Much like many 21st century movements that applaud performative activism (such as 2020’s #BlackoutTuesday movement which only served to silence Black activist voices), proclaiming the need for a DEI-infused curriculum is only the first step of a much larger journey.
The failures of public transportation happen across different communities in California, which means that this issue is systemic. People who rely on public transportation are primarily people of color and low-income people. People who can’t afford Uber or Lyft. People who can’t afford their own car. People who are already underrepresented. This is an environmental and social justice issue.
The plan for the new ice skating rink in Coachella Valley – a 250 million dollar sports and entertainment arena – was shared with our community just last year. The company’s chief executive, Tim Leik wants the future minor league hockey teams affiliated with NHL’s Seattle Kraken to start their upcoming season in October 2022. But, at what cost?
Racial prejudices and biases plague our systems and ultimately end in bloodshed. Because this system has gone unchecked for so long, innocent lives have continued to be lost to a vicious cycle of abuse, largely in part to the power of police unions.
As the only student with gay parents in my New York middle school, I became the defacto sex-ed informant… While we did have a health class, it was entirely focused on heterosexual sex, leaving all non-heterosexual students with questions they turned to me or to social media to answer.
It’s 3:30 a.m. and my parents are waking up my siblings and I for another day at the flea market. That’s how our mornings started every weekend for 5 years – wake up, get dressed and help pack any last items before heading off to the flea market. All those years at the flea market helped pay for food and the bills, as well as help my siblings and I earn some money so we can buy items we like.
The more I remember my 8th birthday, the more I examine the idea that I had money for either a birthday cake or a present. My family couldn’t afford to get me both. When I came to this realization, I started thinking about other things that might have pointed to this truth.
This is the reality for youth in my community and that’s how environmental injustice shows up in my life, quite literally in the air I breathe. The reality is the Salton Sea is drying up and has been drying up since 2003, the year I was born.
