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Causa Justa :: Just Cause State Wide Ballot Endorsements

Proposition 30. Temporary Taxes to Fund Education. Guaranteed Local Public Safety Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. Position: YES Prop 30 is the result of a historic compromise between the Restore California Coalition and Governor Jerry Brown, the governor had to negotiate
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Not Another Son

Lorenzo Lamar Ward: March 7, 1983~September 1, 2012 Our hearts are heavy with the loss of Lorenzo. He was a lively spirit born to our beloved Princess Beverly. And he shouldn’t have been Oakland’s 81st homicide of the year. The blood
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We Love And Miss You Ms. Betty

We remember and salute one of our long-standing members, Ms. Betty Woodridge. Since she joined Causa Justa :: Just Cause during our fight against Wal-Mart in 2004, Ms. Betty has been a powerful spirit in the world and gave a tremendous amount of love and energy to the fight for
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Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Interview with Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow  Juvenile Justice Information Exchange and Youth Today Washington, D.C. correspondent Kaukab Jhumra Smith covered a conference in July in Cincinnati sponsored by the Children’s Defense Fund. Among the more than
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Every 36 Hours

By Malcolm X Grassroots Movement In July, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) issued a study titled, “Every 36 Hours: Report on the Extrajudicial Killings of Black People by Police, Security Guards or Self-Appointed Law Enforcers.” “Every 36 Hours” documents the
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Community Demands Answers to Chevron Fire

By Communities for a Better Environment and Asian Pacific Environmental Network For the second time in five years, a fire at the Chevron refinery crude unit in Richmond has put workers and neighbors in critical danger. By its own admission
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HEARTH Act to Improve housing conditions for American Indians

By Billy Trice Jr. President Obama recently signed H.R.205 known as the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act(HEARTH) which will improve housing conditions for American Indians as well as boosting their economic development on reservations. It will also help them build
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“Dear Union Bank”

How a Tenant Stood Her Ground Against a Bank and Won By Maria Zamudio Maria M. and her family had been renting their San Francisco for more than three years when they learned that the home was being foreclosed. Like
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Hassle-Free Housing Ordinance

What is it? During the first dot com boom, harassment—as a mean of eviction—evolved into a business model. Large, corporate landlords began adding to their staffs “Relocation Specialists.” More accurately, these employees were paid thugs, hired to intimidate tenants into
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Rise of Tenants Reporting Harassment

By Ted Gullicksen and Maria Zamudio Tenants living in some of San Francisco’s quickly disappearing sources for affordable housing – rent controlled units – face a particular situation when property owners wish to evict them for profit.  One of the
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Our Work Continues With Resilience and Courage

By Cinthya Muñoz Immigrant Rights Organizer & Maria Poblet, Executive Director October 1 was a historic moment for all who were awaiting Governor Brown’s decision on the Trust Act. Historic in that the sitting so-called “progressive” governor of California vetoed
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Foreclosures Still Hurting Our Communities

National Housing Crisis Continues By Robbie Clark Gail Leeks’ family is fighting to keep a home that’s been in their family for two generations.  Gail’s mother, Marjorie Gibson passed away after a battle with cancer.  After Majorie passed away, Wells
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Dreaming to Win: Immigrants Justice for All

By Maria Zamudio Photo: David Lumb | August 17/animalnewyork.com The disappointment and devastation felt in 2010 when the federal DREAM Act did not pass in the Senate was huge. Not only because of the amount of work that went into
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Is There A Future For Community Development

Raven Willoughby Over the last 50 years, redevelopment agencies (RDA) in the state of California have worked diligently on promoting economic and community development in areas once deemed “undesirable.” About 400 RDAs across the state have provided funding for many
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Governor Brown Slashes Affordable Housing Funds

Gloria Bruce, Deputy Director, East Bay Housing Organizations With the dissolution of redevelopment on February 1, we have lost the largest state source for affordable housing. Unless we can be particularly creative in identifying new funding sources and changing political
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Grandmother Annie B Attaway next to her daughter Carmelita Thurman. Photo: Courtesy Attaway family

Help Me Keep My Home Of 40 Years

February 21st 2012 To Whom It May Concern: It is with great regret and a burdened heart that I write this letter asking for your support to keep my home. I am Mrs Annie B. Attaway, and I have lived
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Carlos Parkins and Annie Mora stand up for housing rights at rally in Oakland. Photo: CJJC archives

10 Years Of Eviction Protection In Oakland

By Robbie Clark It has been 10 years since the Just Cause Eviction ordinance, Measure EE, was passed in Oakland. Did you know that since then, there hasn’t been any legislation to protect tenants’ rights passed in the City of
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Book Review: Playbook for Progressives

Jaron Brown Reviews book by Eric Mann “The tradition of transformative organizing always finds the paths of hope. In dark times, what do we do?  We organize.” Eric Mann’s new book Playbook for Progressives is one of the most anticipated
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November 2, 2011 General Strike in Oakland. Photo: R.M. Arrieta

Occupy and The 99 Percent

By Alma Blackwell interviewed by Adam Gold Over the past six months, a new wave of activism has washed across the United States and the world, mobilizing thousands of people to camp out in city squares, protest financial institutions and
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Former Pacific Steel workers at their March For Dignity in Berkeley. Photo: Brooke Anderson

Immigrant Workers March For Dignity And Justice

R.M. Arrieta “They talk about undocumented workers taking jobs but I’d like to know what would happen if for one day, all the undocumented laborers would stop working.” — Former Pacific Steel worker More than 200 workers fired after an
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HB56 Erodes Civil And Human Rights

Ingrid Chapman, Organizer, Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Alia Trindle, Catalyst Project Containing a host of 30 discriminatory provisions, this new Jim Crow law makes Alabama unlivable for undocumented immigrants. Because the law is so extensive and extreme, Alabama
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