This week, Roqayah and Kumars are joined by J. Redwoods and Cassandra Williams, co-founders of Mask Oakland, a grassroots effort to deliver N95 respirator masks to marginalized people in Oakland and beyond who are dealing with hazardous smoke from the massive wildfire in Northern California. J. and Cassandra begin by sharing their personal origin stories as leftists and organizers, and explain the genesis of Mask Oakland as a response to the failure of local and state governments to deal with the fallout from the 2017 fires in Sonoma and other Northern California counties. 

They then break down the whirlwind experience of the past couple weeks, explaining how their team of volunteers have collected donations and distributed tens of thousands of masks across Northern California. J. and Cassandra talk about the key role of community partners in expanding the reach of their impromptu supply network, and how Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf tried to take credit for Mask Oakland’s work after dropping the ball herself. Finally, the gang discusses what it means that Mask Oakland is filling a vacuum created by government and corporate inaction, and how their model and initiative provides a clear way forward for organizers to provide emergency disaster relief when no one else will. 

Follow Mask Oakland on Twitter @MaskOakland to learn how to get involved with future efforts. You can also donate on Venmo @MaskOakland.

A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed.

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