ON THE COVER
‘Hope Holds Out Here’
After a divisive four years under Trump, local leaders look back and forward Shutterstock
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n the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, which we dubbed “the ugliest and most vitriolic presidential contest in generations,” we reached out to a handful of local individuals and organizations hoping to help start a dialogue about how to heal and move forward as a community. After what feels like four years of division, unrest, vitriol and hardening lines, we’re trying again. To that end, we’ve reached out to dozens of community leaders, from elected officials and local Democratic and Republican leaders to the heads of nonprofits and police agencies. Noting that “issues of racism and social justice, community policing, gender equality, the climate crisis, immigration reform, foreign policy and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic have become political flashpoints in a divided nation,” we asked them to reflect on where we as a community have been over the past four years or share hopes of where we’ll go over the next four. Here’s what they had to say.
‘An Ailing Democracy’ Democracy is more than just elections. As we all take a well-deserved moment of rest and catch our breath after this election cycle, it’s important to remember that our work isn’t over. Donald Trump’s administration was a wake-up call to many people, like a diagnosis of impending organ failure. It was a diagnosis of an ailing democracy. There were people who warned us for years that this system was in danger and that it wasn’t serving all of us, that it was in danger because it wasn’t serving all of us, but we refused to hear it until it was almost
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too late. When we got the diagnosis, we finally took it seriously and entered into a strict fitness regimen. We marched in the streets, wrote letters, called legislators, registered voters and took on racism, in our institutions and in ourselves. We went to city council meetings and talked about politics, even though we’d been told it was impolite. We practiced democracy on a regular basis, like it was yoga or jiu jitsu or cross fit. We got fit and toned and, though it looks like the hard work is paying off, if we stop working now, we run the risk of falling back into poor health. Democracy requires participation, yearround and at all levels. Not just to make sure that injustices don’t happen, but to ensure that justice and equity do happen. After four years of working against racist rhetoric, attacks on civil liberties and workers’ rights, genocidal immigration practices, and the suicidal roll-back of environmental regulations, I am so excited to see what our toned body politic can do now that it’s time to work for policies, not just against them. So, let’s catch our breath and eat a snack, and then get back to work. Caroline Griffith, North Coast People’s Alliance
‘Dark’ and ‘Cruel’ To Latinx immigrants in the U.S., the Trump regime has been one of the darkest and most cruel periods of recent history for our community. We still mourn our relatives: The DACA Dreamers who were killed after being deported, we honor you Manuel Cano. The immigrant women who were victims of forced sterilization in
NORTH COAST JOURNAL • Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020 • northcoastjournal.com
a Georgia detention center. The families murdered in the massive shooting attack against the Latinx community in Texas. The children found dead in a detention center, and those who are missing after being separated from their parents at the border. Where are they? To all of our relatives who are massively infected by COVID-19 inside and outside detention centers due to the economic inequality and the persecution of ICE. During the last four years, we have been racially targeted. In Humboldt, the Sheriff’s Office assisted ICE agents in one of the most traumatic moments for our community, the raid of Fortuna in 2017. We have been in rallies asking for sanctuary, demanding protection for our families, the answer from the supervisors was no. That never stopped us, we have been shaping the county we deserve. We at Centro del Pueblo worked to pass the Humboldt County Sanctuary law in 2018, the first of its kind in the U.S. In 2020, we’re working to support those impacted by the pandemic in our community. Don’t sit on the comfort of your vote. Follow the example of Latinx immigrants and organize for social justice because the party in the White House is symbolic until we find justice. We are living among potentially violent people with more than 70 million voters for Trump, and ICE is still threatening to separate families. Celebrate alternation, but more important, organize yourself. Brenda Pérez, Centro del Pueblo
‘Demand More’ For the past four years, the Trump administration rolled back environmen-
tal protections as if the annihilation of America’s natural resources was a finish line they were racing to cross. We can expect the Biden-Harris administration to course correct — but we must keep the pressure on. Knowing the health of this planet depends on the health of our ocean, Surfrider Foundation has mapped out a plan to get where we desperately need to go if we’re going to dodge the deadliest impacts of climate change, stop trashing our ocean and ensure the right to clean water is upheld for all: Restore protections undone by the Trump administration. Aggressively implement the BidenHarris climate plan and rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2050. Stop waste exportation. Pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pass the Ocean Climate Solutions Act. Pass the federal Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Fund the Clean Water Act. Rebuild the EPA. Statewide, we need to demand more of our elected officials. The state’s own legislative analysts have affirmed action on sea level rise can’t wait — it’s worth noting that water levels in Humboldt Bay are rising at double the state average. Gov. Newsom’s proposal to set aside 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters will further prove critical to the state’s environmental and economic health. The best way to have an impact on all this is to get involved with local environmental organizations successfully doing
