Campaigns
Climate Justice and Reproductive Justice in Oakland
Since 2008, SAFIRE youth have been building their awarness around the intersection of reproductive justice and climate justice by exploring connections in our neighborhoods, where our families work, and how our schools support or hinder reproductive and climate justice. One theme that has risen to the top is the presence of toxic chemicals where we live, where our families work and where we go to school. SAFIRE youth have discovered that the same toxins that are harming our bodies, especially our reproductive health, are also contributing to climate change! To learn more about this intersection, check out ACRJ's Looking Both Ways: Women at the Crossroads of Reproductive Justice and Climate Justice.
In 2009, Oakland began a process of developing a climate action plan for the city. SAFIRE youth played a leading role to ensure that youth in Oakland were aware of the plan and could get involved, including the following:
- Designing and leading a teach-in for youth living in the Eastlake neighborhood to learn about climate change and the impact it could have on Oakland.
- Using popular theater to present a youth perspective on climate change and what Oakland needs to consider in its action plan, which we performed at the city's first community convergence convened by the Ella Baker Center's Oakland Climate Action Coalition.
This year, SAFIRE youth have continued to mobilize youth in Oakland by designing and leading a second teach-in for youth on Oakland's preliminary climate action plan, released on March 30, 2010. And in June, Amanda Wake, ACRJ's youth organizer, and two SAFIRE leaders will be participating in the US Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan! This dynamic team will be presenting a workshop on our youth organizing efforts in Oakland and connecting with others doing similar work throughout the contry. We will also be collecting stories about how reproductive justice and climate justice are connected to supporting families to be strong and thrive.
Check out our video The Cost of Beauty
No More Toxins!
A number of Asian girls we've worked with either know someone in the field of cosmetology or view it as a career path for themselves. From 2005-2008 SAFIRE conducted community-based participatory research, leadership development, education and action on the chemicals that are in our everyday personal care products like nail polish, shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, make-up, and more. We discovered that there are chemicals in these products that are harmful to our health and are not regulated by the government, so we implemented a social media strategy and designed a website to educate others about what we learned and the choices that can make a difference for our empowerment, our health and our environment. Much of this effort led to a collaboration with Professor Katherine Hammond of UC Berkeley's Environmental Health Sciences Department to test and analyze metals in lip products and identify potential health risks. Stay tuned for a release of this paper in summer 2010!
Click here to visit our Can't Find Beauty in a Bottle website
Check out our video Can't Find Beauty in a Bottle
Asian Youth Get Out The Vote
In the past three election cycles in California, SAFIRE youth have educated and mobilized their communities to defeat ballot initiatives that would have had harmful impacts on youth and families in low-income communities of color and immigrant communities. Most recently, during the November 2008 election, SAFIRE identified four propositions that, if passed, would have a negative affect on their lives, their families and their communities. Even though most youth are not old enough to vote, we wanted to share our perspective and influence those that can vote to vote NO on Propositions 4, 6, 8 and 9. SAFIRE mobilized youth through organizing an API youth conference Youth + Power = Change, conducting workshops, and leading Oakland's first "Trick or Vote" national night of action. Our efforts contributed to the defeat of Prop 6; and for the 3rd time in a row, the parental notification initiative, Prop 4, was defeated!
Check out our video poem If You Were in My Shoes.
Check out our video The Changing Face of Democracy to see how voting rights have changed over time.
