Black Lives Matter.
“To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give it up. Do not be misled into passivity either by false security or by despair. Each of us must find our work and do it.”
-Audre Lorde
Activism is part of my family history. My grandmother was very active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, marching on Washington and consulting with leaders of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference on the ways of peaceful protest. My father was the first Black elected official in Nevada County, California, serving as the Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters. Now it is my turn to continue the legacy of activism, to work to create policy that will uplift BIPOC communities, secure women’s rights, and further racial justice.
Social justice is defined as, “an ideal condition in which all members of a society have the same basic rights, protections, opportunities, obligations, and social benefits.” It’s become painfully clear that our rights and freedoms are not guaranteed, but must be expanded, defended, and protected. This is my motivation and my drive - to work towards social justice and economic opportunity, especially for communities of color that have long been disadvantaged and disenfranchised in our society.
The United States is in the midst of a power battle to maintain the status quo, or the centering of white male power in our society, or to adjust to be a truly multiracial, multiethnic, multicultural democracy. And the stakes have never been higher, as we face the warming of our climate, global shifts towards autocracy, and a bitterly divided nation. Now is the time for all of us to stand up, to fight for our values, to cultivate community, and protect ourselves and each other. The world depends on it.
Op-ed: The Weight We Carry
By Natalie Diaz
The name Ahmaud Arbery was still clear in my mind. It was becoming more challenging to catalogue all of the names in my mind — there are just too many that it has turned into an active memory exercise to remember all of them, to remember their names, to honor them by refusing to forget.
Op-ed: The Private Sector Must Stand Up for Voting Rights
By Natalie Diaz
We are in the midst of a Republican-led national campaign to restrict voting. According to the Brennan Center, 18 states have already enacted 30 laws this year that will make voting more difficult. The federal government has the ability to pass national laws to mitigate the effects of many state-level restrictions, such as the “For the People Act” and the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.” But due to the lack of a clear majority for both bills, we cannot wait for the federal government to act. We must mobilize the private sector to counteract the effects of restrictive voting policies.