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So many activities/events in the past few weeks have happened – in Santa Cruz as well as in the nation – around the themes of liberation, equality, and restorative justice. I’m referring specifically to the celebration of Juneteenth. The commemoration of the day that the last enslaved Black people in Galveston Texas learned that they were free. That joy was buoyed by the repainting of the BLM mural on Center Street in front of Sant Cruz City Hall. Of course, many of us remember that this socially visible artwork—bringing with it the hope of belonging—was defaced shortly after community members collaboratively imprinted the asphalt with this opening for conversations and positive action towards anti-racism—among other symbolic social justice gestures. After waiting for 2 years, the repainting of the BLM mural and the event that embraced this action was equally as intentional as the original moment that established this mural. And let’s not forget that June was Gay Pride month. Those happy moments in June were bookended by the Supreme Court of The United States (SCOTUS) recent decisions dismantling decades of progress towards racial justice, equity, and civil rights by gutting affirmative action in higher education to allowing businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ community. Oh, and as we crept into July some haters in Santa Cruz -presumably- had to one up SCOTUS by hanging a noose, loosely tied, albeit a symbol of racial hate nonetheless, on a traffic light post across the street from the Town Clock on the same corner as the US Post Office (on You-Lie 4th, by the way). Okay, lots to talk about and little time, and space to expound on everything in the manner that would suit my senses. Firstly, remember the banning of certain books written primarily by intersectional Black feminists by the College Board in Florida. Yeah, that ban. Education is under attack, that is education is being used to sow a particular field where crops of cis, heterosexual, white wealthy predominately male with little patience for diverse thought and no respect for Mother Earth are attempting to return the United States back to what they consider their glory days (think—The Great Gatsby). For those of us who are passionate about some of what I have mentioned, we got work to do. And it starts with voting. And why would I say that? Well, elections matter says January 20, 2017....So here we are 6 years later, most of the nation, believes that we have a government that is a constitutional democracy. If so, then it is our moral duty to remedy this f^*k-ry considering this political landscape. And we start by going to the ballot box. While the Supreme Court Justices are not voted by the people, the senators who confirm them are. I am by no means suggesting that the ballot box is a panacea to all of these social ills, many of which I did not mention. Uh-huh. Voting is just one of the tools we have in our magic bag to make positive change. To be clear, earlier I had mentioned the following: Affirmative action rulings are tied to racial equality, The banning of specific books which are fiction, autobiographies of Black Americans, or children's books about different family structures or any book that doesn't uphold the cis-het white male paradigm, and any book by LGBTQIA+ authors are all suspect and have been banned in the state of Florida which is tied to education and the right to learn, which can also impact the diverse thought in America and the world. It's beginning to feel like a fascism to me. Houston, we have a problem. Oh, that's right we do! Texas Governor Greg Abbot has approved legislation that will eliminate mandated water breaks in cities and county ordinances for those workers in labor, business and agricultural industries. Yep, people have lost their natural mind. Who do you think will be impacted the most? I'm just saying the quiet part out loud. I have barely scratched the surface of what's to come. This upcoming election year is going to be a pivotal point for democracy. A friend of mine once told me that I was enthusiastically optimistic. I gotta say that after the rulings made at the end of SCOTUS' 2023 term it sure does make it difficult to maintain a decent level of hope, joy and emotional well-being. Righteous anger had to linger for a minute. It was the potent ingredient that I needed. But I digress. I still believe that a better word is possible. Locally we can imagine, create, implement + execute all kinds of changes whose impact will reverberate outside of our little microcosm. I'm going to leave you with a few things to ponder. Student loan forgiveness may be up for more work in Washington. However, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is not affected. Excerpts from Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson's dissenting opinion in the Harvard/ UNC affirmative action ruling: "Although formal race-linked legal barriers are gone, race still matters to the lived experiences of all Americans in innumerable ways, and today’s ruling makes things worse, not better." "With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces 'colorblindness for all' by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life," Jill Scott's interpolation of the Star Spangled Banner is being dubbed as the New Black National Anthem or American Anthem: (And come watch Chris lip sync to this one on Tuesday). Peace + Power + Love, Cheryl
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