In celebration and recognition of May Day, Dulce Garcia, RYSE Action Research Youth Fellow, co-authored this letter with Andrew Yeung, RYSE Economic Justice Program Manager.
As an intern at RYSE, Dulce has researched and brought awareness to gentrification happening in Richmond through the HERE Action Research Project. She also designed RYSE’s Intersections action research program, which focuses on the impacts of gender discrimination and sexual prejudice in schools. Learn more about these internship programs here, and read Dulce and Andrew’s letter below!
February 2020: Dulce speaks at the “Orange Day” rally in Sacramento, bringing awareness to teen dating violence.
Today, RYSE celebrates May Day, a global movement to recognize and advance the struggle of workers worldwide.
Amidst a global pandemic, we are witnessing deepening, connected crises and struggles— in racial justice, healthcare, education, housing, employment, workers' rights, environmental justice, migrant rights, prisoners’ freedom struggle, disability justice, and beyond.
Throughout this moment, there has been struggle among low income communities—Black, indigenous, undocumented, the displaced and unhoused. Our families, neighbors, and community members working low wage jobs have been left unemployed, with no income to support their basic living necessities. Unhoused and undocumented people have been excluded from supports like healthcare and the already insufficient stimulus acts. We have seen the immense racial disparity of those exposed to, impacted by, and lost to COVID-19—our Black and indigenous family, relatives, relations.
May Day is about resistance, about struggle, about power. Arundhati Roy tells us that “the pandemic is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next”—an opportunity to realize another world, other ways of being together. And in this moment, we have seen powerful acts of mutual aid, solidarity, and critique. We see that crises don’t create, but reveal injustice.
Racial capitalism is the crisis. Youth power, worker power, people power is the solution.
As youth leaders at RYSE, we voice our needs and ideas as a form of resistance. We learn and practice many different ways in which we resist, advocate, and build against the many social and political issues we face in our community and country. On May Day—a global call for liberation for working peoples—we are speaking up about our own lived experiences and we uplift our stories in solidarity with all workers of the world. We hear the call to strike at the injustices and structural violence that fuel the crises and we will continue to build youth power towards liberation.
In community & solidarity,
Dulce Garcia
Action Research Youth Fellow
Andrew Yeung
Economic Justice Program Manager
From Left to Right: Andrew, Economic Justice Program Manager, and Dulce, Destiny, and Susie, the RYSE Intersections action research youth interns.
Friday, April 30, 2020: RYSE youth organizers ready to welcome in participants for the virtual Youth Town Hall.
Thank you to everyone who attended our Youth Town Hall!
Yesterday, RYSE youth organizers Ann, Dawit, Michelle, Stephanie, Emani, Marlen, and Jaquelin facilitated a powerful and loving space for fellow youth and adult community members to discuss the concerns and needs of West Contra Costa County students during the shelter-in-place and distance learning. Thank you to everyone who showed up to participate, listen, and center youth voices and experiences during this critical moment.
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