Civic engagement in the U.S. has been on the decline for many decades. Citizens are participating in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and in too few venues to develop and sustain a robust democracy. What’s more, effective engagement is being seriously hampered by a partisan divide between people that seems to be growing. Our podcast this month takes a look at how these divisions are affecting our relationships, and what we can possibly do about it.

There are groups currently working to facilitate interactions between people despite their political disparity. The non-profit Braver Angels, formed after the 2016 presidential election, has been convening meetups both online and in person, nationally and in states across the country, with the express intent of providing a venue for open and respectful dialogue across the political divide. Might we be able to forge a path toward productive and constructive conversations, even friendships, with the help of Braver Angels’ programs?

This is a question Cal Stevens, our guest today, has been exploring. We invite you to to find out more about Braver Angel’s Red/Blue Workshops and how you can participate in Braver Angels’ work in your community to deepen connections, find commonalities, and reduce disparities. 

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ

• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (Gina’s Congregation UUSLO)

• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (Jason’s Congregation UCC)

• Trinity Presbyterian Church - Cal Stevens’ Congregation

• Braver Angels

• “A Tale of Two Karens” - YES! Magazine

• “Can We Make An Alien Nation Familiar Again?” - YES! Magazine

• “Healing A Divided Nation Begins Face to Face” - YES! Magazine- Winter 2020

• Living Room Conversations

• Braver Angels: Reuniting America (Video)

• Braver Angels: Seeking to Depolarize America - CBS News

• Register for April 16 Workshop in San Luis Obsipo

• The Righteous Mind - by Jonathan Haidt (Influenced guest Cal Stevens)

• Love Your Enemies - by Arthur Brooks (Influenced guest Cal Stevens)

• Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing - by Katharine Hayhoe

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST

Cal Stevens is a southern California native who, after some years in Colorado, Arizona, and northern California (Roseville), settled in 2014 on the Central Coast. He has taught business at Cal Poly (Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Management) and has had prior careers in Christian ministry and as an Organizational Development practitioner/consultant with Intel, Corp. He and Nancy enjoy the fact that all three of their kids, and their three grandkids, live in SLO County. Cal and Nancy enjoy their church, travel, camping, film, theatre, opera, classical music, reading, family, and friends. Cal is also active on a city government advisory board, the Chamber of Commerce, has served on non-profit boards (including Leadership SLO), and currently takes consulting gigs in strategic and organizational design. Right now, he is in training with Braver Angels to be a moderator and a local Alliance Co-Chair. Reach out to Cal with questions or comments at [email protected]

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that.” 

These words, written by Martin Luther King, beckon us to a search for truth and meaning in the quest for racial justice and human rights everywhere. Two of our guests today, Ken Hill and Gina Whitaker, spent three weeks traveling the U.S. Civil Rights Trail this past October through Mississippi and Alabama. Everywhere they went, everyone they met and all the stories they heard added pieces of the puzzle that eventually formed a picture of our single garment of destiny, and highlighted our network of mutuality. What they learned was that we are all connected, and that Martin Luther King had it right…only love can overcome hate. 

The Deep South. A place neither Ken Hill nor Gina Whitaker ever thought they would visit, was the scene. People like Terry Chestnut, our third guest today, filled in many missing pieces of the puzzle with his deep love for Selma, Alabama–his hometown–and all the people and all the places in Selma where major battles of the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s took place and are recorded in history. Terry will share his story today, and we are certain that his perspective will move our listeners.

So, welcome to the People of Faith for Justice 26th podcast and to our guests, Gina, Ken and Terry.    

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ

• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)

• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)

• MLK People of Faith for Justice Service - 1/15/23 (Video)

• Living Legacy Project - Civil Rights Pilgrimages to the South 

• Selma Interpretive Center - US Civil Rights Trail

• Edmund Pettus Bridge Selma, Alabama

• Hancock’s BBQ - Selma, AL

• Live Oak Cemetery - Selma, AL

• National Voting Rights Museum - Selma, AL

• Selma Voting Rights Memorial Park

• St. James Hotel -  originally The Gee House Hotel - Selma, AL

• Benjamin Sterling Turner - AL’s first Black Congressional Representative

• Brown Chapel AME Church - Selma, AL

• Dallas County Voters League - Selma, AL “Courageous Eight”

• Rev. James Reeb (Video)

• Jimmie Lee Jackson (Video)

• March Selma to Montgomery - 50th Anniversary (Video)

• Tabernacle Baptist Church - Selma, AL

• Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth

• Rev. C.T. Vivian

• Rev. James Bevel

• Rev. James Lawson 

• J.L. Chestnut, Jr. - Black Author, Attorney and Civil Rights Activist; Terry Chestnut's father

• Black in Selma: The Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr. (Book)

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Gina Whitaker is a board member of People of Faith for Justice and a member of the Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo. Social justice concerns in 1960 brought her to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara as a teenager, and she’s never looked back. A social justice activist for 64 years, Gina went on a pilgrimage to the Deep South in October, 2022 with her husband, Ken. Her experiences there transformed her, and brought her attention to the fact that though life in the Deep South is better than it was during the 50’s and 60’s, the job is not yet finished. Gina continues her work for racial justice, immigration justice and voting rights in between spending time with her two granddaughters, Jimi, 2 1/2, and Rubi, 7 months. She lives in Arroyo Grande with her husband, Ken Hill, and their cat, Sufi. 

Ken Hill is Gina Whitaker’s husband and resident of the Central Coast for the last three decades. Ken is now retired from a long engineering career in electronics, computers and software in Southern California and on the Central Coast. He has rooted himself in relationship to family, community and the quest of grounding our communities in love and grace; without these, all else is for naught. At the heart of that community are his wife, stepsons, grandchildren, sister, brother in-law and extended family bonded in blood relation and shared purpose. Ken is a passionate member of Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo, participates in People of Faith for Justice (PFJ) through the Central Coast Center for Ecological Civilization and can be found at many events around the Central Coast trying to transform us all into a beloved community.

Terry Chestnut was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, the 4th of six children, to J.L. Chestnut, Jr. and mother Vivian Chestnut. J.L. was the first Black attorney in Selma, and was also Dr. Martin Luther King’s attorney, of which Terry is very proud! 

Terry graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans with a double major in Mass Communication/Criminal justice, and a minor in Music. Terry has a great love for Selma Alabama, and has spent the last three and a half  years working as a tour guide for groups from all over the world who visit Selma, Alabama to learn about the 1960’s American civil rights and voting rights movement. With Terry as their guide, however, they learn much more than facts, and experience Terry’s great love for his hometown and the people in it. 

In addition to the many tours he conducts year round, Terry finds time to host a daily radio show, The Cool Jazz Cafe, as well as organize all the entertainment at the historic St. James Hotel in downtown Selma. He is available to speak nationwide.

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Global climate change is on all our minds these days…or is it? Should it be? How can we ignore it? We live our lives, trying to maintain the status quo, but our status quo is leading to suffering and destruction. There is nothing that is in our lives that is not touched today by global climate change. The homes we build and live in, our transportation, the weather we experience every day, the clothes we wear, the trash we discard, the fuel that powers our heat, lights and automobiles, the food we choose to eat, how our cities, towns and buildings are designed…there is nothing that isn’t touched by the state of our planet today. Humans are changing the climate, and how we cope with these changes says a tremendous amount about our relationship to life on planet Earth.

But wait! There are possibilities, and there are solutions! They start with us, and the changes that come from hope, not fear. Join our guests today as they help us discover how to set a joyful path toward climate health.

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
• St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church (Los Osos)
• Solve Climate Change Now by Don Maruska
• Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference
• SLO Climate Coalition
• Resilient SLO
• Resilient Central Coast
• ECOSLO
• Interfaith Power and Light
• UU Ministry for Earth
• Citizens’ Climate Lobby
• Living in the Time of Dying (film)
• This is What We Did
• Third Act
• 350

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Deb Pritchard is a native Californian who loves to snorkel, and has done so all around the world. Her favorite snorkeling was on the island of Palawan, in the Philippines, where she spent 10 years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and then as a management consultant, founding and growing NGOs and private businesses. She helped start the Special Olympics there as well as the Palawan ICT Association, working on many community projects with the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.

Deb began her career in sales at Shell Chemical and was the first woman promoted to management with a B.S. in Chemistry and Psychology. She married and raised two daughters, returning to school for a teaching degree in Special Education and Educational Therapy. Deb has had a variety of careers: Corporate Sales and Marketing Director, Special Education teacher, and International Management Consultant with a specialty in organizational development. 

She has returned to California’s Central Coast and focuses on intergenerational work addressing climate change and women’s empowerment. Her passion is the environment, and she attended the UN summit, COP27 in Egypt in November, 2022. Deb is in the process of publishing her memoir, Vipers and Geckos: Defining Friend, Foe, and Truth in the Peace Corps.

Don Maruska engages people around the world to take climate action and have fun doing it. He enjoys grassroots actions. These include developing strategies with businesses and community organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and restore our balance with nature. Don has also created videos, study guides, and support resources in use by faith-based groups from multiple denominations. He sees an important role for people from faith and justice communities to demonstrate stewardship for creation and the practices of sacrificial giving to reorder our lives for a healthy climate and a world that works for all. These values and experiences inspired Don to write Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet.

Earlier in his career, Don founded and was CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a national Innovator Award. Now, he’s a Master Certified Coach helping others succeed. Don is also the author of How Great Decisions Get Made and co-author of Take Charge of Your Talent. He earned his BA magna cum laude in government from Harvard University and an MBA and JD from Stanford University. Audiences appreciate Don’s inspiring keynotes and productive workshops delivered both in person and online.

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

None of us ever thinks that they, or anyone they know, will ever end up in jail or prison. But if life throws you a curveball and you find yourself,  a family member, or friend incarcerated, wouldn't it be good to know all that awaits you behind those prison walls?

During his 17 ½ years in prison, Emanuel Bell hit a lot of bumps in the road. It took him 14 years to understand how to successfully do prison time and stay out of trouble. Emanuel attended a creative writing class at Solano Prison, and learned how to successfully write a book; the result is the newly published How to Serve Prison Time Successfully–the title of this podcast–and it’s a real inside look at prison life. In it, Emanuel details how to be equipped with all the essential knowledge and tools needed to successfully do jail or prison time. This book teaches the proper way to live “cell life,” helping you to become a compatible, cool “celly” no matter who shares your cell.

Emanuel opens readers’ eyes to the inevitable situations faced in jail or prison, and offers tools to deal with anger, depression, and stress. He equips those serving prison time to properly handle the situation, keep pushing forward and get through any sentence. Emanuel hopes to convey the same prison knowledge that an inmate gains after serving years. Readers will become educated about prison life, even if they have never served a day.

Today, we’ll speak with Emanuel to learn more about how he became an expert in prison life, how he survived it to be released after serving his time, and what he plans to do now that he’s a free man.

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• Solano Prison
• How to Do Prison Time Successfully by Emanuel Bell
• Restorative Partners
• American Psychological Association Search for “Anger Management”

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST, Emanuel Bell 

Emanuel Deon Bell was born in the Central Coast of California in Salinas on November 19, 1978. He was raised in Seaside California. While doing his 17 1/2 years in prison, he did his time at these general population prisons: Salinas Valley, Ironwood State Prison, Soledad Tracy Prison (aka Deuel Vocational Institution), Calipatria State Prison, Delano State Prison, and Solano State Prison. When the California prison system was sending inmates out of state due to prison overcrowding, Emanuel also did prison time at a Mississippi prison, an Oklahoma prison, and an Arizona prison. He is currently a cement truck driver in San Luis Obispo County. When he has extra time on he enjoys making rap music. You will be able to hear some of his music on YouTube soon!

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

We hope you were able to listen to last month’s conversation with Geoffrey Land, Social Studies teacher at Paso High, along with two of his current students who shared their process of becoming scholar activists, learning to speak out for justice and inclusion. 

We are excited this month to have Beatriz Lopez as our guest! Beatriz was also a student of Geof Land while at Paso Robles High School. In 2018 she participated in a community forum in which Beatriz and eight other undocumented students at PRHS came from the shadows to share their stories openly. Following the forum, Mr. Land encouraged them to write a Viewpoint for the Tribune explaining why they had decided to come forward and speak out. We hope you will read that powerful, open and honest Viewpoint which is linked in our Show Notes. 

Today, four years later, several of these young people have now graduated from college. We’ll find out how Beatriz has fared since graduation and her courageous announcement of her Dreamer status; we’ll discuss her experiences in college, her dreams for the future now that she has graduated, and how her immigration status and US policies around immigration continue to affect her and her family’s lives. Join us for a conversation with Beatriz Lopez, a Paso Robles High School graduate who continues to Dream Big!

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
• Paso Robles High School
• M.E.Ch.A.
• AVID Program
• These Paso High seniors are bound for college, if they’re allowed to stay in the U.S. Viewpoint, Tribune, 4-25-2018
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
• National Immigration Forum
• DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) 

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST

Beatriz López Isidro was born in Uruapan, Michoacán and raised in Paso Robles, CA. Beatriz is a proud daughter of immigrants whose parents come from San Juan Nuevo, Michoacán, México. She is a recent college graduate from UC Merced with a Bachelors of Science in Biological Science with an emphasis in Human Biology. 

Throughout her time at UC Merced, she received constant support and mentorship from the Services for Undocumented Students. For the 2021-2022 school year, she was given the opportunity to collaborate with the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Office for Services for Undocumented Students to represent undergraduate undocumented students at UC Merced. Most recently, she was given the opportunity to participate as a CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholar through the UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program and paired with Promesa Boyle Heights as a summer intern. 

Beatriz emphasizes the importance of fighting for the “original dreamers” (dreamer’s parents) and all the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States because DACA is not enough; there needs to be bipartisan Congressional immigration reform!

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Our guests today are Geoffrey Land, a Social Studies teacher at Paso Robles High School who has just been named the SLO County Teacher of the Year, and two of his students, Israel Perez and Ana Lopez, both seniors at Paso High.

A teacher and his students? What could be more ordinary, right? Not so…what makes this podcast special is the fact that Geoffrey Land is no ordinary teacher, and Ana and Israel are no ordinary high school seniors. Mr. Land has been busy teaching justice-making and activism at Paso Robles High School, and Israel and Ana have both been applying his lessons to real life as they ready themselves for a world that needs much more justice and many more activists. Listen in as we find out how Geoff Land teaches students to stand up for justice, and how Ana and Israel have rallied for representation and inclusivity in an environment that has not always been supportive of these goals.

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
• Paso Robles High School
• New Times 8/25/22 “Paso school board passes symbolic resolution about gender specific titles”
• Border Ecology Project
• ECOSLO
• San Diego Office of Binational Affairs
• M.E.Ch.A.
• Coming Out Against Hate Paso Robles Daily News October 22, 2021
• Baile Folklorico
• Baile Folklorico You Tube
• Ethnic Studies Elective at PRHS New Times April 15, 2021
• AVID Program
• Paso Teacher Butts Heads with School Board…New Times September 8, 2022
• See additional links to articles in Geof Land’s bio below.

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Geoffrey Land

Geoffrey Land has been teaching Social Studies at Paso Robles High School since 1998. He holds degrees from UC Santa Barbara (B.A.) and UC San Diego (Master’s in Pacific International Affairs). He has lived and studied in Spain and Costa Rica. Land served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Caribbean (Grenada, 1984-86) and with San Diego’s Office of Binational Affairs, which coordinated the city’s relations with Mexico. Before becoming a teacher, he worked with nonprofit groups—Border Ecology Project and the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO). While working at ECOSLO, Land spearheaded local efforts to protect the coast from offshore oil and gas development and the county’s north coast from the proposed Hearst hotel and golf development at San Simeon Point. He also oversaw an environmental health project to educate local farmworkers about environmental and health risks associated with pesticides.  

At PRHS, Land has led hundreds of students on field studies and backpacking trips, helping establish the Field Studies Collaborative. In 2005 he created and still teaches one of California’s only Modern World History classes conducted entirely in Spanish for bilingual students. In 2010, he was part of an effort to defend the teaching of Kaffir Boy at SLO High School and penned a Tribune viewpoint on the subject (“Don’t censor Kaffir Boy because it discomforts some”). In 2017, Land worked with students who had organized a school walkout to honor immigrants, encouraging them to put their reasons for the protest into a Viewpoint for the local paper (“Paso High protest aimed to support immigrants”) In 2018, Land helped organize a community forum in which nine undocumented students at PRHS shared their stories; he encouraged them to write a Viewpoint for the Tribune explaining why they decided to speak out. (“These Paso seniors are bound for college, if they’re allowed to stay in the U.S.”) His Viewpoint on racial conflict and local news coverageappeared in the SLO Tribune in August, 2020. He developed and teaches the Honors Ethnic Studies course at Paso Robles High School. He was recently named 2022 Teacher of the Year for San Luis Obispo County. 

Israel Perez

Israel Pérez is a senior at Paso Robles High School. Last year, Israel spoke out publicly during the “Coming Out Against Hate” forum, held at Paso High, when students stood up courageously against homophobic hate. More than 300 people attended. Israel is a member of many campus clubs and an officer for three of them. He is Co-President of the Activists’ Coalition for Tomorrow Club (ACT); the Events Coordinator for M.E.Ch.A.; and the Social Media Coordinator for the Black Student Union. He is also a member of these clubs: Conservative Club, Red Cross Club, Life Savers Club, Friday Night Live, Wilderness Club, Beach Beautification Club, and Equity Club member. Currently, Israel is applying for placement on the Paso Robles Youth Committee which advises the City Council on youth affairs. In college, Israel plans to major in International Relations and Environmental Law and hopes to become a staff member of the United Nations.

Ana Lopez

Ana López Isidro was born in Santa Barbara, CA and raised in Paso Robles, CA. Ana is a proud daughter of immigrants whose parents come from San Juan Nuevo, Michoacán, México. She is currently a senior at Paso Robles High School and Co-President of M.E.Ch.A. (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlan), a club that she’s participated in since her freshman year. Ana helped organize numerous cultural events last year, most notably the first ever Baile, a Spanish language dance on campus. As a junior, Ana was also a member of PRHS’ Ethnic Studies class. She is currently the Carmesi Editor of PRHS’ Crimson News Magazine and President of the high school’s AVID program. Since her junior year she has been a member of the Diversity & Policy Committee with three other students and Paso Robles Joint Unified School District staff. Ana identifies as a student, a community member, and an activist. Ana believes in the importance of striving for equity among everyone in our society, creating healing & safe environments, and working for inclusiveness and representation within our schools.

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal. 

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Rev. Dr. Caroline Addington Hall, Rector of St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Los Osos, has been recognized this year by the office of Congressional Representative Salud Carbajal as an outstanding Women of the Year Award recipient.

Caro has been our friend, colleague and partner in working for positive change in our Central Coast communities for decades. Rev. Hall has been described as tireless, fearless, and an incredible communicator. She is a published author, an advocate for the unhoused, for the LGBTQA+ community, for the environment, for social justice, for children, and for our furry and feathered friends. Caro doesn’t just talk; she DOES! 

One might ask: “How does she do all of this, and keep on going?” Jason and Gina are proud to share our conversation with Caro. We’ll explore how her unwavering faith and dedication to justice has been a well of strength and sustenance that keeps her focused and energized for the work she does. Join us in our conversation with Rev. Caroline Hall (Caro) today!

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
• St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church (St. Ben’s: A Place for All People)
• A Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church
• Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA San Luis Obispo)
• Integrity USA
• Los Osos Cares
• GALA Pride and Diversity Center (San Luis Obispo)
• Homeless Services Oversight Council (San Luis Obispo)
• 2022 Women of the Year Award Winners (24th Congressional District)
• National Estuary Program
• ECOSLO
• Estero Bay Womanade

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST

Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall, affectionately known as “Caro” is a tireless advocate for the homeless, for the LGBTQ+ community, for the environment, for social justice, for children, and for our furry and feathered friends. She believes that being part of the solution is required for all of us to make our community, country, and world a better place for everyone. Reverend Hall was a founding director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for SLO, founding organizer of Los Osos Cares, founding member of Central Coast Clergy and Laity for Justice, president of People of Faith for Justice, former member of SLO County Homeless Service Oversight Council, and current member of Los Osos Advisory Councils Unhoused Residents committee. She organizes the Los Osos winter warming center and still finds time to volunteer with the National Estuary Program, Sierra Club, and ECOSLO.

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

There are too many guns in the United States of America! Four hundred million firearms are owned by civilians in America–400 million–more guns than the US population. Nationally, there are more than 45,000 deaths caused by guns every year; that’s nearly 125 Americans per day killed by firearms. As of this year, guns are now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 1-19. 

As horrifying as these statistics are, they are only a small part of the story. The real stories are told by the victims, their families, friends, teachers and all who loved them. The loss, trauma, pain, fear, and anger just keep multiplying. Legislation that would actually make a difference in gun violence and gun deaths seems elusive. 

In 2022 alone, there have already been nearly 300 mass shootings–at parties, protests, rallies, in the streets, in homes, motels, malls, stores and in school rooms–even at a 4th of July parade–almost no place feels safe anymore.

Our guest today, Michelle Garner of Moms Demand Action, is here to share her story and her commitment to changing the forces of gun violence in the United States. We welcome her perspective and her dedication to face head on one of the greatest tragedies of our time. 

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo
• Everytown for Gun Safety
• Everytown Research
• Moms Demand Action
• Mom’s Demand Action CA - FB Page
• Students Demand Action
• The Week June 17, 2022 (Vol. 22 Issue 1083) - 7 articles about gun violence
• Gun Sense Action Network
• Summer Series
• SB 918 CA - Portantino (Improving CA’s Concealed Carry License System)
• Advance Peace Program (CA: Richmond, Stockton,Sacramento, Fresno, Oakland,and NYC)
• Cure Violence Program (Based in Chicago; programs in 25 cities and 8 countries)
• The End of Policing by Alex Vitale
• Alex Vitale
• “Rethinking Safety in the Wake of Uvalde” - June 1 (“Code Switch” Podcast)
• Gun Laws | Giffords
• Brady Campaign
• March For Our Lives 
• Be Smart for Kids (SMART Gun Storage) 
• California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program - CalVIP

MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST

Michelle Garner is a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots movement that started in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting and now has over 8 million volunteers across all 50 states.  Michelle started out as the leader for the local group here in SLO County, and now serves as the California State Training Lead, and a leader on the National Training Team. In this role, she works to train new volunteers across the nation in the fight to prevent gun violence in all its forms. Michelle is a college instructor, is married to an elementary school teacher, and is the mom to twin, ten-year-old boys. As such, she is very passionate about making our schools and all places in our country safer for all. 

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal. 

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Our guests today are three friends from the Central Coast of CA who share a mission: to make the Earth a better place for all their descendants. Earth Day, Earth Month, Earth Year–why not an Earth Eternity? We know that nothing lasts for eternity; one day, scientists say, our Sun will fail us and leave everything in darkness and cold, long after life on planet Earth no longer exists. But what about now? How do we celebrate our Earth’s longevity, long after a day in April, a month in Spring or a year from now? Spend the next hour with our guests June Cochran, Kelly Fisher and Grace Gautereaux while we vision together an Earth Eternity healed of the many mistakes we made while generations embraced the notion that Earth’s resources were boundless, that our greed was “good” and that our abuses would never be noticed.

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo
• College Corps Fellowship - Cal Poly (Get $10K for your educational expenses in exchange for a 450 hour internship with a local non-profit working for the environment. Apply now! June 30 deadline.)
• SLO Climate Coalition
• Resilient SLO
• SLO Climate Coalition Micro Community Collaborative
• Civic Spark-Americorps
• City of San Luis Obispo (SLO) Sustainability Dept
• Surfriders Central Coast
• Red Cross Central CA
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
• ECOSLO
• GridAlternatives
• U.N. Sustainable Development Goals
• Tri County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN)
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• BlocPower

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

June Cochran, a native Californian, earned her undergraduate degree at U.C. Berkeley, where she learned how to protest injustices, and her Master’s degree at Occidental in Urban Studies. June then became a reporter, a high school teacher, a college instructor and an Instructional Specialist, training teachers for Stockton Unified School District. Possessing a deep desire to educate herself and others on resiliency and equity issues, she started and advised a high school club titled E.N.U.F. (Earth Needs Us Fast); organized a Green Shalom action group at a synagogue; produced a number of informative video programs for the media; and became an integral contributor in key groups engaged in a positive movement toward a solution-based future. 

As coordinator of the San Luis Obispo Climate Coalition, her mission is to increase awareness of the advantages of decarbonization in order to strengthen our energy profile and our local economy, give residents the power to put their talents to work, and prepare our isolated area for unexpected events. In 2018, June received the SLO Climate Coalition’s “Climate Champion Award,” of which she is quite proud. In all of June’s work for change, her emphasis is on raising public awareness, organizing educational events, and networking. She volunteers as a national responder for the American Red Cross and has helped install solar through Grid Alternatives, including two all-female installations. 

June and her husband, Fred Fink, live in Shell Beach, CA. They do this work primarily for her daughter and son, who both work in the field of public health; a daughter-in-law who is a high school counselor; a son-in-law who is an engineer; and four grandsons—two in California and two in New York—and for all their descendants, as well as for all future individuals and families. June is committed to creating a vibrant, just, and sustainable world for ALL people for generations to come.

Kelly Fisher serves as the program director and co-founder of the San Luis Obispo Climate Coalition’s Micro-Community Collaborative. Their Resilient SLO Challenge program is designed to promote equity, resilience, and climate protection regionally. Kelly also serves as a highly qualified expert with the United States Army Senior Education Program, where she assisted in the development of the Women, Peace and Security curriculum. Kelly serves as a Deputy Congressional Director for the United States’ Women’s Caucus at United Nations, a Board member of the American Red Cross Pacific Coast Chapter and a member of the Coalition for Women’s Appointments. 

Before devoting her full-time support to the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Brigadier General Fisher retired from 40 years of US military service. Her most recent duty assignments include Land Component Commander of California Army National Guard with concurrent duty as Deputy Commandant - Reserve Affairs United States Army War College. General Fisher also served as the special assistant to the Chief of National Guard Bureau, and a member of the Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the Wisconsin National Guard’s Sexual Harassment, Assault, Response and Prevention Program. 

Grace Gautereaux serves as the Outreach Specialist of the San Luis Obispo Climate Coalition’s Micro-Community Collaborative. She promotes the Resilient SLO Challenge to local households to encourage individual and collective action around resilience, sustainability, and equity. She works with local agencies to advertise financial and other support opportunities to users and coordinates with financial stakeholders to create compelling, locally-oriented incentives to participate in the challenge. In addition, Grace has worked with partner agencies to develop a Fellowship opportunity that will bolster Resilient SLO mobilization initiatives on the ground in San Luis Obispo communities. Grace also works as a “CivicSpark Fellow” for the Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN) where she helps to develop policy, workforce preparedness, and homeowner education around building electrification and energy efficiency initiatives on the Central Coast. Grace graduated from Willamette University with a BA in Politics concentrated in international renewable energy policy and economics. 

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Our guests today are three women from the Central Coast of CA who share their Ukrainian heritage and the pain, fear and anger they are experiencing during the current, ongoing Russian invasion of their country of origin. Our interview was remarkable. You will hear strong emotions expressed; some of the stories and concerns will be troubling. There is death, famine, war and struggle in Ukraine’s history. But there is beauty, art, joy, resolve and strength as well.

RELEVANT LINKS

• PFJ
• Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo
• United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo
• Irina Malkmus (Permanent Makeup Artistry site)
• Irina Malkmus (Fine Art site)
• Irina Malkmus (Santa Ynez Valley Star)
• Modern-Day Xenophobia (by Oksana Yakushko)
• Scientific Pollyannaism (by Oksana Yakushko) 
• American Psychological Association
• “Living with the War” (3/4/22 Santa Barbara Independent by Oksana Yakushko)
• “Stand With Ukraine” (2/25/22 Santa Barbara Independent by Oksana Yakushko)
• “Russian War Against Ukraine Gets Worse”  (3/13/22 by Oksana Yakushko)
• “Terror in Ukraine” (2/27/22 Santa Barbara Independent by Oksana Yakushko)
• The Horror of War… (4/4/22 Santa Barbara Independent by Oksana Yakushko)
• The Ukraine Crisis… (CNN: Fareed Zakaria)
• First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Santa Barbara
• Ukrainian National Anthem (YouTube-2/28/22 NY Met Orchestra and Chorus)
• “Prayer for Ukraine” (YouTube-2-27-22 Ukrainian Chorus Dumka New York)
• https://novaukraine.org/ (Reliable org for Donations)
• https://gofund.me/3b6fc1b8 (Irina’s family fundraiser)
• https://www.facebook.com/irina.malkmus.7 (Irina’s FB page)
• [email protected] (Irina’s PayPal-how she sends $$ to Ukraine)
• https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/the-price-of-truth-the-story-behind-agnieszka-hollands-mr-jones/ (About the Film, Mr. Jones, available on Hulu)
• https://education.holodomor.ca/about-the-holodomor/ (Story of the Holodomor)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El5aPt91jeo (Stop the War in Ukraine Rally)

MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Annie Doryk-Cappelli was born in Canada and raised in both Canada and South Florida. She moved to California in the early 1990's and continued her pursuit of painting, illustration, figurative sculpture and documentary filmmaking after attending art school in Toronto, Canada.  You can see her work at https://www.anniecappelli.com/

Annie has deep Ukrainian heritage. Both her parents spoke and wrote Ukrainian, and her father played accordion in a Ukrainian polka band. The family spoke Ukrainian at home until her parents moved permanently to the USA. Upon returning to Canada for college, Annie lived in a Ukrainian dormitory that proved to be quite fun. With the support of a Ukrainian community she met in San Diego, Annie continued her art education studying editing, graphic design and animation.

Wherever Annie went, she took both her culture and her passion for art with her; after traveling extensively in North America, she eventually settled on the Central Coast of California. Since it was difficult to find Ukrainian friends here, Annie put in additional effort at home to practice Ukrainian customs and prepare traditional foods, teaching her son about their heritage. In addition to practicing her wide range of artistic talents, Annie began studying marine algae in 2010 and became a commercial kelp harvester in 2012. She now sells a line of commercial seaweed products. 

Since the war began in Ukraine, Annie has reached out to new friends she has met in the Ukrainian community in Santa Barbara. She continues to utilize her artistic skills to create posters, banners and items to sell at fundraising efforts in the Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach areas. Annie’s hope and inspiration are revived by her new Ukrainian friends with their poignant stories, resilience, humor and grace as they comfort one another at this difficult time.

Oksana Yakushko grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine, and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s. She is a licensed psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychology professor, and scholar in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and in 2021, Oksana received the Women in Leadership award from the APA. Her scholarship and clinical work have focused on issues of social justice, including immigration, xenophobia, human trafficking, gender violence, and eugenics, the latter a discredited “science” that justifies prejudice.

Oksana is the author of two books and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. She has consulted and presented with such organizations as the U.S. Memorial Holocaust Museum (Smithsonian Institution), the United Nations, Opera Santa Barbara, and many other groups. Because most of her family members and numerous friends reside in Ukraine and are facing both the currently ongoing, horrific Russian aggression, as well as the challenges of becoming war refugees, she has focused her clinical, scholarly and activist work most recently on aiding Ukraine and fighting the war.

Irina Malkmus came to the United States from Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2005, not knowing one word of English or even how to drive a car. Nearly 15 years later, she is extremely proud to have a career as both a permanent-makeup artist and a fine artist in Solvang, CA.

Although her dream from childhood had been to attend art school, Irina began her college education studying to become a nurse. After three years working in a hospital neonatal ward, she then attended the Ukraine National University of Internal Affairs where she earned a degree in social psychology, graduating in 2005.

During what free time Irina had while studying, she never gave up her passion for fine art. While still in graduate school, Irina met a woman who was a pioneer in the permanent makeup industry. She taught Irina about cosmetic tattooing, which was a new industry at the time. It was a form of art that Irina had not anticipated practicing.

In 2005, Irina met her now ex-husband in Ukraine. They moved to Lompoc and married in 2006. They began traveling and surfing all over the world, eventually returning to California and settling in Orcutt, where they remained for three years and started a family. In 2009, her twin girls were born, and in 2014, her son was born, but Irina always found a window for her passion—art. She started taking art classes at Allan Hancock College and Santa Barbara City College. Eventually, the family settled in Solvang.

Irina now practices the art of permanent makeup artistry in the Santa Ynez Valley. She is the first and only permanent makeup artist in Solvang. Irina also maintains her passion for fine art, showing her work in Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley galleries and teaching art at Solvang School. She also makes jewelry. Her plans include starting painting and art classes for children and adults, with a goal of building an art community in Solvang.

“I chose a career as a permanent makeup artist because of my passion for helping people improve their self-confidence, bringing their inner beauty to the surface through the medium of makeup,” says Irina. “I now am the artist I always wanted to be, I just changed canvases.” 

SUPPORT PFJ

We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.

People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.

CREDITS

The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi

Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman