Central Valley Rising: Youth-Fueled Activism

Speaker 0 00:00:13 Welcome to the California table. I'm Betty Yee. We will be meeting people from our diverse regions of California who are creating their own tables to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time, community voices gathering, coming together to speak up for themselves, to take charge of their own lives, to fight for themselves. This is the California table. <inaudible> California central Valley, a vast expanse of flat, fertile agricultural land. I reflect on my travels and experiences to California's Heartland at water, or said child Chella, Fowler Selma along the 99 cities like Gustine, our layer Sanger and more a region that boasts the most productive of fruits, nuts and vegetables like Apricot's blueberries, cherries, tomatoes, walnuts, almonds, and corn feeding our nation and the world where pride emanates from Friday night, high school football wins, and it being home to many, a musician and artists who has influenced the genres of country rock R and B doo wop, jazz soul funk, hip hop, and new metal behind the bounty of the central Valley is a different reality. One that finds unemployment, poverty, educational, achievement, and health lagging behind the rest of California. In 2019, the Sacramento bee referred to the central Valley as the Appalachia of the West. Speaker 0 00:02:32 These start conditions of birds, the rise of activism among central Valley youth 99 roots with power. California is an unapologetic organizing program led by youth or youth and their families in the central Valley to lift up their communities Here with me are three amazing young people whose clarity and resolve are galvanizing thousands of youth in the central Valley and around the state to elevate their voices fighting for the future for themselves and their families. Chris, on Timo Guyardo of Atwater 99 routes director with power, California, Eugene Vang of mercy said 99 roots youth leader and organizer with power, California and yo saline Perez Atwater a 16 year old high school student and 99 roots youth leader with power California, Chrissy, Eugene Yossi. Welcome. Speaker 1 00:03:44 Thank you, buddy. Thank you so much, buddy. Speaker 0 00:03:47 You're an important architect of 99 roots share with our listeners, this growing movement and how it started Speaker 1 00:03:55 Really excited to be on. I am proud to be from the central Valley power, California. We're actually in statewide Alliance of more than 24 different youth groups across California that are working to build our own voting block of black indigenous youth of color across the state in the central Valley. Actually, when I started my work with power California, we wanted to invest in deep local leadership and felt the need to start our own internal youth program, which is what 99 roots is where the Poca central Valley program. And in 99 routes, we use healing R and culture to help young people find their voice to reflect on their own lived experiences and to feel pride of where they come from. We also energize them to use their political power and train their peers through political ed workshops, through voter engagement projects. And ultimately we organize our community as youth leaders to really transform our, our world towns and to make sure that elected officials hear our own lived experiences and make policy and budget decisions that reflect what our young people and their families deserve Speaker 0 00:05:20 To any movement are the individual personal journeys that inform it. Please share a little bit about your backgrounds for our listeners, your experiences growing up in the central Valley and what inspires your activism. Speaker 1 00:05:34 Thank you so much, buddy. And just wanted to say how grateful and honored to be a part of this conversation though. Hi, my name is Eugene Vang, gender pronouns. I'm 19 years young. I'm from Murtha California, born and raised. I'm a third year at UC San Diego and I'm a youth Speaker 2 00:05:58 Leader and organizer with 99 roots in power, California. I'm also a color guard, performer and dancer. So I love being able to express myself through the performing arts. I am Hmong American. I'm the son of Hmong refugees who came to the United States after the secret war in Laos, growing up in the central Valley. And in Merce said, I always just remembered how hardworking my parents, my family, and my community, where I grew up in a four roomed house, which was really small. I grew up with eight siblings, so I have four sisters, four brothers, and yeah, there was so much of us. It was often loud and chaotic, but it was truly a very loving and supporting, you know, space and home to grow up in. And I think what really motivated me to get involved with 99 roots is when I started to learn about what social justice was. Speaker 2 00:06:55 Right. I, I remember one summer in 2017, I joined a youth leadership summer Academy. And this is when I started to learn about my identity as a Hmong American and the issues that were happening in the central Valley and in Mersad. And I realized that my, my family and my community, we deserve so much better. You know, we worked so hard to only make it to barely make it a survive. And you know, when, if I can lead and organize and get all of my friends to vote and make that difference, I was willing to be a part of it. And so, you know, I recall this one moment when I realized I, I was seeing the dermatologist in San Francisco. And so my, my mom and my parents, and I would drive up once a month. And I realized while I was translating to my mom, that, you know, in terms of the healthcare system, right, there's so much work to be done. You know, we, we need mental health resources. We need health healthcare services that are going to be culturally and language inclusive. And so I, you know, the, the issues that we're going to be going over in a little bit just really fires me up. Cause I know that, I mean, my friends are going to be the ones to step up and make changes. Speaker 0 00:08:09 Eugene, what are you studying at UC San Diego? Speaker 2 00:08:14 So kind of funny that you asked, I came to, UCFD hoping to go to med school and so on the premed track, but to be completely honest with you, I'm at a time and place where I'm not really sure if that's what I really want to pursue. And so with my involvement in 99 roots and part park, California, I there's just so much opportunities and possibilities, right. So I'm even considering switching my major over to public health and or political science. I'm currently a general biology major right now, but, um, yeah, so I'm really open to different opportunities and different possibilities. Speaker 0 00:08:49 Yossi. You're a junior in high school. What is your experience as a teenage youth in the central Valley and what motivated your activism? Speaker 3 00:08:59 Hi, I'm yes, I am in high school. I'm a junior and I am a proud daughter of undocumented folks. And growing up, I grew up on the rule side about water and they're made, we realize that not only was I getting treated on family, but all the other black and indigenous people around me were getting treated unfairly as well. Growing up with undocumented folk is hard enough already because there's that fear of them getting taken away. So I really makes you realize that there's so many social injustice that need to be worked on. And I feel like that's what led me to join in 99 rules. And it was my freshman year. I remember it was actually because they were teaching about immigrants rights. And I was like, Oh, I want to learn so much about that. And then from there just like one thing led to another, I learned about the black Panther movement. I started learning about a lot of other movements that I had never heard of that was really intriguing and really just spoke to me. And I was just like, I need to learn about this. I really want to keep being involved. And the 99 roots gave us that vulnerable space to just be involved. Speaker 0 00:10:08 Thank you, Yossi. I so appreciate your giving voice to the experience of undocumented persons, for whom the ability to live freely and safely and to come out from the shadows remain a challenge. We've seen remarkable developments in youth activism. Recently, the youth climate strikes organized by the sunrise movement, the March for our lives against gun violence. After the shootings at the Parkland Florida high school and the black lives matter movement whose intersectional approach has involved more youth, our mainstream political parties also have organizations targeted towards youth and young adults. Speaker 3 00:10:54 The only County registrar's office 240 seniors registered constitutional amendment eight would lower California's voting age to 17. Speaker 0 00:11:26 How has 99 routes with power California similar and more significantly different from these other movements? Speaker 3 00:11:35 Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think something that I want to lift up is just that black and Brown young people have always been at the forefront of social movements. And in this moment more than ever before, we're seeing how specifically in the central Valley are highly Speaker 1 00:11:54 Politically active and engaged with the movement for black lives, the little world pandemic our living in, we feel like it's our responsibility to continue to be engaged in the protection of our families of our lives. And we identify with these movements when we're able to create a program that is for us by us, you're going to see the results and the impact in the way that young people engage longterm. And I, I am proud to say that I feel like we are able to achieve that in 99 and groups. And it goes back to even the reason about why 99 roots exists, right? Like I grew up in the central Valley. I was never involved in any type of youth program because there weren't any that were available in my local community. Right. I think about places like LA and the Bay where youth organizing groups have been around for decades for, in some instances more than 25 years, or even just social justice groups already existing in certain communities and in the Valley in Atwater, at least that wasn't the case. Speaker 1 00:13:08 There wasn't a safe space for young people to further get politicized or engage in healing circles or whatnot. So when I left to college and was introduced into healing circles, I was introduced into the importance of speaking truth to power. I felt that need to come back home. It was my responsibility to create that space here. So when you have folks and young people that live in a rural community and understand the very unique challenges that come with that, and you develop a program that is specifically for central Valley youth, you're gonna, you're gonna see how it resonates and how engage we become. So for us, it was really important that in 99 roots, we dive really deep into our relationships with young people, right? It's not just about going wide, but going deep. How is it that young people from these communities can really center their own healing, find their voice to then start recruiting other peers. Speaker 1 00:14:19 So what makes 99 routes and power California successful is that we lead with relationship. We ensure that our programs are authentic to the base that ultimately we're accountable to in this case, black, indigenous young people of color. We're actually the only network statewide that focuses on building a voting block of young people of color. And that makes us really unique, right? Like when we have young people see themselves in what we build, and actually they're the ones that build the program structure, the meetings, they run the meeting agendas. They're the ones that recruit their peers. Um, it makes our movement grow faster. It makes our movement that much more successful because it's authentically for us. And by us, Speaker 0 00:15:12 Thank you Chrissy. For these perspectives, you are a first generation college student, where did you go to college? And what was that experience like? Speaker 1 00:15:22 I'll start with this with this part. I at least tell the young people that when I left to college, I didn't know the difference between community college, a UC or a private school. I just assumed that college was the same for everybody. And my parents always told me like, you have to go to college. So you don't work hard like us. There are farm workers. And I was fortunate to get into UC Berkeley. And I left not knowing where Berkeley was located, but quickly found a group of other first generation, low income students that I build my little crew with and was able to succeed in graduate Speaker 0 00:16:04 Chrissy. You're a terrific role model for so many involved with 99 roots. Thank you, Yossi. How do your peers feel about your activism? Does your school encourage it? Speaker 1 00:16:17 Yes. I have a lot of teachers who are super supportive, encouraging me to keep doing more and keep doing better. Speaker 0 00:16:30 What about your family? How do they feel about your activism? Especially since it does take time away from your studies and family responsibilities? Speaker 1 00:16:45 Not just my mom, my dad, my family in general, keep doing it. Speaker 0 00:16:55 What a great motto. I'd like the three of you to help me with something. There are many adults and frankly, some media as well, who still carrying myths and stereotypes about youth, about young people, young people are inexperienced. They are idealistic and self centered. Our youth are disengaged. They have no follow through. And yet a recent North Carolina state university study shows a link between youth activism and experiences of racism. A lot to unpack here. They certainly are not the ways I perceive any of you. So help me hear your take. Eugene, do you want to start? Speaker 1 00:17:40 Yeah, I can definitely talk about that. I think for me, when I got involved with in high, and I remember Speaker 2 00:17:50 Going to my social studies class and pre registering and registering my friends and my classmates to vote. And I remember in 2018 that election in November, it was such a historical. It looks like, you know, young people of color, young people in the central Valley in California. We really made history in November where we showed up the most. And it was just a very proud moment for me. And I, I bring this up because you know, the, the narrative and the story that many adults or, you know, other people in our communities, um, like their, their narrative of young people is not accurate at all as a young person, myself, right? Betty I'm 19 years young. I'm still young. I think what's remarkable is that I see me and my friends, we are speaking up about our lived experiences, our stories. We are we, how can you tell us that we're not experienced when we are the ones experiencing the issues that are happening in our homes? Speaker 2 00:18:53 My dad, he works four jobs, seven days a week. My mom is a homemaker who in the summer picks blueberries in the fields. When I turned 16, I got a job at the school cafeteria and I've been working every sense we are working because we care about our families. We care about our schools and our communities, because we know that in order for our communities to feel safe in order for our communities to celebrate who we are, celebrate the diverse communities, we must be a part of this movement. We must get our friends to vote. We must educate our friends about the Hmong American experience, the black Panthers party, because our schools continue to fail and doing this. We must educate each other about, you know, the real issue that we see happening in our communities. And, you know, I think it's, it's been really inspiring to see young people like Yossi 16 years old in high school. Speaker 2 00:19:51 Right. And just being able to work with young people, especially in the central Valley, because you know, with 99 years in power, California, it's where we're starting something really big. And I like to say that like young people of color in the central Valley have always had the power were so powerful. And I think now we're really reclaiming and reigniting that power and really just owning it because, you know, we are the present. We're not just the future, but we are the present president. We're the ones living these experiences. And so, yeah, I think it's really exciting to see, you know, 99 roots grow and power California. Like, you know, we're, we're planting seeds and they're blossoming and I'm just so excited to be a part of it. Speaker 0 00:20:34 Wow. Your words are so powerful and affirming about. And for young people, thank you, Eugene, Chrissy, something still not commonly known. It's just how diverse the central Valley is. The Valley is culturally diverse with people representing more than 70 ethnicities. And I believe over 100 languages. These are attributes traditionally associated with California's large urban centers. This diversity does come. What the experience says of unfair treatment and discrimination against our communities of color and a news stereotype about youth in both urban and rural communities is our youth of color are always around gangs, heightened by the increasing engagement of our youth and the black lives matter movement. What is the psyche of young people in the central Valley around these issues? Speaker 1 00:21:30 Yeah, I think this is such an important disconnect. We actually did a poll, our 2020 youth poll as power California. And in that poll, we talk to more than a thousand young people about actually more than 1,500 young people across the state of California. And one of the main things that came out of that was that across all racial groups, young Californians deeply are deeply concerned about police violence and are energized by the movement for racial justice, for black Americans in the central Valley. We, we heard from young people that they feel like they're part of BLM and that they have participated in marches and other similar events. And this is because we as black and Brown young people are the most impacted when we experienced the injustice of one, not having enough opportunities given to us not having enough resources in our local communities to have a job or to even pursue higher education, right? Speaker 1 00:22:35 The central Valley, we have the lowest percentage of students that end up at our inside of our UC system. And it's for a reason it's designed that way, where if you're black, Brown or a low income student, your high schools are not providing the type of support systems that you need. And so young people right now are saying, no, you know what? Because of this injustice that we've been growing up in, we support and stand, uh, black lives matter, a hundred percent. Those social movements that are happening are also further politicizing young people to be bolder in their demands. I think that's something that has really stood out to me in the Valley where small rural towns, where we had never seen protests and masses of people taking over the streets, we're holding, you know, young people of all different backgrounds were uniting to hold protests in support of black lives matter. Speaker 1 00:23:38 I think about Gustine, I think about Chowchilla Chowchilla, which is the w you know, where you, the largest women's prison in this country, it's here in the central Valley. Young people in that town led a huge black lives matter protest. And it's because we are just being further activated and we're standing behind these movement because we understand that it's not about, I think oftentimes we live in societies and in a world where we're made to think that everything is, you know, either good or bad, or everything's a binary. You have either Democrats or Republicans, but I'm just really inspired by youth because they have made it clear that nothing is a binary. Nothing is just too. And that when we talk about civic engagement and civic participation, we're going to go from the streets to the ballot box, from volunteering to organizing our own youth power meetings. And we're also going to stand behind the most marginalized groups of people. And in this moment, and historically, it's always been black Americans, Speaker 0 00:24:55 Thank you for that Chrissy. This is so transformational. This movement, almost an awakening of sorts by young people of color who are stepping in to take the reins of responsibility for change in their communities. As you say, from the streets to the ballot box to volunteerism and civic engagement, to organizing, to advocacy and standing up for their communities, Speaker 4 00:25:27 Our California surveyed more than 1500 Californians aged between 18 and 29. Most of them, people of color, four out of five support the black lives matter protest power, California, which is working to translate that passion into vote. Those pulled rank stopping police brutality as a top government priority, followed by responding to the pandemic and protecting immigrant rights. About half of the black respondents said they experienced a negative encounter with police, such as being stopped or questioned unfairly for power California year 2020 has been a year. Unlike any other nonpartisan group power. California is mobilizing young voters today. They have about 300 phone bankers attempting to make 2 million calls statewide. The 75,000 young voters power California has registered are almost entirely people of color Speaker 0 00:26:24 Turn to power. California's recent fight for our future campaign kickoff, an incredible launch of the largest mobilization of young voters ahead of the November, 2020 election Eugene, you were a featured speaker at this kickoff. What is this campaign about? Yeah, I am just Speaker 2 00:26:44 So honored that I was able to have the opportunity to be part of such a amazing energized campaign kickoff event that we be had a couple of days ago actually on Friday. And so I think for that event, right, we wanted to fell up rate the work that young people of color across California statewide have been doing to phone bank to make sure that funding comes back to our schools and communities. Right. We have, you'll see. Maybe you'll see, can talk about it in a little bit, but we have high school students. We have youth who are phone banking and you know, this past summer, um, you know, they were phone banking for a week during the summer cycle. And so, you know, just really honoring and uplifting dot young people, especially young people of color who have been the most impacted who would this pandemic and this climate crisis racial uprising that we're seeing happening. Speaker 2 00:27:39 Young people of color have been the most impacted and, you know, have had to make tough decisions and sacrifices and have, have had to step up in so many crazy ways to support their families and their parents taking care of their younger siblings continue to work as essential workers outside of their home. That's right. Like with our youth pulled apart, California did one, wanted two young people, right? Or working outside of their homes, brisket in our life each and every day to support our family and our community. And I think for that campaign kickoff event, we really wanted to just get young people, excited, get people, get young people hype, and then also make sure that we uplift talented, powerful youth speakers, right across California and different regions like the central Valley, the Bay LA, right? Because in this movement, we are not alone. There are so many young people of color who are so involved. Speaker 2 00:28:39 Who've been phone banking, they've been canvassing. They were gathering signatures for prop 15 schools and communities first, before it was on the ballot. And so I gave the keynote speech to really remind folks to really remind young people that we are hell of resilient. Our ancestors were hell are resilient, and we continue to carry their strength and their resilience because they're standing right by us. Our communities, our families are standing with us and young people. We're going to be at the forefront. We are going to be leading these movements. We are going to be leading these phone banks and organizing to make sure that our elected officials choose us even during this pandemic, right? We're organizing actions, we're organizing car caravans and zoom meetings with our electeds to share what our community priority and needs are because the time is now for young people to be heard. The time is now for young people to lead and to be reflected in legislation because we have been left Speaker 3 00:29:42 Out for too long. And you know, again, young people have always been at the forefront of these movements. And when I spoke on Friday, I really felt the love and the support and the energy. And it just really inspired me because we are not going to stop until we secure these rights to meet our basic needs, to live in a community where freedom and justice and liberation as possible, we're going to keep fighting. And that's why I'm just so excited because you know, these next couple of months heading into November super important and young people are going to be leading every step of the way every week, every day, every month until November, because in November, we're going to be winning and we're not going to give up. And we're going to just keep, keep fighting and keep pushing because it's not, this fight is not over. It's going to be November. And then we're going to have other campaigns to work on, into organized because this fight, no one is free until we're all free. And so just really honored to be a part of it and to just continue sharing my voice. Speaker 0 00:30:43 How can anyone not share your excitement? Eugene Speaker 3 00:30:46 <inaudible> Speaker 0 00:30:55 Yossi. You are 16 years old and not able to vote yet. One of power California's major campaigns is vote at 16. About a year ago, I had a diverse group of 12 young people visiting my office ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. I asked them how they felt about lowering the voting age to 16. I was so surprised by their responses definitively along gender lines, the young men hands down explained, yes, we have so many other responsibilities at 16, including work. The young women on the other hand were reluctant explaining that their inexperience and lack of knowledge about the issues would result in their voting as their parents or older siblings would Yossi, what does the vote mean to you? Speaker 3 00:31:46 Lowering the voting age would be mean to me having the right to obviously make more and better decisions for our own community. Because at the end of the day, we are the people in our communities. And I feel like we should have the right to vote. A lot of people do have that type of response. Like, Oh, I have to vote this way because of my parents. And I feel like if it were to be lowered, maybe a class should be implemented into like a schedule, how to vote or something like that. Because unfortunately they don't teach us that in school. So if we were to get taught, taught it at school and like, I feel like it'd be so much easier for students to be like, Oh God, like that should happen. They should lower the voting age to 16 because I know how to vote and I can vote Betty. Can I add something? I, I would Speaker 1 00:32:40 Just have to share this because you'll see started, um, being involved since freshman year of high school. And so, you know, before she turned 16, but you know, a couple months ago she turned 16 and on her birthday, the first thing she texted me was like, I'm 16. How can I register? Do I do it online? Because we had been doing a lot of like preregistration in person. And for her, it was like, I know that, you know, we're not doing preregistration in person right now. So like, how do I register to vote? And that, to me, it's like, you'll see, you'll see leadership and eagerness to be able to preregister to vote. I see that. Not just in her, but in so many other young people across this region, right? All the volunteers that we've had, um, preregistering their peers doing classroom presentations showing up to phone bank and get the vote out for prop 15, have been young people that are passionate about making their voice heard through voting and in our, um, power California youth poll. We were seeing how this year it's even more critical for young people to vote statewide. They're naming voting as critical. I'm looking for, for the exact number, right? But over 70% of the young people that we talked to across California said that boating is more important in this election compared to the last and in particular, it's black and Brown youth that want an in person voting option. Speaker 0 00:34:27 This is a critical point, Chrissy for this November, 2020 election, when in-person voting will be challenged by COVID-19 public health directives and conscious efforts to suppress the vote of communities of color seniors, young people, and our immigrant communities. Speaker 1 00:34:44 Ah, absolutely. I also just want to reiterate that expanding voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds is critical. I grew up, you know, as the daughter of immigrants be even younger than 16. Think, you know, as soon as I was able to start reading in English, my parents would have me translate and interpret for them, write some really important documents, school forms. I would have to be able to look at that and explain it to them. And so young people to this day have a lot of those different responsibilities in their households. Um, they're, they're taking care of their younger siblings, especially during this pandemic. They're the essential workers. I know a lot of high school students in 99 routes that are out in the fields, um, and also managing online learning and, and asynchronous, um, schoolwork. Speaker 2 00:35:38 Right. Um, and so why not give them the opportunity to also cast a ballot and make their voice heard in our democracy, Speaker 0 00:35:47 Chrissy, these young people are shouldering so much responsibility that certainly can inform their vote, your observations warmed my heart Chrissy for, to this day. I translate the ballot when assisting my 97 year old mother in voting. <inaudible> what are some of the issues that 99 roots with power California is organizing around Eugene? Speaker 2 00:36:13 I can share first, you know, when I think of issues that we're organizing around with 99 routes, I often think of the many conversations that I've had with our youth. You know, they share with me real experiences and real stories up, you know, or sometimes like really painful, you know, they share like experiencing the constant criminalization of black and Brown students at their schools. And even like during this virtual setting that we're having, right, like over zoom, um, dress code, right, where teachers and admin are still criminalizing students, like in their own homes. And, you know, they share with me the lack of mental health resources and will being on campus and in their communities. And, you know, I, again, I just wanted to uplift how, how our parents and our families, they worked so hard to simply make it, to simply provide for their families and meet the basic necessities. Speaker 2 00:37:08 Right. And so, you know, when we, when we talk about the issues that we really care about, it's because we're often the ones that are living it and the ones that are struggling because of these issues. And like you'll said, like, you know what was said earlier, like we're not just the future, but we are the present. And we young people of color in the central Valley. We are, re-imagining what our schools and our communities can and should look like. And we deserve the rights to recreate that. We deserve the rights to the present and to the future. And we are reclaiming our power and owning that in the central Valley because young people of color, young people, we are central to the collective present and the future. And so I wanted to just pass it over to Chrissy to share some other issues that we're organizing around as well. Yeah. I think one of the biggest things that has been amplified during this pandemic is our right to a livable planet. Many of our rural communities at water partier singer, even in Marsay, we don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. And that's something that has impacted the health of everyone. So we're actively working to ensure that our rural towns, our young people and their families have the support are not kept out through racist policies that, you know, some elected officials are still supporting, trying to Speaker 1 00:38:36 Impose on us so that we have the opportunity to have clean water, to not be living in communities that have historically been over polluted and continue to be to this day. Right? Many farm workers are not only exposed to pesticides in the fields, but even at home because they live near the highway because they live near the canneries. And we want to protect our low income black and Brown communities from the environmental racism that we've been experiencing. And so youth are showing up to County meetings to city meetings and letting elected officials know that we have the right to have clean drinking water and that essential workers, particularly our farm workers in this moment need to be protected with the proper equipment. And that the County budget needs to reflect that you'll see is going to share more about our fight for basic needs. As Christy said, we are fighting for the right to have our basic needs met, which includes education propositions and initiative on the ballot. That's going to be passing $12 million for schools in community. Uh, that includes housing, the need to live without fear of being evicted. We're demanding, demanding that counties take action to keep families house. We need rent control. We need safety from evictions and elected officials can make that happen. Speaker 2 00:40:11 Yeah, we're also fighting for free existence. We want to make sure that we can live with dignity and also live with joy without being discriminated, without being hated in our communities. You know, like our working families and working parents, they're constantly working and sometimes they don't even have the time or the energy to enjoy their lives. And, you know, we, each of us, we have our own unique identities and we want to be able to love whoever we want to love. We want to be able to celebrate our unique identities. We want to be able to express ourselves in the most authentic, genuine, and unapologetic way. And you know, we're working towards shutting down detention centers, youth prisons, and valuing transformative justice so that we can free our family members and loved ones. And so that they don't return to prison so that they can return to our communities safely. And so that we'll be able to embrace them back into our communities, more to share. You'll see, Speaker 1 00:41:15 We want the right to govern our own community. We believe that 16 and 17 year old shouldn't have so many, 16 and 17 year olds are having to work and provide for their families. They're going to school working. They should have the right to make decisions for the community. And we are making sure that young people of color Speaker 0 00:41:54 Who has spoken about the daily experiences live and conditions of life and the central valleys communities of color. They are experiences of struggle, lack of basic necessities, social and economic injustice, and more and more. It is about the growing activism by young people of color for a better life, a better future for themselves and their families that is rooted in basic dignity, respect, opportunity, justice, safety, and health. I very much appreciate, and I know our listeners appreciate your translating these experiences and articulating what equity can look like in your daily lives. Thank you for that. I am so taken by each of you. And how has young people, you have assumed responsibilities well, beyond your years with your families and with your communities, I want to return to something you mentioned at the outset of our conversation and what makes 99 routes with power, California, unique, the centering of healing and the core of your work and activism and recognition of harsh and difficult challenges your communities face, give our listeners some examples of the trauma you witnessed every day. Speaker 1 00:43:19 Yeah, I can, I can share, you know, as you asked this question, Betty, the first person that I thought about is one of our young youth leaders who is currently and their entire family, her and her entire family are working in the fields. She's about to start her freshman year at Fresno state, but has been working all summer and has, is continuing to work in the fields. Um, even during this world pandemic and with the bad air quality, I see young people here having to work under really difficult conditions. Um, wake up at four in the morning, drive out to the field, work a full day, not be given protective equipment, not even face mask. You know, my own app, who's a farm worker company. She works for was actually charging them for, for face mask. And I think of all the thousands of people in this Valley who don't have the privilege to be part of political spaces like ours, because they're too busy having to work just to get by and to keep the roof over their heads. Speaker 1 00:44:33 It's, you know, my own family, my parents being immigrants and undocumented, I grew up just always on survival mode and not having any longer term plans for, for my community or to even think that it was possible for us to unite and make change just the times that we're living in. I, my heart hurts just to see so many young people in their immigrant parents or just farm working communities, feeling like they're alone and that they're going to have to figure everything out by themselves. And as I share that, I also think about the resilience ripe because we've, we've United as a Valley. I've seen organizations, people, individuals, artists, cultural workers, just come together right now to say, you know what we need to do better. And we're not going to go back to the normal, right? This central Valley has always big corporations and ag has always exploited our lives. Speaker 1 00:45:38 They've always worked people till death, and I'm excited to see young people be like that is not gonna stand with us anymore. No more. I think of what's happening at foster farms. I want to lift that up. Foster farms, people are dying. Workers are dying. And because of the amount of money that that company has in Mercer County, they are able to get away with not following safe practices. Even if people are dying, even if the state is intervening and saying, you must shut down and, and we're, we're watching you. Right? And I dream of a Valley where obvious trauma is, is going to lead to healing. We're going to literally healing our neighborhoods. Um, every time we speak truth to power and lift up the contradiction, when elected officials say they care about law, you know, our lives and that they're Christians yet, they're always placing big money ag and corporations before our wellness. And so, as we experienced this injustice and the rest of the world is now seeing it at a whole nother level because of what's happening with COVID in this region. I know that we will not go back to the way things were because groups like ours are not going to let that happen. Speaker 0 00:47:04 Chrissy. It is so hopeful that young people are rejecting the status quo that has exacerbated trauma and physical and emotional stress. Yossi. What trauma do you and your high school peers experienced every day that makes the day a little less bearable. Speaker 1 00:47:22 The trauma that I feel like every day, my family, I have my, our central workers. So Speaker 3 00:47:30 Them leaving the house. It's just like a very upsetting Fleming because they are essential workers. So they are required to go to work from Monday, sometimes even Saturday things and work really hard. I work very weird hours as well. And then I'm not the only one. I know so many other classmates students in my school who are constantly like having to do the classes and taking care of their siblings, having to take their 10 minute break to make food for their siblings because their parents are essential workers and are forced to go to work every single day. So it's the trauma of like, Oh, like, you know what, I'm a student and a parent in a way I'm having to take care of myself, take care of my siblings, take care of my schoolwork, make sure that I'm still doing good. I've make sure that I'm still on track. Speaker 3 00:48:20 Make sure that I'm just in a way being a provider for my siblings as well. So it's a, it can be very stressful for students, especially students who are just starting high school, like freshmen or students who are ending senior year, like an in your senior year, having supply, not having that guidance from your counselors. As in like, Oh, I can't just block to my counselor's office for the PR for my counselor to help me apply to college. I have to do it remotely through emails like, Oh, can you please email me back? But how do I do this? It's so stressful on students, but I know that the way they're coping with it, I guess, is I'm in a better way. Speaker 0 00:49:03 Thank you. Use coping and a better way becomes a bit of a silver lining. Then this is truly inspiring with all you and your student peers, shoulder Eugene. You've been quietly reflective about the trauma. You see and hear about share what you feel comfortable speaking about. Speaker 2 00:49:25 I think it's very, it's very hard to talk about our trauma and like the pain that, the hurt that we've been through. Right. And I just really wanted to echo Chrissy and you'll see right. For uplifting those challenges and the trauma that's currently happening right during this pandemic, which has definitely been like heightened. And I think for me, I just really want to uplift, you know, I shared this on Friday, but I have been feeling like really guilty. I'm currently back here on campus at UCFD. And I just feel like there's so much pain and trauma happening at home. Right. And my community back in Merce said in the central Valley and I, you know, I want to continue staying connected and continue supporting my family and being involved in 99 bruits and bringing change to our community that the change that we so deserve. Speaker 2 00:50:16 And so, yeah, there's just a lot of, a lot of trauma and a lot of things that are going through my head. Right. And I think I'm at a, I'm at a place where I'm, I'm acknowledging that I'm feeling ways and different ways and feeling stressed out, right. And then reaching out to people to, to, to work and ad for support. And then also just allowing myself time and giving myself grace to process it. Cause it's gonna, it's not gonna, it's not easy to process all of these traumas that we see, not just in our communities. Right. And not just in the central Valley, but when it opened, we hear those stories right. Of foster farms. And when we hear stories of farm workers who are continuing to work in the fields, because they have no other choice, buddy, they have to pay for food. They have to make sure that they can afford rent. And you know, the air pollution with all the wildfires fires that's going on is just, it makes me devastated Speaker 0 00:51:14 As each of you speak about the trauma around you. I must say there's a wisdom I see in here with your understanding of the duality in the world, knowing that joy is known and appreciated all the more after experiencing sorrow and pain. Eugene, I know. Do you'd like to say more about healing? Speaker 2 00:51:35 Yeah, for sure. I really love that in 99 roots and with power California, we are creating safe and brave spaces to heal, you know, young people of color, our families and our community. We've been through so much pain and trauma and struggle. Right. And I think, you know, I wanted to share an experience these past two summers, I've been able to go back home and get involved with 99 roots. And our summer academies, we have our, each one teach one summer academies, which are about two weeks. And I remember we had this activity, Nico DC, my codex. And this is when we know we were able to grab a piece of paper and fold it into three different sections. And, you know, young people were able to draw and make that colorful and just really reflect on life experiences and their identity and how that makes them like who they are and you know, what they, what they've been through. Speaker 2 00:52:34 And I remember I was the one who started this activity where I, I shared and opened up a little bit about some of the things that I struggled with with my mental health and, you know, shared a little bit about my identities. And I think it was truly remarkable just being in that space with young people who were very vulnerable and just really opened up and shared these struggles that, you know, some of us can relate to. And it wasn't just struggled with that word being shared, but we were sharing stories of resilience, stories of strength, and together with the love and support, you know, Chrissy was also there and you'll see what's there to, you know, that was what healing looks like to me. And I'm so happy that in 99 routes, we can continue to heal with healing circles, what the peer to peer Speaker 3 00:53:26 Support. And we know what healing looks like for us. And we know that our schools continue to fail in the sense that we don't have wellness centers in our schools and we don't have enough mental health resources. So I'm just really happy that in 99 routes, we really focus on how can we heal and move on, right. And move forward, um, and recognize that, you know, our stories make us who we are and we are resilient and strong because of it. And we're going to continue sharing our stories to bring strength moving on because you know, we know what it's like to struggle, and we know what it's like to deal with pain and trauma. But we also know that we are resilient, that we're going to continue fighting for what we so deserve. And so just wanted to uplift that, that it's time for young people to heal. Speaker 0 00:54:16 I believe this is the power of 99 roots with power, California, young people creating that space for healing and support. And as you say, a space shared with other young people that for many, it's their first exposure to a nurturing healing environment, Yossi as a high school junior, you likely are thinking a great deal about your future. What are your hopes and aspirations for yourself and for your community? Speaker 3 00:54:46 Some games and aspirations I have for like myself and my community on mainly for, to feel comfortable because I know a lot of people in my community don't feel comfortable talking about where they come from or who they are truly. So I feel like it's something that's so very key for everybody to feel comfortable. I see myself going to the social work. It's kind of stuff of where I kind of want to go in your chair. It was like college social work, but I have realized that everything always end up falling under helping others. So like, I really hope in the future to help my community help my County help my family help my friends. How did I just anybody I can, and I've always said this, I want to make a very big impact in my community. And I was actually talking to my mom about it the other day. It's something that I, I want people to remember me for something good that I did. Speaker 0 00:55:50 Yeah. See, I believe you're already living out your hope of helping others. You're well on your way to a fulfilling, bright future Chrissy between you Eugene. And you'll see, I can't help, but to think that movements like 99 routes with power California are growing leaders for the future. And I feel I'm surrounded by three outstanding leaders who could be an elected office someday. How does 99 routes with power, California regard this phenomenon and its mission? Speaker 3 00:56:22 This is a, a great question. I want to start off by saying that, Speaker 1 00:56:26 You know, it's been beautiful to see the seeds that have been planted already blooming in this region. When, you know, when I left the central Valley, I had said I would never return. And I'm back. And I see young people like Eugene who are leaving for college and saying, I can't wait to come back. I'm ready to be back. And they stayed connected every summer. Right. And then I see, you'll see who's here and saying, I'm going to pursue higher ed in the region. And one day be County supervisor for Merseyside County. And that just those, those are the wins that are transformational organizing create, right? We view leadership as something that happens within power, California and also in every single institution in this local community. When we're able to build deep longterm relationships with young people, they go through our, our workshops, our programs, and their whole worldview shifts. Speaker 1 00:57:29 They go from maybe not feeling proud of where they come from or feeling like the only way to succeed is to leave. They go from this gray cloud of hopelessness to then feeling a lot of pride and saying, actually, I can see myself here longterm. It is my responsibility to make change happen for myself and everyone else in the central Valley. So in 1999 roots, like we want to make sure that young people initiate their healing journeys. They find their purpose. And most importantly, that they carry racial and economic justice values with them anywhere that they go, right? All young people are not going to become community organizers, but they have big dreams of becoming social workers, teachers even owning their own businesses. And when they bring those racial justice lens that, uh, racial equity and economic justice Sally's with them, it's gonna show up in whatever career they're at, whatever decisions they're making. Speaker 1 00:58:33 Right. And so for us, it's like that's leadership. How do we create entire generations of young people that understand that we need change? And that it's up to them to be our teachers, our educators, to be working for the County department to be in elected positions as well. And for me, it's like a young person to say, I want to be an organizer too. And I'm going to take on, you know, that 99 route director position work statewide with power California. And that's what I mean by internally as well, right? Like we want to make sure that young people see social justice as a career as well, and that they know that they can be compensated for something that they're really passionate about. And I'm seeing these values just like when we carry values again, even if we're part of, of the County government elected positions or teachers, any institution we're in, we're going to be able to make change. Speaker 1 00:59:31 And ultimately that's what we want. And we want to build the structures as well to make sure that that process happens. So I know for us, it's been, you know, for me learning a lot about <inaudible> and we're really happy to now have a youth power pack that we're currently fundraising for so that we can for us and by us identify black and Brown youth to run for these elected positions and that they are supported in their campaigns, that we have a strong field game, how we get voters out and that we are able to fundraise for them to support them during their campaign and after, right, because as black and Brown young people are in communities that have been kept out of elected positions, oftentimes, you know, we get elected and then we find ourselves being the only ones that have the values and for our youth power pack for us as an organization, we know that leadership means supporting young people once they're in those positions and taking on that journey with them, Speaker 0 01:00:36 How can one support the youth power pack? Speaker 1 01:00:39 We're always, um, looking for, you know, financial support. So if folks are interested in supporting our youth power pack, they can one follow power CA now on social media, that's Instagram, Facebook, also Twitter power CA now, and we have like a little link tree with all the links to donate. But if you specifically want to go straight to the youth power pack, you can type this into your web browser. It's bit dot Lee forward dash youth, P O w P a C. Again, it's a big dot Lee forward dash youth, P O w P a C and you know, follow power CA now 99 routes on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, where we also have the opportunity for folks to stay updated on volunteer opportunities. We're phonebanking every day to make sure profits teen passes. So if you have time, join us for at least one shift. We're always, you know, also looking to support the leadership of young people through our C3 two through our 99 roots program. And if you can donate to our youth power, invest in youth future fund, we also have that link tree on our website, power, california.org, Speaker 0 01:02:02 The importance of investing in and supporting youth and young people. All three of you have been organizing around this November election. The high turnout of young voters is exciting. Yeah. What would you say if I were to tell you that I know who don't believe either of the presidential candidates are speaking to them or the issues they care most about, so they might just not vote for these young people or for that matter. Anyone thinking about staying on the sidelines for the selection, what do you say to them? Why is this election important? Why is voting important? Speaker 3 01:02:43 I think it's very important for everyone to vote every election, this election, because we just need to all come together and help our communities, our country, our world, just in general, you know, I think you're on the side one, cause like, Oh, should I vote? Maybe my vote is like, it doesn't live in pot. It, every single vote matters. Like every single person, every single person that goes, it's going to help one way or another. Yeah. Like you'll be fed right? Every vote matters. And so if you have the ability to vote, if you're able to vote, make sure that you show up in November, there is too much at stake, not to show up. There is too much at stake that, you know, what we just shared earlier, right. With our values. And while we've been struggling with, we want to make sure that our government prioritizes people for profit chooses people over corporations so that our families can meet our essential human basic needs. Speaker 3 01:03:47 And so, yeah, to all the young people out there who just turned 18 and are able to vote this November, I want to let you know that you are so powerful and you are not alone. We're all in this together. And you know, we're going to own our present, our future. And the time is now, the time is now for you. The time is now for me, the time is now for us to make sure that our voices are heard and reflected in November because we know that a better community, a better nation, a better state as possible. And so, yeah, just wanted to hype you up, get excited, stay involved, and let's make a change in November and let's win Speaker 0 01:04:30 In conclusion. Chrissy. What does the day after the election look like for 99 routes with power, California? What will be the focus after the election? Speaker 3 01:04:41 You know what the organizing continues. It's that grind 365 days a year. We organize our communities every day, all day. So join power, California in harnessing the energy of young voters of color across the state to make sure that our schools and communities implement locally, right? Like when we get that, those millions of dollars, we've when we reclaim those millions of dollars back, we need to be showing up to the school board meeting and meeting with elected officials to talk about the mental health programs that we want to see on our local high, where the Speaker 1 01:05:18 Money should be invested because we are the experts of our communities. We know what we need and we have the solutions. And so as we cast our ballot, as we vote, we also are speaking truth to power. And this has been researched meetings with our elected officials, research meetings, with other community groups to have a United front, to make sure that our young people, black and Brown, young people, our immigrant refugee communities are safe regardless of you know, who the elected are, but that we, we are the ones that voice those solutions. And so really want to ask everyone to join in harnessing the energy of voters and young people to make sure that the wins that we have this November are fully implemented and that you invest the time and energy in building the programs that you want to see. Young people in your community have access to Speaker 0 01:06:20 Vincent Tema. Guyardo Eugene Vang, yo saline Perez, Chrissy, Eugene, and Yossi. What an honor to spend this time together, you have informed, you have inspired. You have uplifted about the possibility of a future. That is fair. Just an equitable for communities of color in the central Valley. Thank you to learn more about 99 roots with power California and how you can make a donation. Visit power california.org to invest in supporting youth and young people of color running for office. Visit B I T dot L Y forward slash youth. How pack to make your contribution follow the latest from 99 routes with power California on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This is Betty you setting up until the next step is sewed of the California table. Speaker 5 01:07:35 <inaudible> ID number one four one seven five three two.