Our Community Futures

The Community Futures Framework offers a vision for a future where everyone can realize their full potential, dignity, and humanity. This report is a contribution that builds upon other movement frameworks, such as the Just Transition framework, and the work we do every day to build grassroots power and leadership to create strong, equitable communities.

2014 Annual Report

In 2014, gentrification came into plain view. Discussions of economic inequality, the housing affordability crisis, Black displacement, the power of multiracial unity, and the suburbanization of poverty emerged across the political spectrum, from kitchen tables to city council chambers, from
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The BART Strike, and Beyond

Written by  Maria Poblet / Organizing UpgradeTuesday, 22 October 2013 05:23 The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) worker strike has come to a close. After tense negotiations, a tentative agreement has been reached, after workers demanded the restoration of
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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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