A description of your site http://www.ellabakercenter.org/ Your copyright information When we first saw Proposition 6 on the horizon in late 2007, we knew we had a big fight on our hands. In the same vein as Prop 21 and Three Strikes, Prop 6 was a "tough-on-crime" initiative that proposed incarceration and enforcement as the only solutions to crime and violence. We worked to create a coalition that included unions, grassroots and youth organizations, and the Democratic Party. It worked: Prop 6 was defeated by a wide margin, failing to win a single county. Our hard work is paying off as Californians begin to realize the true costs -- not just monetary, but also in lives and destroyed communities -- of an incarceration-only approach to justice. Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST The long-awaited Oakland Green Jobs Corps, the employment pipeline providing "green-collar" skills training and jobs to young adults with barriers to employment, was publicly unveiled on October 20th, 2008 during a press conference at the Cypress Mandela Training Center. Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST Along with 674 communities across the country, over 400 people came out with us to tell our elected officials, the presidential candidates and the national media: We're ready for green jobs. (Mosswood Park, Oakland.) Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT News coverage of our Green Jobs Now rally and concert. It drew over 400 people to Mosswood Park in Oakland for music, green technology showcase, and a chance to demand green economic recovery. Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT When Van co-founded the Ella Baker Center more than 10 years ago, he started with a clear vision for urban America: justice in the system, opportunity in our cities, and peace on our streets. With the release of his first book, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, our shared values are going mainstream! In its first week, the book climbed to #12 on the New York Times Bestseller List, marking the first time an environmental book by an African American author appeared on the list. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will learn about our work to fight poverty and pollution at the same time. Order your copy if you haven't already! Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT It's bad for California's children, families, and taxpayers. Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:23:40 EDT Follow Joyce as she describes the challenges and victories of being a mother, an organizer and an advocate for youth. Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:15:05 EDT Silence The Violence once again took over McAfee Coliseum for Silence The Violence Day with the Oakland A's. Starting with a Tailgate BBQ / Resource fair followed by a moment of silence before the first pitch, we brought the issue of violence to a wider audience. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Thousands of Oaklanders came out to the Coliseum to spread our Silence The Violence message. The night kicked off with a hugely successful Tailgate BBQ / Job & Resource Fair, attended by Mayor Dellums, Oakland music legend Too Short and A's mascot Thumper the Elephant. We then observed a moment of silence before the A's took on the Tampa Bay Rays. Though we weren't able to cheer the A's to victory, Oakland stood united in making a call for peace on our streets. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Women are a key part of the climate change solution. But around the world, their voices are being ignored. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:38:22 EDT Our Executive Director, Mr. Jakada Imani, was a featured guest on Black Renaissance discussing the role of the Ella Baker Center in helping to bring about change and opportunity to our world. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Silence The Violence Day 2008 featured 27 vigils around the Bay Area and beyond, with the Ella Baker Center hosting a vigil at Defremery Park. Nearly 2000 people came out to call for an end to the senseless violence. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Coalition to Defeat the Runner Initiative officially launched with a rally in Sacramento. Respected elected officials, clergy and community leaders spoke out in opposition to the initiative. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT Thank you, Ella, Martin, Malcolm, Mom, Dad, and the many others who struggled -- and congratulations on work well done. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:08:48 EDT MacMall speaks up for peace. We need to stop all the murders and live. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT Talib Kweli raises the call to Silence the Violence. We have more similarities than differences, and we need to stay focused on that. Mon, 16 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT California Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero and California NAACP President Alice Huffman, among many others, describe why the Runner Initiative is bad for California and announce the formation of a coalition to defeat it. Fri, 23 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT After passing by wide margins in both the Assembly and the Senate, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the Family Communication Act into law. Sponsored by State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and supported by Books Not Bars, the Family Communication and Rehabilitation Act (SB 1250) would make it cheaper and easier for family members to stay in touch with their loved ones who are locked up in state youth prisons, regardless of economic or language barriers. The governor also signed another bill supported by Books Not Bars, the Keeping Families Whole Act (AB 2070, sponsored by Karen Bass), which will help families stay together when a parent is incarcerated. Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT The shift is happening. It is the change we are working for. Mon, 19 May 2008 18:29:49 EDT Allen Feaster tells the story of his son's suicide in the California Youth Authority to the Little Hoover Commission's hearing on the state of juvenile justice in California. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT Susan Brown tells her godson's story to the Little Hoover Commission's hearing on juvenile justice Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT KTVU Channel 2 ran an excellent segment on our Emergency Vigil on February 15, 2008, broadcasting our message of hope and peace to the whole Bay Area. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST Oakland's Green-Collar Jobs funding and the Richmond training program explicitly surfaced in the Democratic primary debates. KPIX covers this, with interviews from Nwamaka Agbo and Aaron Lehmer. (Jan 2008) Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Ella Baker Center turns into a music production studio as youth from across the East Bay come together to make music with a message: Silence the Violence. Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Bay Area hip hop station 106 KMEL interviews Silence the Violence's Nicole Lee, local rap artist Trinidad, and Grind and Glory produce Keith Morikawa on the morning of the world premiere of Grind and Glory. The film follows five young rappers as they follow the elusive dream of becoming a hip hop star. Deeply inspiring, the film explores the lives of these young hip hop hopefuls as they work to change their circumstances and bring change to their communities. Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Green-Collar Jobs Campaign Director Ian Kim explains the campaign on KPIX CBS5 news. Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Ella Baker Center and Solar Richmond present green-collar job training in action as the Richmond Build and GRID Alternatives do a solar installation on an elderly homeowner's house. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Bay Area hyphy artist Mistah F.A.B. join forces to call for peace on the streets of Oakland. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EDT Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Oakland A's Manager Bob Geren team up with Ella Baker Center to Silence the Violence. Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EDT On June 12, we held a rally for the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. We demanded that Oakland City Council provide seed money for a training program to provide green pathways out of poverty. Thanks to YourTV 20. Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT As part of the 2007 Silence the Violence Day commemorations, 106 KMEL, the Bay Area's premier hiphop station, aired a special Silence the Violence Day morning show. At 9:00am they silenced the music and KMEL's morning DJ Chuy Gomez spoke with Nicole Lee of the Ella Baker Center and Rudy Corpus of United Playaz. They spoke out about the root causes of violence in our communities and called on everyone to do their part to silence the violence.A special thanks to 106 KMEL for their support. Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 EDT As mothers joined Books Not Bars in demanding better access to their incarcerated children, the TV cameras were rolling. Watch the KCRA3 Sacramento coverage of the event. Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT As mothers joined Books Not Bars in demanding better access to their incarcerated children, the TV cameras were rolling. Watch the Univision in Sacramento coverage of the event. (Note: this coverage is in Spanish with no subtitles) Mon, 21 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT Our Mother's Morning/Mothers Mourning event attracted a lot of media attention. From around the Bay Area, news outlets helped mothers remember their lost loved ones. Thu, 17 May 2007 00:00:00 EDT CBS5 and CBS13 report on the changes that are underway in California's youth prison system: Sally Lieber and Books Not Bars are working to shut it down and transition to county-run restorative facilities. Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT Britt Bravo interviews Van Jones for the Big Vision Podcast (www.bigvisionpodcast.libsyn.com). Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EDT Assemblywoman Sally Lieber talks on Mornings on 2 about her bill that would close the Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly CYA. She explains what it would take to completely shut down the abusive and corrupt system. Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EDT Van Jones speaks about the need for a "Clean Energy Jobs Bill" at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press conference on February 21, 2007. Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 EST Hanifah Walidah's stand-out track from 2001's Shame the Devil: Hip-Hop Tells the Truth About the Prison Industrial Complex, the benefit CD for Books Not Bars' Stop the Super-Jail Campaign. Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST This is the first single from the upcoming Silence the Violence compilation CD. Featuring Goapele, Mistah FAB, Mac Mall, B-Legit and Clyde Carson. Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST Get a taste of Ella Baker Center's 2005 compilation CD to benefit survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent governmental neglect. Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST A short snippet of an upcoming song recorded at the all-weekend Turf Unity Music Production Training that Silence the VIolence held in April 2007. Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST In June 2005 Ella Baker Center hosted the "Social Equity Track" at UN World Environment Day. This short film captures three critical days for the environmental movement. (June 2005) Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST News coverage of our rally in support of oil independence in Oakland, and important step towards the "green collar jobs" vision of our Green-Collar Jobs Campaign Initiative. (October 2006) Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST Bay Area PoliceWatch responds to the San Francisco Police Departments notorious racist video scandal. (December 2005) Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST A groundbreaking documentary produced with our partner, WITNESS, "System Failure" exposes the horrific conditions and human rights violations in California's abusive youth prisons. (Full version) Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST A groundbreaking documentary produced with our partner, WITNESS, "System Failure" exposes the horrific conditions and human rights violations in California's abusive youth prisons. (Condensed version) Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST News coverage of CYA guards beating two youth. As a fight between guards and youth comes into view of surveillance cameras, CYA guards kick and hit two youth as they lie face down on the floor. Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST "When we started the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, NOBODY thought we were going to make it." See the story of our first ten years, told by those who were there. Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST Free Speech TV highlights the collaboration between Ella Baker Center and the Oakland Apollo Alliance in our effort to create a new model for revitalizing urban areas. (May 2006) Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST See news coverage of 'Silence the Violence Day' on June 1, where people throughout northern California held candlelight vigils to honor those lost to violence. Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST This video short lays out the choices facing Governor Schwarzenegger as the campaign to reform California's juvenile justice system heats up. (November 2005) Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST Executive Director Van Jones speaks at Greenfest 2006. Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST In his milestone "Hope at the Crossroads" speech at the 2003 Bioneers Conference, Ella Baker Center Executive Director Van Jones lays out a new vision for a new, solution-driven, urban politics of hope. Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST Speaking at the Social Change Institute, Van Jones describes the "great convergence on the political left," a new trend towards coalition-building that is uniting racial justice and social justice movements with environmentalists and progressive business -- all in an effort to improve our communities. (May 2006) Thu, 02 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST In his closing speech at the National Conference on Media Reform, Van Jones talks about the inspiring accomplishments of the anti-authoritarian, pro-democracy media reform movement — and the possibilities he sees for the movement this year and in the future. Mon, 16 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST The first group of trainees has already begun learning the skills they'll need to get meaningful, family-supporting work in the green economy. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and many more elected officials and community leaders joined us recently to celebrate the launch of the Oakland Green Jobs. Olivia Caldwell, a member of the inaugural class, explained: "With this training, I can provide for the future of my one-year-old daughter and the future of our planet." We applaud Olivia and her classmates for having the courage to pioneer the path to a career in the growing green-collar sector. And thanks to everyone who worked so hard to create the Green Jobs Corps! Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST