A description of your site http://www.ellabakercenter.org/ Your copyright information AB 1405, co-sponsored by the Ella Baker Center, just passed the Legislature and now awaits Governor Schwarzenegger's signature. The first bill of its kind would create a fund for communities most impacted by pollution and unemployment. Our Green Collar Jobs Campaign has tirelessly campaigned to assist this bill in passing. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT In a follow up study to the Toxic Twins report released on August 10th, the Ella Baker Center and California Environmental Justice Alliance explore the impact of Texas oil companies Tesoro and Valero in Southern CA. Both companies operate large refineries in the south Los Angeles community of Wilmington, where 85 percent of the population is Latino/a and nearly a quarter of all families live below the poverty level. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT Oakland is on the cusp of adopting the boldest, most equitable and most creative Energy and Climate Action Plan of any city. But it all depends on the next mayor. What will our next mayor do for green jobs, better air quality, and lower energy bills? The Oakland Climate Action Coalition is proud to sponsor a forum where we'll the candidates these questions and more. Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT If you sign up for a new, zero-down solar lease from Sungevity, the Ella Baker Center will receive a $500 donation. On top of that, Sungevity will reward you as a new solar lease customer your own check of $500 upon installation. Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT The Ella Baker Center and the California Environmental Justice Alliance release a new study revealing that Valero and Tesoro, the two Texas oil companies bankrolling Proposition 23 to repeal California's clean air and energy standards, have been repeatedly cited for producing deadly chemicals at their refineries and exposing millions of families, especially in communities of color, to harm. Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT Our Executive Director, Mr. Jakada Imani, was a featured guest on The Rachel Maddow Show discussing the Mesherly trial verdict and justice for Oscar Grant. Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT The US Social Forum starts today in Detroit and Ella Baker Center will be in the house! Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:00:23 EDT The CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation cancels visitation rights for prisoners in a last minute scramble to stay under budget. Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:58:31 EDT This week marks the anniversary of the federal law officially ending the enslavement of African Americans. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:27:03 EDT Hayes sits down and talks with the Dads of the Ella Baker Center in recognition of Fathers Day this weekend. Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:58:15 EDT Xiomara Castro of partner organization Urban Peace Movement breaks down their Turf Unity Music Project. Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:04:34 EDT Soul of the City is partnering with Oakland Rising to ensure that everyone is counted -- especially low-income people, communities of color, undocumented immigrants and formerly incarcerated persons. We can't miss this opportunity to include people that are typically left behind and ensure they are properly represented in local, state and federal governments. Learn about all of our opportunities to help us mobilize Oakland residents to get counted. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST Congratulations to Ella Baker Center founder Van Jones for winning a 2010 NAACP Image Award. This award honors Van's innovative work in social justice and equality and comes on the heels of the news that Van will be joining the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, as well as the faculty at Princeton University. Grounded in the principles of inspiration, solutions and action, Van continues to be a human rights leader working to build the clean-energy economy. Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST For the first time in over 20 years, Oakland is hosting a marathon and the Ella Baker Center is honored to be one of the featured causes the event will support! We will be running to show not only what a healthy and vibrant Oakland looks like, but also what is possible when we come together to build a healthy Oakland for everyone! Runners of ALL skill levels are welcome on Team Ella Baker Center with races of varying length and difficulty to choose from. You can join the team, donate to a runner or volunteer at the event. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST This year's Super Bowl coverage in the Bay Area had more than just ads for beer and Google. If you watched the coverage before and after the game, you would have seen an Ella Baker Center ad inspiring you to be a hero and change the game. We brought our message to a broader audience than ever before with an estimated 3.3 million Bay Area residents watching our commercial. Watch the ad and find out how you can get involved. Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST Heal the Streets Fellows hold their first Solutions Salon about how to end violence in Oakland, with coverage by Channel 2 News. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST Halfway through their 10-month fellowship, the youth participants in Heal the Streets hosted a Policy Maker Q & A in which community members engaged with city council members Nancy Nadel and Rebecca Kaplan as well as Eric Adams and Nikita Mitchel, youth representatives from the Oakland School Board. The fellows presented their findings from focus groups looking at the causes and impacts of community violence. Heal the Streets Fellow Jerrica Webb moderated a lively policy discussion with more than 100 Oakland Residents. Watch KTVU News coverage of the event. Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST Youth from all over Oakland and surrounding communities turned Ella Baker Center into a music recording studio. Over 65 youth and 20 volunteers created more than 70 songs over the course of the weekend. Channel 2 news covered the event. Tue, 10 Feb 2009 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. Mon, 11 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. Mon, 11 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 Get a taste of Ella Baker Center's 2005 compilation CD to benefit survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent governmental neglect. Mon, 11 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. 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 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 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 Ella Baker Center and the University of California Center Sacramento brought together more than 120 policymakers, legislators, and allies for a Capitol Briefing. We set the stage for addressing two of our most challenging crises -- climate change and the economic meltdown -- in California's 2010 legislative cycle by presenting ideas and data from a cross-sector group of presenters, including academics, labor leaders, legislators and community groups. Learn more and download materials from the event. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Zachary Norris, longtime Ella Baker Center activist and Books Not Bars Campaign director, has been selected as a 2010 Soros Justice Fellow. "Though I am sad to be leaving Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, I am incredibly excited to help build a national network of families of incarcerated youth. The fellowship is a natural outgrowth of the work that the Ella Baker Center's Books Not Bars pioneered years ago," said Zachary. All of the Ella Baker Center family expresses our pride and appreciation for Zachary's dedication, vision and leadership. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST On July 20th, The Ella Baker Center's Books Not Bars Campaign premiered Learning from Our Mistakes: Transforming Juvenile Justice -- a blueprint for model juvenile justice practice. This new 20 minute film from the Ella Baker Center demonstrates that we can redirect the school to prison pipeline that results in the disparate lock up of youth of color AND provide rehabilitative care for youth who have gotten in the most serious trouble. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST The Dirty Energy Proposition, Prop 23, will be on the November ballot and the Ella Baker Center will fight this deceptive, job-killing, Texas-oil-funded initiative that would roll back California's Global Warming Solutions Act and cripple California's green economy. We launched Communities United Against the Dirty Energy Prop, a coalition of social justice, environmental, and community-based organizations and small businesses from all over California. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST From nonviolence and the Mehserle trial to advocating for California's Green economy, we have been covered in five news articles so far in July. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Today, a jury in Los Angeles found former BART Policeman Johannes Mehserle guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in the murder of 22-year old Oscar Grant. The Ella Baker Center recognizes the importance of holding Mehserle, as a representative of police systems and police brutality everywhere, accountable for the death of Oscar Grant. However, with the verdict of involuntary manslaughter, even with the gun enhancement, the jury has decreed that Mehserle will receive a sentence of five - fourteen years. Given the long history of police brutality against members of our communities, describing what happened to Oscar Grant as anything less than murder feels inaccurate and to many, this verdict feels like a missed opportunity to affirm that violence against communities of color, especially when inflicted by the police, is unacceptable.July 9th, 2010: Today we launched an action to make sure that Eric Holder and the Department of Justice will do their part to bring justice to Oscar Grant. Join us in calling on Eric Holder and US District Attorney for Northern CA, Joseph P. Russoniello, to swiftly conduct investigations into the death of Oscar Grant and to prosecute not only Johannes Mehserle, but former BART Officers Tony Pirone and Jon Woffinden. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST As the clean energy economy grows, we're constantly seeking ways to ensure equal and fair access to jobs and opportunity, especially who have been left out and left behind. The National Employment Law Project, PolicyLink and the Ella Baker Center just released a report, Expanding Opportunity: Employing the Formerly Incarcerated in the Green Economy on how best to enable efficient and equitable hiring of people with criminal records using Weatherization Assistance Program funds. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Over the past three years, workforce development trainers and government officials from around the country have contacted us seeking technical assistance on how to design and launch their own green training programs. In response to this high volume of interest and need, we present Making Green Work. This guide draws on best practices from a range of green-collar training programs in California, including the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Heal the Streets youth fellows engaged in a participatory action research project to explore the link between youth community violence and youth unemployment. This policy paper outlines their thesis, research process, findings and recommendations -- please read and share it today. We hope that business owners, policy makers and youth will consider these findings in their efforts to make Oakland a more vibrant, just and safe community for all. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Every time there is an election, it is important that we make informed choices on each candidate and proposition on the ballot. Check out the June 2010 election Ella Baker Center Election Guide for short and simple analysis and endorsements for the 5 ballot initiatives facing California voters this June. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST As members of the community committed to justice and with our organizational history with police accountability work, the Ella Baker Center knows that we must continue to work together to change the system that recruited, trained and armed Mesherle, that allowed a jury to watch a video of an unarmed man's death and not call it murder, and that puts more resources into locking our young people up than giving them true opportunities. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST The Statewide Organizer will help coordinate our efforts through the Communities United coalition to raise awareness about Proposition 23. The Statewide Organizer reports to the Director of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign at the Ella Baker Center. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST On Tuesday March 30th, the Oakland Climate Action Coalition brought out over 175 members and supporters to call upon Oakland City Council to adopt their recommendations for the Oakland Climate and Energy Plan. After the rally, community leaders and residents testified in support of policies that address global warming while creating green-collar jobs, improving public health and saving residents money. Together -- our message was loud and clear: We want an Energy and Climate Action Plan for the City of Oakland that provides equal protection from the harms of global warming and ensures equal access to the benefits that global warming solutions provide. Learn more about this exciting event and make sure you have signed the Oakland Climate Action Petition. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Two Texas oil giants, Valero and Tesoro, are trying to roll back California's landmark air pollution and global warming law that would make polluters pay to clean up our environment. They're attempting to put a deceptive and misguided proposition on the November 2010 ballot in California. Ella Baker Center and our allies are working to stop them. We gathered on Earth Day, April 22 at the Valero Station in Oakland to draw attention to the Texas Oil Companies behind the Dirty Energy Proposition. Check out the pictures from the rally and then join us by pledging to vote no in November. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST Books Not Bars works to redirect California's resources away from youth incarceration and towards youth opportunities through advocacy, media, grassroots organizing and alliance building. Families for Books Not Bars is California's first and only statewide network for families of incarcerated youth. We organize parents, grandparents, siblings and relatives whose children are caught in the juvenile justice system. Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 EST