communications conglomerate, Clear Channel to remove over 100 billboards in mostly Black and Latino neighborhoods which they say were designed to intimidate voters. The billboards read “VOTER FRAUD IS A FELONY!” and warned that it can lead to prison sentences of up to three and a half years and a $10,000 fine. As ColorofChange.org points out: “In no small part because voters are more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit fraud at the polls, the billboards were widely viewed as an effort to intimidate minority voters who are uncertain about their rights from voting.”
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Oakland housing rights advocates, including our grant partner, Causa Justa :: Just Cause had cause to celebrate recently as Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, Congressperson Barbara Lee, State Assemblyperson Nancy Skinner and community members held a press conference in support of a Comprehensive Foreclosure Prevention Package. The plan which was approved by the Oakland City Council on October 16th will provide a new means by which tenants and homeowners can receive foreclosure assistance. The package includes:

• Door to door outreach to roughly 3,500 residents in risk of foreclosure
• Referrals to housing counselors and access to legal assistance and a city team that will help advocate on behalf of borrowers to the bank
• Tenant and homeowner rights trainings
• A pilot program called ROOT that will buy back homes for borrowers facing foreclosure and restructure the loans to be fixed rate and affordable

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Over the past two years, we have seen restrictive voter ID legislation introduced in states across the nation that could make it harder for voters to cast a ballot. Some of these laws have been successful in being passed while others have been halted, thanks to the efforts of voting rights advocates, citizens who voted against restrictive legislation, and courts who overturned or blocked such laws. Our grant partners, The Brennan Center for Justice recently published a clear analysis and mapping of states, showing where these laws have passed, where they were blocked, and where they are in effect for the 2012 election. Some of the findings revealed:

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