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We Give and We Get
When we hear about Arizona these days, what we hear is increasingly disturbing. We hear about extreme anti-immigrant laws. Racial profiling. Mass detention centers where people are subjected to bizarre and humiliating punishments. Violent militias. Attacks on migrant families. Race-based book bans.
But we know there is another side of Arizona. This is the state, after all, where civil rights hero Cesar Chavez was born. It's a state with a long history of community organizing.
Jul 20, 2012
When we hear about Arizona these days, what we hear is increasingly disturbing. We hear about extreme anti-immigrant laws. Racial profiling. Mass detention centers where people are subjected to bizarre and humiliating punishments. Violent militias. Attacks on migrant families. Race-based book bans.
But we know there is another side of Arizona. This is the state, after all, where civil rights hero Cesar Chavez was born. It's a state with a long history of community organizing.
What we don't see broadcast on the news is this: In neighborhoods all across Arizona, people are working quietly to form a healthier, brighter, more inclusive future.
Just look at Green For All Fellow Luis Perales. Perales dedicates each day to making life better for the residents of his South Tucson neighborhood. He co-founded the Tierra Y Libertad Organization (TYLO), which invests in new leaders and resident-driven community development. Through the Barrio Sustainability Project, Perales and other community leaders have implemented green solutions that build grassroots power. They have created food gardens and rain water catchment systems throughout the Wakefield community. Projects like these bring neighbors together to roll up their sleeves and implement their own visions of positive change. The result is a community that is stronger, more connected, and more resilient--even in the face of an increasingly tumultuous world.
One of the most important things TYLO does is to invest in a new generation of leaders who will continue to work to within their neighborhoods--and to advocate at the decision-making tables that affect them.
The Tierra y Libertad Organization isn't alone in its efforts. The group recently joined with the Pima County Re-entry Coalition to form the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition--dedicated to working with the area's residents to build a vibrant, inclusive green economy. The coalition is made up of a diverse set of groups and individuals dedicated to a shared vision of building power from the base up. The goal is to usher in an era of sustainable community development benefiting all residents of Tucson.
One shining example is work that's been done with the Pima County Adult and Juvenile Detention Centers, to actively invest in detainees so that when they re-enter their communities, they're prepared to do more than just stay out of prison--they're ready to serve as leaders and strengthen the fabric of their neighborhoods.
Here at Green For All's national headquarters in Oakland, we're inspired by what we see in Tuscon. And we're thrilled to partner with Luis Perales and the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition on a series of trainings in Tucson's Wakefield neighborhood. The trainings are designed to support residents and amplify their power--so their voices become a stronger, louder part of the dialogue that decides the future of their neighborhoods, their city, and their country.
Street by street and block by block, Tuscon residents are forming a strong culture of participatory democracy. It's not just about voting. It's about neighbors coming together to help neighbors. It's about residents taking a hard, honest look at their problems and working together to create solutions. They're not waiting around for elected officials to solve problems like scarcity of fresh food--they're planting their own gardens.
As Luis Perales puts it, "we give and we get."
And as tension in Arizona reaches a boiling point, this kind of neighborhood self-sufficiency and resilience is more important than ever.
That's why we need people on every block in Tucson to follow Perales' lead. There's never been a more important time for folks to step up--whether it's to start a community garden, advocate for resources, or find ways to support their neighbors in need.
If we invest in communities--if we support efforts like the work of the Tierra y Libertad Organization--we can create a healthier, more inclusive, more prosperous world. Even in politically troubled places like Arizona. Especially in places like Arizona.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Rosa Gonzalez
Rosa Gonzalez is the director of education and outreach at Green for All and is a lifelong educator. Rosa has a master's degree in Latin-American studies from Stanford University and a master's degree in teaching from the University of San Francisco.
When we hear about Arizona these days, what we hear is increasingly disturbing. We hear about extreme anti-immigrant laws. Racial profiling. Mass detention centers where people are subjected to bizarre and humiliating punishments. Violent militias. Attacks on migrant families. Race-based book bans.
But we know there is another side of Arizona. This is the state, after all, where civil rights hero Cesar Chavez was born. It's a state with a long history of community organizing.
What we don't see broadcast on the news is this: In neighborhoods all across Arizona, people are working quietly to form a healthier, brighter, more inclusive future.
Just look at Green For All Fellow Luis Perales. Perales dedicates each day to making life better for the residents of his South Tucson neighborhood. He co-founded the Tierra Y Libertad Organization (TYLO), which invests in new leaders and resident-driven community development. Through the Barrio Sustainability Project, Perales and other community leaders have implemented green solutions that build grassroots power. They have created food gardens and rain water catchment systems throughout the Wakefield community. Projects like these bring neighbors together to roll up their sleeves and implement their own visions of positive change. The result is a community that is stronger, more connected, and more resilient--even in the face of an increasingly tumultuous world.
One of the most important things TYLO does is to invest in a new generation of leaders who will continue to work to within their neighborhoods--and to advocate at the decision-making tables that affect them.
The Tierra y Libertad Organization isn't alone in its efforts. The group recently joined with the Pima County Re-entry Coalition to form the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition--dedicated to working with the area's residents to build a vibrant, inclusive green economy. The coalition is made up of a diverse set of groups and individuals dedicated to a shared vision of building power from the base up. The goal is to usher in an era of sustainable community development benefiting all residents of Tucson.
One shining example is work that's been done with the Pima County Adult and Juvenile Detention Centers, to actively invest in detainees so that when they re-enter their communities, they're prepared to do more than just stay out of prison--they're ready to serve as leaders and strengthen the fabric of their neighborhoods.
Here at Green For All's national headquarters in Oakland, we're inspired by what we see in Tuscon. And we're thrilled to partner with Luis Perales and the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition on a series of trainings in Tucson's Wakefield neighborhood. The trainings are designed to support residents and amplify their power--so their voices become a stronger, louder part of the dialogue that decides the future of their neighborhoods, their city, and their country.
Street by street and block by block, Tuscon residents are forming a strong culture of participatory democracy. It's not just about voting. It's about neighbors coming together to help neighbors. It's about residents taking a hard, honest look at their problems and working together to create solutions. They're not waiting around for elected officials to solve problems like scarcity of fresh food--they're planting their own gardens.
As Luis Perales puts it, "we give and we get."
And as tension in Arizona reaches a boiling point, this kind of neighborhood self-sufficiency and resilience is more important than ever.
That's why we need people on every block in Tucson to follow Perales' lead. There's never been a more important time for folks to step up--whether it's to start a community garden, advocate for resources, or find ways to support their neighbors in need.
If we invest in communities--if we support efforts like the work of the Tierra y Libertad Organization--we can create a healthier, more inclusive, more prosperous world. Even in politically troubled places like Arizona. Especially in places like Arizona.
Rosa Gonzalez
Rosa Gonzalez is the director of education and outreach at Green for All and is a lifelong educator. Rosa has a master's degree in Latin-American studies from Stanford University and a master's degree in teaching from the University of San Francisco.
When we hear about Arizona these days, what we hear is increasingly disturbing. We hear about extreme anti-immigrant laws. Racial profiling. Mass detention centers where people are subjected to bizarre and humiliating punishments. Violent militias. Attacks on migrant families. Race-based book bans.
But we know there is another side of Arizona. This is the state, after all, where civil rights hero Cesar Chavez was born. It's a state with a long history of community organizing.
What we don't see broadcast on the news is this: In neighborhoods all across Arizona, people are working quietly to form a healthier, brighter, more inclusive future.
Just look at Green For All Fellow Luis Perales. Perales dedicates each day to making life better for the residents of his South Tucson neighborhood. He co-founded the Tierra Y Libertad Organization (TYLO), which invests in new leaders and resident-driven community development. Through the Barrio Sustainability Project, Perales and other community leaders have implemented green solutions that build grassroots power. They have created food gardens and rain water catchment systems throughout the Wakefield community. Projects like these bring neighbors together to roll up their sleeves and implement their own visions of positive change. The result is a community that is stronger, more connected, and more resilient--even in the face of an increasingly tumultuous world.
One of the most important things TYLO does is to invest in a new generation of leaders who will continue to work to within their neighborhoods--and to advocate at the decision-making tables that affect them.
The Tierra y Libertad Organization isn't alone in its efforts. The group recently joined with the Pima County Re-entry Coalition to form the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition--dedicated to working with the area's residents to build a vibrant, inclusive green economy. The coalition is made up of a diverse set of groups and individuals dedicated to a shared vision of building power from the base up. The goal is to usher in an era of sustainable community development benefiting all residents of Tucson.
One shining example is work that's been done with the Pima County Adult and Juvenile Detention Centers, to actively invest in detainees so that when they re-enter their communities, they're prepared to do more than just stay out of prison--they're ready to serve as leaders and strengthen the fabric of their neighborhoods.
Here at Green For All's national headquarters in Oakland, we're inspired by what we see in Tuscon. And we're thrilled to partner with Luis Perales and the Southern Arizona Green For All Coalition on a series of trainings in Tucson's Wakefield neighborhood. The trainings are designed to support residents and amplify their power--so their voices become a stronger, louder part of the dialogue that decides the future of their neighborhoods, their city, and their country.
Street by street and block by block, Tuscon residents are forming a strong culture of participatory democracy. It's not just about voting. It's about neighbors coming together to help neighbors. It's about residents taking a hard, honest look at their problems and working together to create solutions. They're not waiting around for elected officials to solve problems like scarcity of fresh food--they're planting their own gardens.
As Luis Perales puts it, "we give and we get."
And as tension in Arizona reaches a boiling point, this kind of neighborhood self-sufficiency and resilience is more important than ever.
That's why we need people on every block in Tucson to follow Perales' lead. There's never been a more important time for folks to step up--whether it's to start a community garden, advocate for resources, or find ways to support their neighbors in need.
If we invest in communities--if we support efforts like the work of the Tierra y Libertad Organization--we can create a healthier, more inclusive, more prosperous world. Even in politically troubled places like Arizona. Especially in places like Arizona.
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