Dear Friend --

We hope that you and yours are safe and healthy in these turbulent times.

This month, we are excited to share with you an article that was published yesterday in Capital & Main, written by CLUE Board Member, Vivian Rothstein. In it, she reflects on the legacy of Rep. John Lewis and the importance of nonviolent activism in social movements. Below is an excerpt, and you can read the whole article here. 

As our nation celebrates the life of congressman and activist John Lewis, we’re also celebrating the philosophy and practice of nonviolence. So much of what is loved about Lewis – his optimism, courage, respect for others, focus on justice and ability to “reach across the aisle” – was an outgrowth of his belief in the philosophy and practice of nonviolence.

But what is it exactly, and why does a person committed to nonviolence generate the love and respect accorded to Lewis? Can nonviolence really help to heal this broken world?

Like many 1960s activists, I was first introduced to the discipline of nonviolence in preparation for demonstrations against housing and employment discrimination. These were large actions against the status quo, but no threats, catcalls or insults were to escape our lips. We were instructed to focus on the injustice we wanted to end and recruit others to our side. We had to be ready to go to jail, if necessary, to make our point. The contrast between our goals and the punishment we received for protesting discrimination, we learned, could shame companies and lawmakers to reform. Carried out in the American South, these tactics could, and did, lead to beatings like Lewis experienced and sometimes death for civil rights workers and local leaders.

But nonviolence is more than a discipline for public demonstrations. As I see it, it’s a philosophy that informs one’s day to day life. It involves a faith in human goodness; a belief that justice will ultimately prevail; and a strategy for winning fundamental change.

Click here to continue reading.

Please read below updates on our work and upcoming events!

Table of Contents

Immigration Program

• Department of Homeland Security Throws DACA Program into Doubt. Again.
• Shelter Program: Detained Children During COVID

BE COUNTED SoCal! Don't Forget About the Census!

Racial Justice

• Black Jewish Justice Alliance
• Black Brown Clergy Coalition

Los Angeles

• Do you know of a local food bank?
• Chateau Marmont Campaign Update
• Justice for Andres Guardado
• Strike for Black Lives, USC Campaign
• AB 3216, Right of Recall and Worker Retention
• Grocery Workers call on Kroger to Protect Workers and Customers

Long Beach and South Bay

• People's Budget, Long Beach
• Ports Campaign
• LA Justice Fund
• Release Rot Campaign

Orange County

• Hope as a tool in the Midst of a Pandemic: A Conversation 
• School Employees in Buena Park School District Face Massive Layoffs in September
• Healthcare Workers at Kindred Hospital Westminster and Fountain Valley Hospital Demand Management Protect them and Patients from COVID
• The Struggle Continues at Fountain Valley Hospital

Immigration Program

In late July, The Department of Homeland Security announced that, in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Obama-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), it will not accept new DACA applications, citing concerns that the decision to uphold the program should have been an act of Congress. 

In response, CLUE and our allies conducted outreach to the impacted community on what this means for DACA-eligible people. On August 13 at 5:00pm, Karen Hernandez and David Jaimes will address this news and discuss its implications for the community. Here is the link to register.

Shelter Program: Detained Children During COVID

CLUE joined efforts alongside Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez and attorney Gabriel Pinto Vega in continuing to call out the grave injustices of children kept in detention centers during the global pandemic. The call went out to highlight the many children from Central America that still are under grave danger of disease and death. CLUE participated in these actions and demands more information on what is happening in detention centers and at the US/MX border.

We are still organizing churches and community leaders who are able to provide shelter to recently released immigrants. If you or someone you know has a space to offer, please contact Juan Carlos Durruthy at [email protected] or Guillermo Torres at [email protected].

Above, Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez and attorney Gabriela M. Pinto Vega demanding the release of children under ICE captivity.

For more information or to get involved please contact David Jaimes as [email protected] 

Racial Justice

The Black Jewish Justice Alliance (BJJA) is currently focused on Black-Jewish relations as well as criminal justice reform. The BJJA is working in coalition to defund the police and hold the LA County District Attorney's office accountable. As part of the Check the Sheriff Coalition, CLUE in partnership with Unite Here, helped to launch a campaign urging the Sheriff to resign due to the murder and attempted cover up of 18-year-old Andres Guardado.

The Black Brown Clergy Coalition (BBCC) is a partnership between CLUE, clergy community groups, and SEIU 721. The objective is to bring Black & Brown community together to address issues affecting both communities. We are currently working to help address issues such as the effects of immigration on Brown & Black communities, the lack of housing & and issues of mass incarceration and police use of force.

The BBCC has two upcoming events:

We are working on abolishing USC Police and hoping to redirect their $50 million directly into the communities surrounding USC.

CLUE is also part of Reclaim Black LA, with Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Community Action Network, SCLC, ACCE and other community partners in an initiative to help house Black folks in the City of Los Angeles due the disproportionate effect of homelessness on the Black Community. 

BE COUNTED SoCal! Don't Forget About the Census!

CLUE continues to work to ensure that everyone is counted in Census 2020 throughout Southern California. In Los Angeles, we are distributing at food banks throughout the region. 

For information or materials, please reach out to Faith-Rooted Organizer, Rev. Juan Carlos Durruthy, at [email protected].

Los Angeles

Do you have or know of a local food bank?

We are collecting information about food banks across the region that can serve those in need. If you have any information, please fill out this google form.

UNITE HERE Local 11 

On July 23rd, CLUE and UNITE HERE Local 11 attempted to deliver our community letter to the Chateau Marmont, expressing our outrage they are not providing healthcare to their workers during the COVID19 pandemic. We heard from workers like Walter Almendarez, who has worked for the company for over two decades and has not had healthcare since March 19th, when the city shut down. CLUE clergy, CLUE staff, and lay leaders were present to deliver the letter to the owners, who we were told were inside the building.

However, when they refused to come outside to speak with us, we turned the action into a press conference to inform Angelenos of the injustice occurring at Chateau Marmont. 

In the lead up to the letter delivery, we also did a Labor on the Pulpit at Rev. Gary William’s Church St. Marks, where we spoke about the importance of supporting Black and Brown workers at the Chateau Marmont who do not have health insurance during a global pandemic.

Justice for Andres

On July 15th, CLUE participated in an action to demand justice for Andres Guardado, who was shot in the back five times by the police in Gardena. Andres was the son of a UNITE HERE member. The community came together to demand justice for Andres and called for the police to release information about the investigation into his death. The video below captures powerful footage of the action.

Strike for Black Lives

On July 20th, CLUE joined SEIU 721 and other locals across the nation to strike for black lives. The action was a caravan that began at a Ralphs in West Adams and drove to the USC campus where we also held a rally and demanded that the city defund USC campus police. 

AB3216: Urge your State Senators to help laid off Hospitality Workers regain their jobs

Please reach out to your State Senator to pass AB 3216, which protects the jobs of hospitality workers through rights of recall and retention. Workers in the hospitality industry are among the hardest hit during the current COVID-19 public health crisis. Many have had hours severely cut, been laid off or terminated. The uncertainty of whether and when we will be able to return to work is devastating, especially when many hotels have begun using the pandemic as an opportunity to hire newer, cheaper labor instead of re-hiring workers who have in many cases dedicated decades to the company.

Please send your State Senator a letter urging them to support AB3216 via this form: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/supportab3216?source=CLUE 

Grocery Workers Speak out on COVID19 Outbreak

On August 5th, CLUE accompanied workers from the Kroger to demand that the company take measures to protect workers and customers. 

“It is absolutely terrifying to go to work every day knowing I might be the next person to contract COVID-19,” said Jeanne Coleman, who works at the Food 4 Less in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. “I am doing everything I can to keep myself, my family, and everyone around me safe, but the store is overcrowded, and Kroger does not enforce basic public health measures.”

Twenty-eight people, representing about 30% of union members at the store, have become infected with COVID-19 at that location, making it the most massive cluster at a grocery or retail drug store in Los Angeles and the most publicly reported positive cases of grocery retail workers in Los Angeles County.

Long Beach and South Bay

People's Budget, Long Beach

CLUE is working in coalition to advocate for the People’s Budget in Long Beach, calling for divestment from the police department and reinvestment in black lives and communities of color. 

To support this effort, CLUE summer fellows, Nathan Carbajal and Linh Nguyen, organized a forum called “Safety Through Faith,” on August 5th, to facilitate a conversation for the faith community to imagine community safety through transformative justice instead of punitive justice. 

On August 3rd, Long Beach Mayor and City Manager just announced their two proposals, which did not reflect our community’s request of defunding the police. We are committed to continue advocating for a budget that shifts power from the police to the community. 

We also started our work around voter engagement in the city. We will be working with our LB clergy and congregations to educate our faith community members about how to vote-by-mail and to mobilize them to get out the vote for this upcoming election.

Ports Campaign 

CLUE organized a healing service to uplift the struggles of port truck drivers impacted by the pandemic and to provide spiritual and emotional support for the drivers and their families. Thanks to the powerful leadership of Rev. Nancy Frausto and Pastor Rosa Ramirez in this service, our drivers and their families shared that they experienced comfort and hope to continue their fight for dignity and protections in the workplace. Check out the healing service by clicking on this link!

We have continued to advocate alongside port truck drivers at Container Connection, XPO, and Universal Holdings, for proper protections during this pandemic, such as PPE, paid sick leave, and clean bathrooms. XPO and its largest customer in San Diego, Toyota, have mistreated the truck drivers by cutting their pay by almost 20 percent and have also refused to provide PPE to them during the pandemic.

Rev. Jonathan Mitchell, a faithful supporter of port truck drivers, said: 

“It is a violation that port trucking companies do not provide protections for port truck drivers during this pandemic. Truck drivers are God’s children. We, as the faith community, are committed to fighting for the drivers’ safety and dignity because that is God’s justice.” 

On July 11, the drivers and community members protested against wage theft and retaliation of drivers. Join us to fight for the drivers’ safety and dignity by signing this petition!

Immigration

LA Justice Fund

We continue to advocate for a renewal of the Justice Fund with Long Beach City Council to provide universal legal representation for Long Beach residents with deportation orders. Our CLUE summer fellow, Linh Nguyen, has visited council members with our coalition partners to advocate for this renewal. Rev. Nancy Frausto joined the community to visit Long Beach councilmembers to speak on the significance of the Justice Fund to keep immigrant families protected in the midst of this crisis. 

Justice for Rot

In addition, we have been engaging in the Right2Reunite to advocate for our Cambodian detainee and Long Beach resident, Rot, to be released from the Adelanto Detention Center. He has had cancer and is extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. We have joined our Cambodian sisters and brothers in visiting several elected officials to share with them his story and to advocate for his bail so that he can be safe and reunited with his family in this challenging time. Join us to fight for Rot’s release by signing this petition!

Orange County

Hope as a Tool in the Midst of the Pandemic: A Conversation

[En Español abajo]

As communities of faith, we rely on our hope to believe that our neighborhoods, plagued with injustices and now a global pandemic, will see a better day. In these urgent times, our hope is a vital tool to embrace and hold on to. It’s also important to share this hope, and that is why we invite you to join CLUE and your fellow brothers and sisters in a conversation to listen to how we are all tactically activating this hope to reach that better day. To that end, we are holding a conversation about the role and importance of nonviolence in times like these that call for all of us to rely on each other and our faith.

The conversation will be in Spanish with no English translation. You can support us by sending this information to the Spanish-speaking communities in your network.

WHEN: Tuesday, August 25th, 6:00-7:30pm PST

WHERE: online, through a Zoom link

RSVP: Contact Lucero Garcia, [email protected] or 714-737-8751 (can send text)

*If helpful, please see this how-to-download-zoom guide: Youtube video*

 [ Español ]

Como comunidades de fe usamos la esperanza para creer que nuestros vecindarios que están plagados por injusticias y una pandemia global van a ver un día mejor. En estos momentos urgentes, nuestra esperanza se convierte en una herramienta. También es importante compartir esta esperanza, y por eso les invitamos a que se unan a una noche de conversación con CLUE y sus hermanos(as) para escuchar como cada uno(a) de nosotros(as) está activando la esperanza para alcanzar este día mejor que tanto deseamos.

La conversación será en español sin traducción a inglés.

CUANDO: martes, agosto 25 de 6:00pm-7:30pm PST

DONDE: Digitalmente a través de un enlace de Zoom (plataforma virtual)

REGISTRO: Contacte a Lucero Garcia, [email protected] o 714-737-8751 (puede mandar texto) 

*Si es útil, por favor vea esta guia para descargar Zoom a su celular: Youtube video*

On the morning of Wednesday, August 5th  CLUE joined Templo Calvario, faith leaders, community leaders, and residents as they came together to pray over the city of Santa Ana and its communities during this time of COVID. Thank you, Pastor Lee de Leon and Templo Calvario for this call to action and prayer.

School Employees in Buena Park School District face massive layoffs in September

On July 2, 2020, the Governing Board of the Buena Park School District approved the layoff of 92 classified workers and have yet to formally rescind any of those layoffs. Positions on this list include CA School Employees Association (CSEA) Typist Clerks, Instructional Assistants, Library Media Clerks, and many other positions essential to the successful implementation of Distance Learning and eventually school reopening. Yet on June 29, Senate Bill 98 was signed into law guaranteeing full funding for school districts and stating the Legislature’s intent that school districts retain all classified staff during the 2020-2021 school year.

Can you stand with classified workers at the Buena Park School District and its students by emailing Superintendent Ramon Miramontes, Governing Board President Tharwa Ahmad, and Board Members? And can you forward this to other faith community members and families you may know in and around Buena Park?

Here’s a sample letter along with more background, and instructions on where to send your letter:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gKBEDqQrWwINT4pm0cewyPBcJWALGmX_uhMvlCS1-T4/edit?usp=sharing

The Struggle Continues at Fountain Valley Hospital

On July 22nd, Rev. Jennifer Garcia of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in nearby Garden Grove, stood with Emma, a licensed vocational nurse at Kindred Westminster, shortly after Emma shared her powerful testimony before everyone at the rally. Rev. Jennifer Garcia walked with workers in the blazing summer sun, and offers this prayer in support of these heroes:

"God who heals, fill Kindred Hospital with peace, healing, and love. Move the management to equip its staff well as they live out their vocations of care and service. Amen."

Thank you for being on this journey with us. 

CLUE: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice

http://www.cluejustice.org/