(Aug. 14, 2017)—My heart broke again this weekend. The violence that erupted in my home state of Virginia reminds us how much work needs to be done to heal our country and to ensure safety in our communities.
We can’t tolerate hate, racism or those who use either to advance their agenda. No matter how it’s packaged – white supremacy, white nationalism, neo-Nazism – hate and racism threaten our collective well-being. To advance peace and defend the safety of our communities, we need to take action.
In our 25-year history, Cal Wellness has championed the public health approach to violence prevention here in California and beyond. More recently, in January of this year, we prioritized hate-based violence as a focus of our Advance and Defend Wellness campaign in response to the social and political climate.
What we’ve learned is this: The struggle is real, but there are dedicated people working every day to stop violence in our communities and to counter the racism and hate that fuels it. If you’re heartbroken or outraged (or both!) after the events in Charlottesville, Va., this weekend, take action by supporting these Cal Wellness grantees working to ensure the safety of residents in our state:
- Allied Media Projects
- Berkeley Media Studies Group
- Bienestar/Hate Violence Prevention Partnership LA
- California Conference for Equality & Justice
- Children's Initiative
- Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Dignity and Power Now
- Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network
- Latino Community Foundation
- Liberty Hill Foundation
- Proteus Fund/Emergent Fund
- The San Francisco Foundation Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building
- San Joaquin Valley Health Fund
- Tides Foundation/Neighbors Campaign
- Transgender Law Center
