PRESS RELEASE Contra Costa Community Marches Together!
Elli...@aol.com
PRESS RELEASEContra Costa Community Marches Together! More than 1,000 Contra Costa County friends and families display community strength
Press
Contacts Moira Zacharakis 925.817.8731 zach...@mail.bandman.edu Adel Olvera 925-887-5220 aolver...@ppnorcal.org
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In Walnut Creek, Calif.--a town not typically known for activism--a diverse group of people from neighboring communities, many new to activism, have organized a women’s march showing strength in numbers in Contra Costa County and beyond to unify and shed light on the importance of women having equity to lead at all levels in society – while recognizing that our diverse, safe, and thriving communities are the backbone of our country.
The march demonstrates that a diverse community, with varying political affiliations and beliefs, can join in the spirit of democracy, to protect the human rights of all citizens and defend those marginalized among us, sending a message to leaders that the United States of America stands for the values of human decency, equal rights and freedom from discrimination.
While supportive of the marches taking place in the surrounding Bay Area communities, and across the nation, organizers feel it’s important to show strength and support in the local community. Regardless of a person’s race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual identity, economic status, or immigration status, it is imperative the community come together and fearlessly lead with empathy as a unified collective of individual strength to initiate change.
If one person in our community is threatened or attacked, we all are.
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· · When: Saturday, January 21, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. · Where: Music and Rally at Civic Park in Walnut Creek, CA (on the corner of Broadway and Civic). · Details: Music and entertainment by the rock band Juice with Ron Lorenz, the Meher School Choir, The Las Lomas Sophomore Jazz Combo and the Peter Pan Foundation Performance Troupe will start at 10 a.m.. · Media check-in: starting at 10 a.m. behind the gazebo at Civic Park, on Civic Dr. & Broadway. The Women’s March Contra Costa County/Walnut Creek is a sister-march to the march in Washington, D.C. on the same day. Hundreds of marches taking place throughout the country and world on January 21 affirm shared humanity and pronounce a bold message of resistance and self-determination.
Prior to the march, speakers at the event include: --Margaret Hanlon-Gradie, Executive Director of the Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County, AFL-CIO, --Will McGarvey & Leslie Takahashi from the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, --Julie Rabinovitz, President and CEO of Essential Access Health, --Dr. Lori Watson, a Racial Equity Transformation Specialist, --Cheryl Dumesnil an LGBTQ author, mother and poet, --Ejaz Naqvi, practicing Muslim, author and physician, and --Caroline Francois, Sienna Terry, and other local area students. Congressmember Mark DeSaulnier, U.S. House of Representative Eric Swalwell and California State Senator, Nancy Skinner are participatin the event.
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“Regardless of a person’s race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual identity, economic status, or immigration status, it is imperative we step up and fearlessly lead with empathy, combined with our individual and collective strengths to initiate change,” said Leslie Shafton, one of the Women’s March Contra Costa County organizers. “This is fundamental to ensuring that we protect our rights, our safety, our health, and our families, so that our communities are unified and poised to take a stand – so that we are never silenced about protecting human dignity.”
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Nancy Skinner is a newly elected member of the California State Senate, representing the 9th Senate District, encompassing the East Bay. She served six years in the state Assembly where she demonstrated a commitment to civil rights for all, challenging income inequality, providing access to health care, protecting our environment, and putting justice back into the criminal justice system. | |
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Eric Michael Swalwell, Jr. serves as the US Representative from California’s 15th congressional district. Representative Swalwell grew up and attended public schools in the East Bay. He is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Subcommittee on the CIA and also serves on the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, where he addresses climate change and advocates for renewable energy. Now in his second term, he brings new ideas to Congress, with a focus on policies that support equality, opportunity and security. | |
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Mark DeSaulnier represents California’s 11th Congressional District and serves on the Education and the Workforce and Oversight and Government Reform Committees. For more than 20 years, Mark has been a strong voice for reform and has developed a reputation for taking on the tough causes while seeking to make government more accessible and transparent to all Californians. He is a leader on issues of importance to working families including guaranteeing a livable wage, ensuring education is affordable and accessible, making investments in job training, and keeping good paying jobs here at home. | |
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Margaret Hanlon-Gradie is the Executive Director of the Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County, AFL-CIO representing 80,000 working families standing together for good jobs, healthy communities, educational opportunity, and a brighter future for people in all industries and kinds of work. She will remind us of the importance of labor rights as a component of human rights and why we must not forget the gains forged by labor in America and defend those gains against those who would reverse them. | |
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Cheryl Dumesnil is a poet, journalist, creativity coach and LGBTQ activist who lives in Walnut Creek with her two sons. Her latest book of for difficult times. Learn more about her work at www.cheryldumesnil.com. | |
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Lori Watson, Ed.D. is an Equity Transformation Specialist with Pacific Educational Group, an organization committed to achieving racial equity in education through Courageous Conversation ™, the award winning protocol for effectively engaging, sustaining and deepening interracial dialogue. Through a framework for Systemic Racial Equity Transformation, PEG is dedicated to helping educators address persistant racial disparities intentionally, explicitly and compromise. | |
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Caroline Francois is a high school student and activist who lives in Walnut Creek. She is the co-President of the Feminist Club at Las Lomas High School. | |
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Sienna Terry is a high school student and activist who lives in Walnut Creek. She is co-President of the Student Diversity Council at Las Lomas High School. She marches in opposition to racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, among other topics on the spectrum of social justice and equality. | |
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Sienna Todd is a senior at Concord High School, a delegate of California Girls State and the president of Model United Nations and California Scholarship Federation.She strives to empower others, no matter their age, to take a stand against social injustice, promote equality, and have empathy for everyone. | |
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Ejaz Naqvi is the the past president of a local Islamic Center and is actively engaged in interfaith work. A practicing physician and Muslim, Naqvi is the author of “the Quran: With or Against the Bible. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Islamic Scholarship Fund, a non-profit aimed at promoting Muslim students in the mainstream through educational scholarships and mentorship programs. | |
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Julie Rabinovitz is the President and CEO of Essential Access Health, an organization that champions and promotes quality sexual and reproductive health care for all and is the lead California administrator of the Title X federal family planning programs, which serves more than 1 million individuals annually at more than 340 health centers throughout California. Julie currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Family Planning Councils of America (FPCA) and on the Board of Directors of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). | |
ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC
Starting at 10:00 AM music and entertainment will include the rock band JUICE with Ron Lorenz, the Meher School Choir, The Las Lomas Sophomore Jazz Combo and the Peter Pan Foundation Performance Troupe.
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March Route: scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m., map available on the event website. Streets will not be closed to traffic. The march is on the sidewalk only, on both sides of the street from Civic Park, heading west on Civic Dr. to Locust Street, south to Olympic Blvd., east to Main Street, north back to Civic Dr. and onto BART to join the rally in San Francisco. |
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Who are the organizers & why they are organizing the march | |
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Rachel McCutchen: I have been called a political newbie. I guess that is true. I have never felt compelled to march. I am not a "marcher." But the world changed on November 8th and I felt powerless. When my neighbor suggested we march in our suburban hamlet, Walnut Creek, I realized I am not powerless. I can affect change with the power of my own voice joining alongside many voices in my community. "Be the change that you want to see in the world," said Ghandi. With that in mind, I invited a group of like-mined women and teens to my home to discuss the prospects of organizing for social change. We all shared a common concern for the future, so we made the decision to organize a march.
I am not normally a "marcher"... but these are not normal times. Complacency is no longer an option for me-- it is time for me to stand up. Even though my family feels somewhat insulated from the effects of potential changes in our government's policies, I have told our children..... we must stand up. We must stand up to injustice anywhere and everywhere. We must stand up to protect every woman's right to choose and get affordable health care and birth control. We must stand up for the First Amendment and free press. We must stand up for equality and equal opportunities for all. We must stand up to protect our environment.
So, I may not be a "marcher" but on January 21st I am going to march with my family and my community. I am marching to protect these rights. I am marching to show affected members of my own community that I stand beside them. I am marching to teach my children how to use their voices when it is time to stand up and march. | |
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Cathy Wang MD: As a mother, sister, aunt, and daughter, I am marching to support women’s rights. As a doctor, I am marching to support choice for women. As a neighbor, I am marching to support a safe and supportive community. As a human being, I am marching to support a sustaiACnable, clean and green earth. Simply, I am marching for our children and their future. | |
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Sharon & Ellis Goldberg: We believe in justice, democracy, climate chaos threatens us all and that democracy is not a spectator sports, it is a team sport. That why we are helping organize the march. We are the experienced ones organizing this event and have found fresh energy in these new activists. We want to make sure the event is successful and that those involved stay involved and attract others to join them. It is thrilling to be part of a new major movement in this country. | |
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Leslie Shafton: My family is marching because we want to let the diverse members of our community know that we will not stand silent as our individual rights and freedoms are attacked. We will not back down to bullies who threaten our freedom and dignity. We are marching as a commitment to the social justice, democracy and human rights which have made our country "great." We teach our children to stand up to bullies, tell the truth and show respect for all people. It is our time for us to stand together to demonstrate these ideals. | |
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Teri Frangie: Today, I march to secure an equal opportunity of success for my daughters (ages 13 & 10) who cannot vote for POTUS in the next two elections. I march for freedom to live in a community where we listen to each other and open our minds to new ideas without fear of persecution or retaliation from a narcissistic leader. I march for my country in hopes our thoughts/ideas will be represented in .government by competent qualified dignitaries. I march so I can sleep comfortably at night knowing that basic human rights are not being violated and that health care is being provided to my neighbors who need it most but who often need to go without. I march with my diverse friends and my immigrant family who are scared about being different but contribute a great deal to our society even though they are often marginalized. I march in hopes the law and justice are applied equally to all citizens. | |
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ENDORSEMENTS Contra Costa for Bernie Move On |
Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County Sierra Club Las Lomas Diversity Council International
Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) Mt Diablo Peace and Justice Rainbow
Community Center | |
INVITATION TO THE MEDIAThe media is invited to cover the march in Walnut Creek on January 21 starting with a gathering at 10 AM at the gazebo in Civic Park – Civic Dr & Broadway. Organizers are available for interview.
Press
Contacts include: Moira Zacharakis 925.817.8731 zach...@mail.bandman.edu Adel Olvera 925-887-5220 aolver...@ppnorcal.org
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Poster making parties | ||
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Ellis Goldberg
Elli...@aol.com
925 451 4303 cell
925 831
8355 land